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Alston Never Served Under Kerry
Captain's Quarters ^ | 8/14/2004 | captain ed

Posted on 08/14/2004 7:15:31 AM PDT by stayout

For those of you who have not been fully following the Swift Vet's story, one of Kerry's traveling entourage (David Alston) claimed he was under Kerry's command on a PBF and found Kerry to be a great leader. He even gave a speech to that effect at the Democratic National Convention, where he said the following:

I know him from a small boat in Vietnam, where we fought and bled together, serving our country. There were six of us aboard PCF-94, a 50-foot, twin-engine craft known as a "Swift Boat." We all came from different walks of life, but all of us-including our skipper, John Kerry-volunteered for combat duty. And combat is what we got.

However, one intrepid blogger now has proven that to be a lie, Alston never served under Kerry because Alston was wounded and out of action before Kerry took command of Alston's boat. Here is the final bit of proof (published early this morning), I suggest you go to Captain's Quarters to find all the previous analysis leading up to this astonishing coup de gras (pass the word):

Alston Never Served Under Kerry

Thanks to reader Lori in Texas, I think we've just about pieced the record together on David Alston and his supposed service under John Kerry's command. Lori points out a sympathetic article on Dale Sandusky, one of the few Swift boat veterans supporting Kerry and one that served on his boat, specifically gives the timing on Kerry's command of PCF-94:

In January 1969, Sandusky's boat, PCF-94, came under attack during one such ambush. Lt. Ted Peck, the officer in charge, and another crewman were seriously wounded. Sandusky had to take command. The boat was sinking and on fire, but Sandusky steered it back to safety. They counted 155 bullet holes in the boat and found a live enemy rocket in the main cabin. It had come to rest in a sack of potatoes.

For his actions, Sandusky would receive the Bronze Star.

With their officer headed home, the crew of PCF-94 needed a leader. And Lt. j.g. John Kerry, whose crew on PCF-44 had rotated back home, needed men to lead.

"I was sure glad he came along," Sandusky said, "because to be honest, I didn't want to take command."

From Jan. 30 to March 13, 1969, Kerry and the crew of the PCF-94 would conduct 18 missions in the Mekong Delta river system. In that time, Kerry would earn a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and add two Purple Hearts to the one he received earlier.

Bingo! Yachtzee! Alston received his serious wounds in that same exact battle that took Peck out of service. On January 29th, Alston was medevaced out to a hospital with head wounds and no records indicate that he ever returned to the unit. Kerry took command of PCF-94 the next day. Alston never served a day under Kerry's command. In fact, Kerry received a replacement, Fred Short, on 28 February as a replacement for Alston.

Now what does that tell us about Kerry and his Viet Nam narrative?

1. He and Alston conspired to deceive people about Alston's service under Kerry. That conspiracy was intended to give John Kerry cover against exactly the kind of campaign he faces from the other Swiftvets.

2. The "end of January" language on Kerry's website was intentionally vague in order to fuzzy up the timeline and keep Alston's true status a secret. Obviously, Sandusky remembers the dates well enough, and Kerry could easily have gotten them from him if he wanted to be as specific as his other dates on the timeline.

3. The DNC either were saps or actively participated in the conspiracy in order to assist Kerry in his Viet Nam mythology. Otherwise, why would they have allowed David Alston to speak at the convention about his experiences serving with John Kerry on the boat?

4. Kerry's band of brothers have some complicity in this cover-up as well. Those who served on PCF-94 surely remember that Alston never served under Kerry; Sandusky specifically recalls Peck being wounded and removed from command, but he wouldn't remember that Alston left at the same time?

5. One could argue that they served on the same boat, of course, and I look forward to that Clintonian parsing used in Kerry's defense. After holding Alston up as an expert on his leadership, he'll be hard pressed to explain how that expertise came to Alston from a hospital bed miles away from Kerry and his old PCF.

If this gets out to the mainstream media, this story kills Kerry's campaign. This isn't just a guy embellishing his war record -- this is a deliberate and longstanding attempt to mislead and defraud people by creating his own witnesses after the fact. That he could have done such a clumsy job should disqualify him for higher office on that basis alone.

Posted by Captain Ed at August 14, 2004 01:25 AM



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To: spycatcher
Thanks for your referenced post. From that post I snagged the following US News picture of Alston speaking at the DNC, which again shows how severely he was injured in January 1969, and how utterly unlikely it is that he could have reported back to duty aboad PCF-94 before Kerry left command of PCF-94 on March 13, 1969:


41 posted on 08/14/2004 7:43:03 AM PDT by stayout
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To: stayout
The picture in the thread here last evening had Alston standing on the boat with the other boat mates and Kerry.

However the picture looked doctored and that was the point of the discussion.
42 posted on 08/14/2004 7:46:24 AM PDT by stockpirate (Kerry and The Taxocrates must be defeated! "Kerry wasn't in Cambodia before he was in Cambodia.")
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To: Cboldt

I can't take credit for this but read somewhere that it is said that:

Truth is to Democrats what kryptonite is to Superman. They can't exist in the same room.


43 posted on 08/14/2004 7:47:03 AM PDT by Peach (The Clinton's pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
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To: stayout
From that post I snagged the following US News picture of Alston speaking at the DNC, which again shows how severely he was injured in January 1969

You can't unequivocally determine the extent of the wound judging by the size of the scar. The thead started by "The Bandit" includes a well documented medical angle, inclding links to pictures showing scars the size of a thumb due to an ear piercing.

Be careful with the conclusion that Alston didn't serve with Kerry. That isn't the crux of ANY of the Swiftee's arguments.

44 posted on 08/14/2004 7:47:37 AM PDT by Cboldt
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To: stayout

So Alston's wound date is nailed down, the day before JK arrived but did he ever return to the crew ?


45 posted on 08/14/2004 7:47:46 AM PDT by 1066AD
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To: dennisw
The picture raises a couple of questions doesn't it?

If Alston was replaced on 28 February 1969, how does he end up back on the boat two weeks later?

The picture gives the impression of heat. Two of the men are in T-shirts, two are without shirts. Alston is wearing a black T-shirt and a camoflaged shirt. It just appears odd.

46 posted on 08/14/2004 7:47:48 AM PDT by Enterprise
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To: stayout
There was speculation about this on THIS thread
47 posted on 08/14/2004 7:48:56 AM PDT by MamaLucci (Libs, want answers on 911? Ask Clinton why he met with Monica more than with his CIA director.)
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To: The Bandit

ping


48 posted on 08/14/2004 7:50:20 AM PDT by MamaLucci (Libs, want answers on 911? Ask Clinton why he met with Monica more than with his CIA director.)
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To: stayout

bump


49 posted on 08/14/2004 7:50:35 AM PDT by dalebert
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To: stayout

bttt


50 posted on 08/14/2004 7:52:09 AM PDT by Christian4Bush (I approve this message: character and integrity matter. Bush/Cheney '04)
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To: dennisw

Am I right that the men stand away from Kerry in every service photo from back then?


51 posted on 08/14/2004 7:53:02 AM PDT by Lady Jag (Used to be sciencediet (aka Tad Rad) but found the solution)
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Evidence Shows Crewmate Rev. Alston Never Served Under Sen. Kerry <-- Link

See especially - posts 99 & 100

This "Alston did not serve under Kerry, or be injured in an action when Kerry was present" angle is still not crystal clear in my mind. Again, it is also not the crux of any of the Swiftee's claims, and none of the Swiftee's claims depends on either assertion.

52 posted on 08/14/2004 7:53:08 AM PDT by Cboldt
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To: dennisw

Another question which arises now that I saw Alston's picture at the convention, is that in the convention picture it does show a huge scar, but in the boat picture there is no evidence of injury. I realize that it is possible that the boat picture angle might not show any scarring, but it is still curious.


53 posted on 08/14/2004 7:55:12 AM PDT by Enterprise
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To: stayout; The Bandit
FYI ping ... sound familiar??
54 posted on 08/14/2004 7:55:21 AM PDT by Mo1 (Kerry & Edwards .... they will leave no Special Interest Group behind)
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To: Josh in PA
Get this out to Drudge and the rest of the boys.

Just sent it to Matt...

55 posted on 08/14/2004 7:56:11 AM PDT by pookie18
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To: stayout
Thought from the start that this man's story was deliberately vague.

Also his comment that he would do anything for Kerry because "Kerry put his hand on my shoulder and asked me if I was okay"......

Makes no sense on the face of it, unless I am just unable to decipher nuance.

56 posted on 08/14/2004 7:56:12 AM PDT by OldFriend (WAR IS THE REMEDY OUR ENEMIES HAVE CHOSEN)
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To: nuconvert

You left out the T on your post #17


57 posted on 08/14/2004 7:57:50 AM PDT by OldFriend (WAR IS THE REMEDY OUR ENEMIES HAVE CHOSEN)
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To: Bandit

Please repost your thread and comment on this, thanks!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1189173/posts


58 posted on 08/14/2004 7:58:43 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (I'm a donor to the Swift Boat Vets fund. Have you donated? If not please do it now!)
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To: Cboldt
But it is Sandusky, a PRO Kerry vet, that provided the timeline proving that Alston couldn't have served on Kerry's boat.

..... January 1969, Sandusky's boat, PCF-94, came under attack during one such ambush. Lt. Ted Peck, the officer in charge, and another crewman were seriously wounded. Sandusky had to take command. The boat was sinking and on fire, but Sandusky steered it back to safety. They counted 155 bullet holes in the boat and found a live enemy rocket in the main cabin. It had come to rest in a sack of potatoes. For his actions, Sandusky would receive the Bronze Star.

With their officer headed home, the crew of PCF-94 needed a leader. And Lt. j.g. John Kerry, whose crew on PCF-44 had rotated back home, needed men to lead.

"I was sure glad he came along," Sandusky said, "because to be honest, I didn't want to take command."

From Jan. 30 to March 13, 1969, Kerry and the crew of the PCF-94 would conduct 18 missions in the Mekong Delta river system. In that time, Kerry would earn a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and add two Purple Hearts to the one he received earlier.

Bingo! Yachtzee! Alston received his serious wounds in that same exact battle that took Peck out of service. On January 29th, Alston was medevaced out to a hospital with head wounds and no records indicate that he ever returned to the unit. Kerry took command of PCF-94 the next day. Alston never served a day under Kerry's command. In fact, Kerry received a replacement, Fred Short, on 28 February as a replacement for Alston. e served on Kerry's boat.

59 posted on 08/14/2004 7:59:48 AM PDT by MamaLucci (Libs, want answers on 911? Ask Clinton why he met with Monica more than with his CIA director.)
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To: dennisw
Is this photo [March 1969] semi-staged where some served under Kerry and Alston was an add on for political correctness.

That's the contention. That Alston was never a member of the crew on a boat that Kerry commanded.

60 posted on 08/14/2004 7:59:55 AM PDT by Cboldt
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