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1996 Flashback: BEHIND THE HOOTCH - DID KERRY COMMIT A WAR CRIME?
The Boston Globe Archives [NO LINK] | October 27, 1996 | David Warsh, Globe Staff

Posted on 08/11/2004 6:25:40 AM PDT by nwrep

It happened 27 years ago and 12,000 miles away. Does it matter now? In the heat of the Massachusetts Senate campaign, a new account has raised questions about what happened on a river bank in the Ca Mau peninsula on Feb. 28, 1969.

That was the day that Sen. John Kerry won the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest award for bravery, for, among other things, killing an enemy soldier. The events of that day, and their lengthy aftermath, are what this column is about.

In a conversation with me Monday, however, Tom Bellodeau, the rear gunner of John Kerry's boat in Vietnam offered an account that differed on a couple of key points from one given recently by his skipper.

What's the ugliest possibility? That behind the hootch Kerry administered a coup de grace to the Vietnamese soldier -- a practice not uncommon in those days, but a war crime nevertheless, and hardly the basis for a Silver Star. And that he went back the next day with a movie camera, perhaps to build his own case for what happened. Different people will draw different conclusions from the limited information that is available, depending on their experiences.

_________________SNIP_________________

"I had Purple Hearts in foot-cube boxes to give out," recalls George Elliott, the naval officer commanding Coastal Division 11.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: atrocities; houseboy; keptman; kerry; kerrylies; lemonpuss; lousyactor; manchuriancandidate; militaryrecord; silverstar; warcriminal; zombie
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Freepmail me for the article.
1 posted on 08/11/2004 6:25:41 AM PDT by nwrep
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To: onyx; Interesting Times; jmstein7; Howlin; Mo1

PING


2 posted on 08/11/2004 6:28:39 AM PDT by nwrep
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To: nwrep

Ca Mau, Kerry, you gotta be kidding!


3 posted on 08/11/2004 6:31:56 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (Hitlery Recently Seen Throwing Banana Peels in Front of Kerry and Edwards' Residences)
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To: nwrep

(The "More Sensitive" War On Terror)

4 posted on 08/11/2004 6:37:38 AM PDT by End_Clintonism_Now (MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL CLINTON!)
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To: nwrep

I fkatsup-boy did commit a war-crime then it has to investagated. Then tried before a miltary court. IMHO katsup-boy should be in a cell next to Wm. Callay [MI lai massacure].


5 posted on 08/11/2004 7:08:29 AM PDT by TMSuchman (If we don't get out to vote, the anti-Americans will win, and we will loose everything!)
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To: All
Did the columnist besmirch journalism?

"Journalists" protest too much. Why? Are some cows more sacred than others?

This archived Columbia Journalism Review blasts Mr. Warsh for his "sniping," his "political war games," his "fantasy," and his "abuse of journalistic power." Never mind that he names and cites the rear gunner of John Kerry's boat as the source of the doubts about what really happened.

http://archives.cjr.org/year/97/1/d_l.asp

"The Globe's ombudsman, Mark Jurkowitz, also dug into the matter, and concluded, 'The issue is whether the column belonged in the Globe. The answer is no.' Fellow columnist James Carroll summed it up well: 'Kerry's honor is crystal clear. The question remains, What of the honor of journalism?'"

Well Mr. Warsh's treatment ain't nohting compared to what these clowns intend to do to the swift boat veterans. These are interesting times. Keep your powder dry, so to speak.

6 posted on 08/11/2004 7:17:05 AM PDT by WilliamofCarmichael (Benedict Arnold was a hero for both sides in the same war, too!)
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To: nwrep
That behind the hootch Kerry administered a coup de grace to the Vietnamese soldier -- a practice not uncommon in those days, but a war crime nevertheless, and hardly the basis for a Silver Star.

Sorry for my ignorance, but what is a coup de grace? From the context, it doesn't sound good.

Kerry admits to committing (other) atrocities during the Vietnam War. Not the type of guy I would want as President.

7 posted on 08/11/2004 7:23:21 AM PDT by wai-ming
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To: wai-ming

A final shot/strike to kill a wounded enemy.


8 posted on 08/11/2004 7:37:09 AM PDT by expatpat
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To: wai-ming

He either shot a wounded man, or they had a moment of passion. Not sure which.


9 posted on 08/11/2004 7:37:44 AM PDT by sharktrager (The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And the paving contractor lives in Chappaqua.)
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To: wai-ming

To finish up, as when you blow the brain of a moose wounded
with a gut shot,

Or as the gendarmes in Algier to the people
they shot in front of the Post Office...
(De Gaulle's orders, you know.)
....Anything to please the rag-heads...was the long pig...


10 posted on 08/11/2004 7:38:36 AM PDT by frontdeboeuf
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To: All

bump to read later


11 posted on 08/11/2004 7:49:36 AM PDT by rwfromkansas (BYPASS FORCED WEB REGISTRATION! **** http://www.bugmenot.com ****)
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To: frontdeboeuf; wai-ming; sharktrager

The Catholic church is firmly opposed to "mercy killings" and with good reason. As a man lays on the ground dieing, perhaps drowning on his own blood, perhaps disemboweled, or shattered in many places, our instinct may be to treat him like an animal and "put him out of his misery".

However, depriving him of his final moments of life, despite his agony, deprives him of his opportunity to "get right with God" or to relive the important moments of his time here on earth. We put animals to sleep because they don't understand their agony and may be suffering needlessly. Human beings are not animals; they have vibrant souls that do understand the reason for their pain and, with few exceptions, they cherish every moment of life, the good and the bad, conscious or not.


12 posted on 08/11/2004 7:54:34 AM PDT by TaxRelief (Keep your kids safe; keep W in the White House.)
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To: nwrep

**Different people will draw different conclusions from the limited information that is available, depending on their experiences.**

But GOD knows the truth!


13 posted on 08/11/2004 7:57:44 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: WilliamofCarmichael
YES... Liberal cows are sacred. Conservative cows, on the other hand, are ever-ready for slaughter. Double standard? Bet on it.

"Journalists" protest too much. Why? Are some cows more sacred than others?

14 posted on 08/11/2004 8:05:31 AM PDT by GOPJ
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To: nwrep

Whatever happened to Tom Bellodeau? Is he still alive? I don't recall his name being mentioned on either side of the current flap.


15 posted on 08/11/2004 8:46:53 AM PDT by Aunt Polgara
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To: sharktrager

He let his French DNA take over; He shot a wounded boy in the back who was attempting to run away after being hit with a RPG, from what I read. What a hero.


16 posted on 08/11/2004 9:07:32 AM PDT by Imaverygooddriver (Never forget: "We will take things away from you for the benefit of the common good"-Hitlery Rodham)
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To: Imaverygooddriver

We will never know what happened to the wounded VC. If he tried to surrender and was killed them that was a war crime. Kerry was awarded a medal for actions that nobody can confirm. If Kerry knows we will still never be sure what really happened.


17 posted on 08/11/2004 9:13:39 AM PDT by 1smallVoice (Clinton brought us Bush)
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To: 1smallVoice

Kerry later threw his medals over the fence but they hang on his wall. No he threw his ribbons only. He did throw medals of others, or did he? Whose medals are really hanging on Kerry's wall? Again, we will never know.


18 posted on 08/11/2004 9:15:43 AM PDT by 1smallVoice (Clinton brought us Bush)
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To: 1smallVoice

after he capitulates on cambodia we go after him on the war crimes and atrocities- he will definitely be forced to withdrawal.


19 posted on 08/11/2004 9:16:28 AM PDT by genghis
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To: genghis

Then Hillary swoops in to the rescue. It will be Hillary/Edwards.


20 posted on 08/11/2004 9:27:38 AM PDT by 1smallVoice (Clinton brought us Bush)
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