"Kerry & Rassmann swift boat stories collide" CARTOON...

IowaPresidentialWatch.com ^ | 8/10/2004 | IPWGOP

[IPWGOP]

Kerry/Rassmann swift boat stories collide

In a major gaffe, Camp Kerry was caught today with colliding stories concerning Kerry’s Vietnam heroics. [see FreeRepublic thread] In a much touted tale, Kerry is credited with saving the life of Green Beret veteran Jim Rassmann while they were on a 5-boat patrol during the Vietnam War. The group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth vehemently denies Kerry’s story and has supplied proof that Kerry lied about the circumstances behind his pulling Rassmann out of the river.

In an Aug. 10, 2004, editorial published in the Wall Street Journal, Green Beret veteran Jim Rassmann defends Kerry’s heroics and includes this statement:

"While returning from a SEA LORDS operation along the Bay Hap River, a mine detonated under another swift boat. Machine-gun fire erupted from both banks of the river, and a second explosion followed moments later. The second blast blew me off John's swift boat, PCF-94, throwing me into the river. Fearing that the other boats would run me over, I swam to the bottom of the river and stayed there as long as I could hold my breath."

Now, compare this statement by Rassmann in his Wall Street Journal editorial with a Kerry campaign press release, still on Kerry’s website as of 8/10/2004:

"On March 13, 1969, Rassmann, a Green Beret, was traveling down the Bay Hap river in a boat behind Kerry’s when both were ambushed by exploding land mines and enemy fire coming from the shore. Kerry was hit in the arm, while a mine blew Rassmann’s boat out of the water. With enemy fire coming from both sides of the river and swift boats evacuating from the area, Kerry’s crew chose to turn their boat toward the ambush to save Rassmann."

Rassmann says he was on Kerry’s swift boat; Kerry says Rassmann was on another boat behind his. Who’s telling the truth, and who is not?

[ProudVet77]

Hate to say this about a fellow vet. But I think Sandusky is the one to go after. He was a PO1 (E6) in Navy parlence. He's the one with the thick glasses in all the pics.
He was the driver of the PCF which is actually down below. My guess is that he heard fire (probably ours) and put her into high gear to get away. I can't blame him for that action, as speed was a PCFs best friend. But it shows in a way that he ran the boat. Kerry was OIC, but with his limited experience, Sandusky ran the boat.

[hobson]

I found another version of this saga:

http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:lIvaF5WpVrMJ:releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp%3Fid%3D104-07102004+%22david+alston%22&hl=en

Jim Rassmann, Says Kerry Risked His Life to Save Him: "Rassmann was 21 at the time, a Special Forces lieutenant in charge of a company of American and Chinese fighters. On that day, they traveled on a convoy of five patrol boats led by the 25-year-old Kerry, a Navy lieutenant -- and they were on the run, being chased down the Bay Hap River by enemy soldiers firing guns and rockets. The group had already lost one soldier that day. As they sped down the river, one boat was blown out of the water, and then another. An explosion wounded Kerry in the arm and threw Rassmann into the river. Rassmann dove to the bottom to avoid being run over by the other boats. When he surfaced, he saw the convoy had gone ahead. Viet Cong snipers fired at him, and Rassmann submerged over and over to avoid being hit. The bullets came from both banks, and Rassmann had nowhere to go. He began thinking his time had come, but the fifth time he came up, he saw the convoy had turned around. Kerry had ordered the boats back to pick up the man overboard. Kerry's boat, under heavy fire, sidled up to the struggling soldier. Rassmann tried to scramble up a cargo net at the bow but was too exhausted to make it all the way. He clung to the net as bullets whizzed past. 'Next thing I knew, John came out in the middle of all this,' Rassmann says. 'I couldn't believe it. He was going to get killed. He ran to the edge, reached over with his good arm (Kerry had been wounded in his right arm) and pulled me over the lip.' Rassmann later recommended Kerry for the Silver Star, and was upset when the Army instead awarded Kerry a lesser Bronze Star with a 'V' for valor." (Los Angeles Times, 3/13/04)

[FairOpinion]

Excellent points.

[Howlin]

And I have another question -- and I surely will show my ignornace here:

Was this what the swift boaters wore? What would the reason be to have that on?

Did he go ashore into the jungle? Why does he have that rifle?

[IPWGOP]

Yeah, I've read that version. This whole 'Kerry saved my life' episode needs to be told in full context... that is, how many boats involved, how close together, then the sequence of events, who all got thrown into the water, etc. YES, Rassmann was not the only man tossed into the river. That little piece of info also makes Kerry's version sound like a bunch of crap.

[IPWGOP]

That's one of Kerry's re-enactment stills from his movies. He used to dress in full combat gear and do re-enactments (big issue surrounding the Dem's Convention and the Kerry Vietnam mini-movie video they did). The six-man crew of a swift boat was 'combat ready' according to how I understand it... Kerry talks about his 'M-16 rifle' jamming, etc.

[Bellflower]

Somebody needs to check the bank account of these so called band of brothers to see if they paid them to lie. The same goes for anyone that is used by the Dems. Are they driving around in a new car and just bought a boat?

[NonValueAdded]

Let's add to that the information that Rassmann kept diving to the bottom of the river to avoid what he says was gunfire. I'd say that activity left Rassmann pretty disoriented in comparison to the crews of the other boats (besides Kerry's since he bugged out and wasn't there). So Kerry's boat is gone, Rassmann is mostly underwater but it is the rest of the guys who are making this stuff up. Yeah, right.

[nopardons]

Well done...and if there's an award for political cartoons,just tell me where to submit your work.

[Grampa Dave]

Great cartoon and background as well.

[Jim_Curtis]

This is my favorite thread ever...wish it could be pinned to the top for a week. Awesome visuals, critical thinking...love this Free Republic!

[Ajnin]

LOL, He can't catch a football, he can't throw a baseball, he can't bring himself to eat Wendy's, he couldn't do a full tour in Vietnam and he speak fluent French. What more needs to be said about John F'n Kerry. He's a "girly man".

[Grampa Dave]

Toot Toot!

One way to keep that train on the tracks and barreling down them with the truth is to donate to the Swift Boat Vets tv ad fund. Then they can buy more tv time!

Toot! Toot!
Donate to the Swift boat vets to counter the tie in with the mediots and Kerry

The arrogance of Kerry's staff note below is why we should contribute to the Swift Boat Money raising for tv ads, based on comments from Kerri's staff:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1188521/posts

According to a Kerry campaign source, senior campaign advisers tasked two Washington-based campaign staffers to vet the recently published Unfit for Command.

"The purpose was to compare what that book had with what we had on file from Senator Kerry," says the campaign source, who said that the research project developed more than 75 instances where Kerry's recollections, previous remarks, or writings conflicted with the book's reporting.

"We took some of the most glaring examples, like the Christmas in Cambodia story, and presented them to senior staff, and we assume that those things were put in front of Senator Kerry," says the source. "We haven't heard a word about it. All we were told is that it was being taken care of."

The campaign source said that the book was not considered a "serious" problem for the campaign, because, "the media wouldn't have the nerve to come at us with this kind of stuff," says the source.

"The senior staff believes the media is committed to seeing us win this thing, and that the convention inoculated us from these kinds of stories. The senior guys really think we don't have a problem here."

---

It is obvious that ABCNNBC BS and O'Reilly are in the closet with Komrade Kerry's Klan, and they will never get the real story out.

For the real story to get out, the Swift Boat Vets need funding to buy tv ad time. That Funding must come people like Freepers.


"It is time that we fund these brave Navy warriors's effort to get the truth out to America, since the mediots will not do it!


To Donate to Swift Boat Vets

$100 via my credit card is now in their advertising account.

Here is the link to donate:

https://coral.he.net/~swiftvet/swift/ccdonation.php?op=donate&site=SwiftVets

For Snail mail:

Contributions can also be sent to:
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
c/o Weymouth Symmes, Treasurer
PO Box 26184
Alexandria, VA 22313

When contributing by check, please include your occupation and employer.

Checks should be made payable to "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth"

[Grampa Dave]

Le Dork Kerri will have to put some ice on it after reading this:

Adm. Hoffman: Alright ... I think that Van O'Dell told you that there was one explosion - a controlled mine under PCF3. No other boats were damaged. There was only ONE explosion [verbal emphasis]. Kerry breaks out of the fire zone and goes downstream. He's the only one that left the scene, the rest of them are trying to save the boat number 3 and pick the men up out of the water and so forth. Kerry didn't come back until he was sure there wasn't any shore fire - and there wasn't, there never was any shore fire.

[Grampa Dave]

A conservative friend dropped by for a few minutes today.

I got him involved with the disappearing security references to Sandy Bergalar and the Dox in the Sox and how the Joe Wilson site disappeared.

This fellow is pretty handy with computers and joked that soon the only thing on Kerry's web site would be a donation page.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

"...Rassmann fell out of Kerry's boat into the water as a result of Kerry's precipitate departure..."

There is more, according to a crew member, Rassmann was sitting on the fantail of sKerry's boat eating a chocolate cookie when big bad John gunned the engine & took off.

I guess you could say Rassmann got his cookies off. (the boat, that is)

[Boazo]

Totally Agree!

[aruanan]

I guess you could say Rassmann got his cookies off. (the boat, that is)

No wonder the Kerry crowd didn't want to acknowledge that Rassmann was originally on Kerry's boat.

[TomasUSMC]

On that day, they traveled on a convoy of five patrol boats led by the 25-year-old Kerry, a Navy lieutenant -- and they were on the run, being chased down the Bay Hap River by enemy soldiers firing guns and rockets.

---

Who is on the run. The SF with his chinese? Cause I can't see VC running down Swift boats.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

"Why does he have that rifle?"

Take a look at that staged photo-op film clip closely. The idiot is strutting around with his finger on the trigger of the M-16. He is totally unfamilar with the weapon or common safety measures.