I don't think so.
Three appear to be the same.
Posted on 08/10/2004 10:21:42 PM PDT by The Bandit
Registered, what do you think about 85?
Look carefully at your blow-up of the reverend and the two crew members on the left of the photo:
There is a "fuzzy" distortion around their head and shoulders - exactly as if the pixels between their head and the water were blended or mixed together.
Check a similar "blowup" at a similar magnification of Kerry's head - I'm willing to be you'll see a clean, sharp transition from his head to the water - since that part of thephoto would NOT have been edited.
And, why, oh why, does the shroud in the middle vanish halfway in the middle?
Now I'm not so sure. It seems the shadow to his left is unbroken, but it falls on a box of shiny ammunition. Those apparent rows of sunlight through a grating seem to be the reflections off rows of .50 cal rounds.
Maybe the photo is legit.
Early in the morning seven swift boats embarked on a mission to destroy enemy installations along the Cua Lon River. While Kerry's boat and another (PCF72) were probing a canal along the river, Kerry's boat came under heavy fire and was hit by a B-40 rocket in the cabin area. One member of Kerry's crew -- Forward Gunner David Alston - suffered shrapnel wounds in his head. His injuries were not considered serious and he was sent to the 29th Evac Hospital at Binh Thuy.
As much of this story as I can figure out, this was the engagement when Alston and his OIC, Lt. Peck were both wounded on PCF-94. kerry replaced Peck after he was wounded. Had it been kerry's boat, he would certainly have been wounded when the B-40 hit the cabin area. kerry wasn't wounded but Peck was.
One characteristic of folks like Kerry, who manifest Narcissistic Personality Disorder, is that they are very good at surrounding themselves with people who depend on the narcissist to give them a sense of personality. Most often the people are incompetent, or at least think of themselves as incompetent. The Narcissist uses them to gain his sense of grandiosity. It is extremely frustrating to deal with, since no amount of logic or evidence can break the bond.
I'd sure like to see the original of this pic.....
Its not a fake.
I was thinking along similar lines. It is possible to have shadows in several directions in a photograph due to reflections from the primary source. Also from flash, as you point out. The photo doesn't look fake to me, but the accompanying story looks suspicious.
Now about memories, seared and otherwise. I recently put together some photographs I took in Vietnam. I was amazed that I couldn't remember where many of them were taken. One of them is of the comm center where I worked every day. I can't see the guard shack, although I remember having to go past it several times a day.
I think what will come of all of this is that no one clearly remembers the details of who was on what boat on what day, and I know that record keeping will not solve this puzzle.
If we are after Kerry I think we need to focus on who wrote the recommendations for his medals. I think there is a story there.
"We're witnessing the historic unraveling of a presidential campaign up close. Probably 90% of the electorate are still unaware, but not for long!"
It won't matter, unfortunately. We had the goods on Bill Clinton in 1992, big time. He got elected anyway. And re-elected.
We had a referendum on character in 1992, and the issue was settled. It doesn't matter.
This is a real reach. I'll just go back to Sec. Rumsfled's, "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" quote.
I know what you are saying. I spent 2 years at Camp Hovey, but couldn't draw an accurate map of the place on a bet. And that was only 14 years ago, let alone 30+ years.
Memories are inherently flawed. But when we get so many people saying that this is not how it happened, one gets suspicious of the story.
And the records on that war are incomplete. So Kerry will probably get away with this. We still have his Senate record to delve into. And that is a treasure trove.
I think this uproar will be indecisive, but it will deny Kerry the high ground in Vietnam. The best he can hope for is that he will still have his medals when it is over. But he will not want to bring up the subject again.
On to bigger and better things: his record since 1970.
Clover Kerry critic to appear on national cable talk show
Alston, who served with Kerry aboard a different swift boat than Gardner, spoke on national television during prime-time at the Democratic National Convention last month. Alston told the country that he loved and respected Kerry, even trusting Kerry with his own life.
Look at the "shroud" and "the machine gun" (the one missing its barrel!) in the middle of the picture.
See anything funny about those pixels?
I know that record keeping will not solve this puzzle.
Well there should be paperwork as to when Alston was released from the hospital and returned to duty, would he have returned to light duty or straight back to combat?
I suspect the photo was made when Kerry was shipping out and it was one last photo op for his friends, the pictue was reportedly taken by Mike Madeiros one of the crewmates. it is a stretch of logic to believe that the picture is a phony, but with Kerry anything is possible..what I do notice is everyone seems to be squinting from the sun, Alston seems to be turning his head straight on maybe to hide his injury? Either way the question remains there are 13 days from 2/28 when short was on the boat and Alston wasn't (according to another quote)to 3/13 the last mission with Kerry before he bugged out..Were there any combat missions as Alston seems to state in campaign materials? Maybe Alston returned to the boat for light duty but did not go on combat missions after his injury thus the photo...maybe he went out on missions but there was no combat...if he wasn't on the boat on 3/13 its logical he wasn't on the boat on 3/12 or earlier also..maybe someone should just ask Alston.......
lots of questions, but the Archives will hold many answers... anyone in DC/College Park area? Eventually all Kerry's records that are not personal will be scrutinized as someone will write a follow up book with more supporting documents, the question is when..before the election or after?
bump
There is no way to tell how serious the head wound was from the keloid. A very small scar can grow to horrific porportions many times the size of the original wound. Some keloid scars never stop growing. No, I am not a medical professional, yes, I have personal experience with them. A less than 1/8 inch scar has grown to over 4 inches long and over 2 inches wide over 15 years.
I don't suspect the photo (at this time) of being fake, but I believe it has been fraudulently presented as representing the crew of a single boat.
I am almost certain that any head wound, no matter how minor, would have resulting in shaving. Even it only required a band-aid.
If this guy engaged in combat operations on Kerry's boat after January 29, I think there would be other evidence. Kerry is the most photographed vet I've seen. He has hours of super-8 film. Where is this guy?
I don't think so.
Three appear to be the same.
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