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.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.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.
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
IF they were looking into the sun, it would
1) make shadows BEHIND them.
Ergo, it is a fake, consistent with Kerry and his ilk.
I believe that Gardner was on PCF-44 (his earlier boat, December through January 28-29) rather than PCF-94. I'll try to find a link to confirm that.
A FReeper physician pointed out that the "wound" shown in that picture is really not evidence of major head wound. The same sort of thing can happen with a mere ear piercing, and a photo was provided to show that.
We need documentation of Alston's whereabouts in the 30 Jan to 28 Feb time frame. If he was transferred out of country for further treatment, there will be orders indicating that. If he was sent to a hospital ship, there might or might not be such orders.
Ergo, it is a fake, consistent with Kerry and his ilk.
I got it! The spuds were ammo for their potatoe gun. I've read about these weapons here on FR. They leave a nasty red welt, and, if the VC weren't wearing their safety goggles, they can put yer eye out.
I imagine the DOD was experimenting with this type of ordinance because it is silent, and thus, ideal for secret missions to Cambodia.
Dream on.
Even if someone discovered proof positive that Kerry never went to Vietnam and just made the whole thing up (1) it would never get out to the mainstream media, and (2) even if it did, the media would help him spin it so that it wouldn't cost him a single vote.
The shadows ARE beind them, you can see them because of the angle of their heads.
PLEASE give this up, you are starting to sound like those people who say we didn't go to the moon because of the shadows in the pictures.
You are becoming a major embarassment here.
Enjoy your ad hominems. They have no salt.
I've got some suspicions that the picture wasn't taken on a Swift boat. I could be wrong but it just looks a bit too roomy based on other pictures I've seen of the Swifts. Pure speculation on my part: The picture was taken while they were on some sort of utility craft rather than on a Swift.
That was the first thing that came to my mind. Vietnam is quickly becoming a quagmire for Kerry.
Was that the one invented by Dan Quayle?
Interesting that the picture was provided by and appears on the website of Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry. Are they in on it too?
I think you might be right. The 3 on the left are looking into the camera, the 2, including Kerry are looking elsewhere. They are BOTH looking elsewhere is what makes me think you're right. I think the insert is Kerry and the guy next to him.
Dang! I've been exposed. Now the whole world knows the true identity of Homer_J_Simpson.
do you notice the shadows in the pictures dont all move in the same direction . they must have some special sun movements in that part of the world.
Or that the sun was very nearly overhead, and which ever side the head is tilted toward will be in shadow. This would still be true if it was near solar "noon" and they were facing south. The photo was taking in mid March, when the sun would have been over the equator, more or less. The Mekong River, that portion in Vietname that is, is located is only about 10 degrees above the equator, so the sun would have been only about 10-12 degrees below the zenith. (Background doesn't look like the Mekong but rather the ocean. However Even Cam Ranh Bay is only a few degrees farther north)
...? And you feel publicly mocking John Effin' Kerry's ever-changing recountings of his 'Nam years to be "retarded" because...?
Alston served on Kerry's boat in exactly the same manner that O'Neill did...when Kerry wasn't there, Alston before and O'Neill after. If they claim Alston has some kind of priviliged knowledge, then so does O'Neill.
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