Posted on 08/11/2004 12:02:30 PM PDT by Brian Mosely
KERRY/CAMBODIA UPDATE: I promised a while back to see if I could get a look at the Boston Herald story -- where Kerry says he remembers spending Christmas, 1968 in Cambodia and hearing President Nixon deny that troops were there -- in original form. The quote's genuine, and here's an image. Sorry it's a bit hard to read: it's a scan of a fax of a photocopy of a microfilm, sent to me by a helpful reader who works at the Herald.
But what's really interesting is the context -- see the full scan here -- which is all about Kerry's Vietnam experiences as they relate to Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. Unlike Al Gore and Love Story, Kerry doesn't claim that the movie is about him -- but he sure draws parallels. In fact, the passage that everyone has been quoting actually reads like this, when you include the prior sentence that people haven't been including:
On more than one occasion, I, like Martin Sheen in "Apocalypse Now," took my patrol boat into Cambodia
In fact, I remember spending Christmas Day of 1968 five miles across the Cambodian border being shot at by our South Vietnamese Allies who were drunk and celebrating Christmas. The absurdity of almost being killed by our own allies in a country in which President Nixon claimed there were no American troops was very real. But nowhere in "Apocalypse Now" did I sense that kind of absurdity.
So Kerry's Vietnam experience was like Apocalypse Now, only it was more so.
How much this adds to the debate isn't clear to me -- but in case anyone was doubting the provenance of this particular quotation, well, I'm satisfied now that its authenticity, if not its veracity, is pretty clear.
Presumably, some big-time journalists are even now interviewing people and combing the records to see if this version of Kerry's 1968 Christmas was correct. (For other, inconsistent, versions, click here.) And for those -- apparently unclear on my age and suspecting me of draft-dodging -- who want to know where I was spending my Christmas in 1968, it was in Heidelberg, Germany. I got a train, and an SST model kit.
Ok, I mis-read that. I guess he meant "News", so it's only 80, now. Not as fast growing, then...
Go to this FR link to see this Boston Herald article scanned into FR forever.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1188739/posts?page=79#79
Thanks to S.O.L. for finding this orginal artical and thanks to Meekonegop for scanning into a reply. Now It will not disappear.
This needs to get to our media and the Swift Boat Vets.
But Bill O'Bloviator says it's no big deal--a mere misstatement.
Billy Bob- "We were laughing all the way, Kerry was always in Cambodia during Christmas"
All of this goes to the character of this guy - oh, NO not another Mr. Bill! In researching this Swiftboat issue we have overlooked another group of Navy folks who may be able to add information. HAL-2 was a light helo squadron who provided overhead cover to Swiftboats along the Mekong. These men attacked everything in front of these moving boats and along the banks. They were first to be called when the boats took fire. Perhaps we can flush out some of those Naval Aviators to help in this effort? I went to flight school with several of these guys and flew missions in Vietnam with the USMC. God bless Hugh Hewitt for his efforts in exposing this fraud - will be hear "No,legal authority" before this is over?
meta name=target content="military record, cambodia, vietnam, military service"
I heard that he was very much a loner when he was in the Swift Boats. That he spent most of his time in his hooch writing. People were wondering what he was writing. Could it have been the "Great American Novel" with himself as the starring character, later to be played out in front of the Senate and MTP and Cavett... all the biggies? The world wonders.
I also remember a quote from Hillary's enabler, who up to that point in his life I admired deeply, Senator Moynihan. He said of Al Gore's candidacy in 1998, "The man is entirely unelectable"
DPM was just about the last Adiccus Finch type, learned individuals with an awesome command of world history. Sure he was liberal in many cases, but he was intellectually honest in all cases until he sold his soul to the she-devil. I will spend the rest of my life wondering just why?
My pajamas may be big enough for a Geo Metro, but not for an Apollo craft.
RATS are frozen on this issue. Lame explanations like: 'What's the big deal, it was just a little hyperbole,' don't work because when Kerry was saying these things upon his return from Vietnam...when he was trashing vets, and Nixon was battling charges by RATs that he was invading Cambodia. This is serious stuff. Kerry lied repeatedly. Rush said yesterday that Kerry was imploding. Panic setting in over at DU and RAT headquarters? This bogus war hero record is Kerry's raison d'etre for running. The RATs didn't have anyone else who'd been anywhere near a gun, other than Hillary eating that turkey last Thanksgiving. They were counting on Kerry to trump Bush's aircraft carrier picture. This could be the beginning of the end of Kerry's campaign. Hillary's already warming up in the wings.
Talk of a Kerry and the missus shouting match today. Mama T. is tired of campaigning. Well, Kerry should have foreseen this. Either they up her meds or top up her glass more often. But keep her talking. The dynamic duo are the funniest thing since Howie Noneck Dean. Maybe that's the problem. Kerry's peaked too soon, and Mama T. is bored.
Brit Hume alluded to smears against Nixon at the time, RATs saying he planned to invade Cambodia...this is one reason why Kerry's lies were so damaging and important. (Other than the fact that he smeared honorable American soldiers, dead and alive.)
So what do RATS do now? Tiptoe away from this? Hope nobody mentions their candidate is a liar? It will come up, though, on Sunday shows, on SNL, in newspaper columns, and in voters' minds. This is really bad news for Kerry. He's in deep doodoo.
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