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Kerry 'Unfit to be Commander-in-Chief,' Say Former Military Colleagues
Cybercast News Service ^ | May 03, 2004 | Marc Morano

Posted on 05/03/2004 10:50:33 AM PDT by elhombrelibre

Kerry 'Unfit to be Commander-in-Chief,' Say Former Military Colleagues By Marc Morano CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer May 03, 2004

(CNSNews.com) - Hundreds of former commanders and military colleagues of presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry are set to declare in a signed letter that he is "unfit to be commander-in-chief." They will do so at a press conference in Washington on Tuesday.

"What is going to happen on Tuesday is an event that is really historical in dimension," John O'Neill, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Navy as a PCF (Patrol Craft Fast) boat commander, told CNSNews.com. The event, which is expected to draw about 25 of the letter-signers, is being organized by a newly formed group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

"We have 19 of 23 officers who served with [Kerry]. We have every commanding officer he ever had in Vietnam. They all signed a letter that says he is unfit to be commander-in-chief," O'Neill said.

O'Neill, currently a Houston, Texas, based attorney, is no stranger to Kerry. O'Neill served in the same naval unit as Kerry and commanded Kerry's swift boat after Kerry returned to the United States. Kerry's command of the PCF boat lasted four months and ended shortly after he received his third Purple Heart. According to naval regulations at the time, any sailor who received three Purple Hearts could request a transfer out of the combat zone.

Kerry and O'Neill engaged in a nationally televised debate in 1971 on The Dick Cavett Show over Kerry's allegations that many Vietnam soldiers had routinely engaged in atrocities such as raping and cutting off ears and heads of Vietnamese soldiers and citizens. Kerry was the then spokesman for the anti-war group Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

"We are going to be presenting a letter that deals with Kerry's unfitness to be commander and chief that has been signed by hundreds of swift boat sailors, including most of those who served with Kerry," O'Neill explained.

"The ranks of the people signing [the letter] range from admiral down to seaman, and they run across the entire spectrum of politics, specialties, and political feelings about the Vietnam War," he added.

Among those scheduled to attend the event at the National Press Club and declare Kerry unfit for the role of commander-in-chief are retired Naval Rear Admiral Roy Hoffman, who was the commander of the Navy Coastal Surveillance Force, which included the swift boats on which Kerry served.

Also scheduled to be present at the event is Kerry's former commanding officer, Lt. Commander Grant Hibbard. Hibbard recently questioned whether Kerry deserved the first of his three Purple Hearts that he received in Vietnam. Hibbard doubted both the severity of the wound and whether it resulted from enemy fire.

"I've had thorns from a rose that were worse" than Kerry's wound for which he received a Purple Heart, Hibbard told the Boston Globe in April.

Organizers are confident that Tuesday's event and the letter with hundreds of signatures will educate people about Kerry.

"It is one of the largest outpourings of concern about him being commander-in-chief that anybody could have in a presidential campaign and it is by the people who know him best," O'Neill said.

'Unfit Commander-in-Chief'

Swift Boat Veterans For Truth maintains that Kerry's fellow Vietnam veterans are almost uniform in their disdain for his military service and anti-war protests.

"Not only a majority of the people who served with him feel that way, but a vast and overwhelming majority," O'Neill said. He added that more than "ninety percent of the people contacted by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth responded to the request to sign their name, with only 12 declining to sign.

"Comrades who actually served with him, almost all of them, are opposed to him, and believe he would be an unfit commander in chief and intend to bring the truth of his actual record to the attention of the American people," O'Neill said.

O'Neill hopes the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth can reveal to the American people what he sees as Kerry's flawed character.

"In the military, loyalty between commanders and the troops serving them is a two-way street. We have here a guy (Kerry) that with all of us in the field [in Vietnam] -- actually fighting the North Vietnamese -- came home and then falsely accused all of us of war crimes at a time when the people in uniform couldn't even respond," O'Neill said.

"And he did that knowing that was a lie," he added.

'Real John Kerry'

B. G. Burkett, author of the book Stolen Valor and a military researcher, believes that Tuesday's event will not be dismissed easily by Kerry's campaign as a "partisan" attack.

"There are probably just as many Democrats amongst sailors who sailed swift boats as there are Republicans. What Kerry fails to realize is this has nothing to do with politics -- this has to with Vietnam Veterans who served, who have a beef with John Kerry's service, both during and after the war," Burkett told CNSNews.com.

"The American people do not know John Kerry and hopefully the swift boat crews and other Vietnam veterans will make sure that the American public knows the real John Kerry," he added.

Jim Loftus of Kerry's press office referred questions about Swift Boat Veterans for Truth's event on Tuesday to spokesman David Wade. Wade did not return CNSNews.com's requests for comment.


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: kery
Let's see if this gets at least the same attention as President Bush's dental records in the lame stream press.
1 posted on 05/03/2004 10:50:34 AM PDT by elhombrelibre
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To: elhombrelibre
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1128604/posts
2 posted on 05/03/2004 10:53:10 AM PDT by RKV (He who has the guns makes the rules.)
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To: RKV
I did a search and it didn't pop up. Thanks
3 posted on 05/03/2004 10:54:06 AM PDT by elhombrelibre (Liberalism corrupts. Absolute Liberalism corrupts absolutely.)
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To: Darth Reagan
ping
4 posted on 05/03/2004 11:06:52 AM PDT by marblehead17
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To: elhombrelibre
I already said this on another thread this morning, but its something I was thinking about this weekend, and I intend to say it again and again. Every Viet Nam Vet who came home to be spat on, and vilified as a baby killer, has John Kerry to thank.

The image of the American soldier as baby killer has a specific genesis; it started when a well-spoken but otherwise unknown officer appeared before Congress and told the world that the American military was engaged in mass murder and that responsibility went right up the chain of command. He claimed American soldiers were raping, murdering, torturing, and doing so with their officers' knowledge and even under orders.

This claim filtered out into the public consciousness, and it was this image of the American baby-killing soldier that did more than anything to destroy the will to continue the fight. It has caused a generation of veterans to carry a wound for all of these years. There is ugliness in war in any case; to have to bear that and the contempt of his country to boot has been a terrible burden for many men. And the author of the lie is none other than John Kerry.
5 posted on 05/03/2004 11:20:18 AM PDT by marron
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To: elhombrelibre
Any info about this news conference being carried by C-SPAN or any of the other news outlets?
6 posted on 05/03/2004 11:27:11 AM PDT by Dr. Thorne
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To: marron
"This claim filtered out into the public consciousness, and it was this image of the American baby-killing soldier that did more than anything to destroy the will to continue the fight. It has caused a generation of veterans to carry a wound for all of these years. There is ugliness in war in any case; to have to bear that and the contempt of his country to boot has been a terrible burden for many men. And the author of the lie is none other than John Kerry."

So very true! I have hope that all of this attention on the wrongs dealt to returning Vietnam Vets, will ensure that it never happens again.

7 posted on 05/03/2004 11:28:29 AM PDT by BillyCrockett
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To: Dr. Thorne
Starts at 9:30 am. No info on C-SPAN yet. See below:

Event Date: May 4, 2004 Event Name: Swift Boat Veterans Event Type: News Conference Time: 9:30 AM Sponsored by: Spaeth Communications, Inc. Event Location: Zenger Room Details: Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Contact: Merrie Spaeth @214-871-8888

8 posted on 05/03/2004 11:40:08 AM PDT by nwrep
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To: elhombrelibre
I'm sure the liberal media will ignore this. Hopefully Fox News will spread the word, along with Rush and Hannity.
9 posted on 05/03/2004 11:41:52 AM PDT by Astronaut
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To: marron
I already said this on another thread this morning, but its something I was thinking about this weekend, and I intend to say it again and again. Every Viet Nam Vet who came home to be spat on, and vilified as a baby killer, has John Kerry to thank.
SO THIS IS THE PERSON WHO GOT JOHN RAMBO SO PISSED!
10 posted on 05/03/2004 11:49:10 AM PDT by Lowell (Bring someone with you and get out the vote!)
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To: Dr. Thorne
Not that I am aware of.
11 posted on 05/03/2004 11:59:33 AM PDT by elhombrelibre (Liberalism corrupts. Absolute Liberalism corrupts absolutely.)
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To: elhombrelibre
http://www.kerrycountry.org
12 posted on 05/03/2004 12:14:49 PM PDT by pabianice
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To: elhombrelibre
read later
13 posted on 05/03/2004 12:22:26 PM PDT by LiteKeeper
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To: elhombrelibre
In Kerry's defense I should point out that he *is* a Democrat, and is therefore EXPECTED to lie. In fact, he might do far more harm were he to actually tell the truth!
14 posted on 05/03/2004 12:29:30 PM PDT by The Duke
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To: elhombrelibre
I sure would like to add my name to that list. First, I've heard of it.
15 posted on 05/03/2004 1:09:27 PM PDT by Joee
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