Serious Problems with Kerry's Bronze Star Story

May 10, 2004 | The Bandit

[Miss Marple]

You have done an excellent job in detailing this whole thing. I think the story smells fishy, too.

[CWOJackson]

I'm sure HACKworth will be out front exposing this.

NOT.

[knarf]

Kerry was in Louisiana?

[Miss Marple]

Hey, I just got done reading your post on Hack's involvement in the Admiral Boorda affair. Thanks for finding that!

[Terp]

I'd e-mail the article to Hackworthless but he'd probable call me a Nazi again. But for anyone who cares to see how he reacts here's his e-mail address:

teagles@hackworth.com

[Miss Marple]

I don't want that guy knowing my e-mail address. He is in league with the more sinister elements of the Rat party and I would just as soon avoid any contact with him.

[Jumper]

If the other boat was hit by a mine and already taking fire . . . why did Kerry turn his boat around to assist a single crew member when and an entire boat was rendered helpless?

Was Kerry's decision made to keep from joining the true firefight and risk personal injury from actual combat? Is it possible that Kerry's crewmate was also a coward who jumped overboard so not to take fire, in a premeditated act that thereby allowed the good ensign to also emerge from the combat without exposing himself and crew to what was going to be real enemy fire.

Was there any additional mention that the other boat, taking fire and hit by a mine, was assisted by Kerry's or the third boat, and if so, how long was the engagement - a brief hit and run or a protracted battle. If it was a long engagement, did Kerry's boat FINALLY close with to both destroy the enemy and protect the other boat?

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Hack called you a nazi? Since you are a FReeper and he's a nut, I'm not surprised.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Excellent analysis. But I think there is a need for someone to counterpoint this. So I will do it, although I believe his first band aid purple heart was a joke.

"Why does his Bronze Star describe his "arm bleeding and in pain" when clearly there is no medical evidence to support such a description? Who in the hell investigated and wrote this very misleading and false citation description?"

I get a lot of bruises at my plant, handling wood panels all the time. Some bruises are combined with scrapes that clot up very quickly. I'm not certain about military lingo, but a scraped bruise can cause plenty of short term bleeding. [Or if he fell on a ketchup packet.]

[Amelia]

You know that this whole questioning Kerry's medals thing isn't doing too much with undecided people - their reaction is, "At least he *went* to Vietnam instead of getting deferments or joining the guard like those in the current administration did."

In other words, you may convince a few people, but your efforts may have the opposite result of the one you intended.

IMO, concentrating on Kerry's actions since he returned from Vietnam (saying he was guilty of war crimes and atrocities worse than the prison "torture", etc.) and his current Senate voting record is more productive and more likely to convince swing voters.

With the medals, you're (at most) preaching to the choir.

[Terp]

I thought about that after I sent my original e-mail to him. But here's hoping he gets lots of e-mails from us Nazi types and I get lost in the shuffle.

[The Bandit]

I get a lot of bruises at my plant, handling wood panels all the time. Some bruises are combined with scrapes that clot up very quickly. I'm not certain about military lingo, but a scraped bruise can cause plenty of short term bleeding. [Or if he fell on a ketchup packet.]

Kerry was merely forced against the bulkhead by wave action...not enough concentrated force to a small area of his arm to cause blood clotting that could have been ruptured and a source of bleeding.

[The Bandit]

You know that this whole questioning Kerry's medals thing isn't doing too much with undecided people - their reaction is, "At least he *went* to Vietnam instead of getting deferments or joining the guard like those in the current administration did."

It will when it the media starts to question his inconsistencies. It's not a matter of he went, but what he did when he was there! Unlike Kerry, Bush isn't feeding the public tall tales of heroism.

[The Bandit]

Good questions. Obiviously it is a judgement call, someone in the water might be considered in more immediate need. I'll research some more and see if I can find some indication of a timeline for this engagement.

[MortMan]

but a scraped bruise can cause plenty of short term bleeding.

That would be an abrasion on top of the contusion. Bottom line, he had a bruise, and the medical report doesn't indicate any sort of bleeding. My $.02

[Amelia]

It will when it the media starts to question his inconsistencies. It's not a matter of he went, but what he did when he was there! Unlike Kerry, Bush isn't feeding the public tall tales of heroism.

There are plenty of inconsistencies in his more recent record, and his more recent record doesn't invite unflattering comparisons with the current administration and can't be passed off to mistakes of youth.

Questioning the medals isn't necessary, and has too many potential negatives.

[G.Mason]

"Rassmann went on to say: "If he had done a lousy job in the Senate and I thought his ideas were ridiculous, I wouldn't have called him. I might have bought him dinner, but I wouldn't have called him.""

Proof that Rassmann is a Democrat.

Only a Democrat thinks an abstract thought is both clear, and logical.

The sad thing is that they (Democrats) don't even consider their lies to be lies.

[thedugal]

I agree completely. Unless you have smoking-gun evidence that Kerry knowingly falsified documents or asked others to lie for him you are only going to embitter the undecided. I agree that all of his medals are highly questionable, both why he got them and how it was possible to get that many in such a short time. Even if all of his medals were legit, what he did after the war more than erased his hero status.

Kerry is a total loser, but questioning military medals without evidence of wrong-doing is dishonorable in my opinion.

Kerry's ugly history:
a. He fought in Vietnam, but he brags way too much about it, particularly when others who served much longer tours rarely talk about it, much less brag.
b. After fighting in Vietnam, Kerry turned his back on his fellow soldiers. He viciously maligned the military and gave speeches which were nothing less than inspirational.. to the enemy.
c. Kerry spent the rest of his political career simultaneously bragging about his Vietnam service whenever possible while at the same time voting against every funding measure for the military. Even when voting for various missions Kerry voted against funding those missions.

In summation, he's a piece of liberal two talking trash. He's a gold-digging gigolo tightwad, flip-flopper, (too!)proud vet/anti-war protester, arrogant New England liberal whose most memorable saying in Massachusettes is "Don't you know who I am? I'm John Kerry!". There is MORE than enough mud of his own making to throw at Kerry without going down this questionable medals route.

[The Bandit]

awwww but for vets this medal business is a very BIG deal because it reduces Kerry to a Frank Burns in their eyes.