Kerry War Diary Exposes Purple Heart Hoax

Greg Garrison Show | Ignatz

[Ignatz]

Presidential hopeful John Kerry has based his campaign bid for the US Presidency on his Vietnam war-hero status and his three Purple Hearts.

On the Garrison Show (WNDE, Indianapolis) this morning, a guest announced that soon-to-be-released excerpts from a diary kept by Kerry will shed doubt on his first Purple Heart. Apparently, Kerry notes in the diary that he did not come under actual enemy fire until days after being awarded the medal.

The diary was made available to a left-wing journalist named Cockburn who was apparently more angered by Kerry's participation in various atrocities in Vietnam than by what the diary proves of Senator Kerry's allegedly "illegal" Purple heart commendation. The information has been sent to Drudge, Fox News, and various other news organs.

Developing........

[Cboldt]

The first Purple Heart was never attributed to enemy action. He misfired a rocket in a training exercise. There's nothing here.

The report that Kerry put in for his 1st PH included a statement that there was enemy action. Accidents don't get PH's.

Kerry's journal is rumored to contradict his PH report, in that 9 days after the events of the 1st PH, Kerry writes that they have not yet encountered enemy fire.

[Shermy]

Have you read this? Cockburn clearly indicates that he read the diaries (or part, maybe)

Hail, the Conquering War Criminal Comes! - What Kerry Really Did in Vietnam

[Safetgiver]

He got shot before he got unshot....wait,...not shot.

[Southack]

"Have your friends read Unfit for Command and then observe the smear compaign against it."

Is that book even shipping yet?! No, I can safely say wtihout even asking them that they haven't read it. It just struck me as interesting that both of them were clearly getting word of Senator Kerry's exaggerations from sources other than the mainstream media. These two guys who emailed me today are apolitical. They do *not* pay attention to politics. They do read the sports page in the local paper (both are from different regions, however).

5 Legislative Days Left Until The AWB Expires

[dcwusmc]

Ain't that just the truth!?!!!

[Question_Assumptions]

Normally, I'd agree that what Kerry did in Vietnam 35 years ago doesn't matter. But in this case, he's made his service 35 years ago the keystone of his campaign, to the point that he's ignoring his service as Lt. Governor, Senator, etc. It's Kerry that made it important and Edwards that challenged people to talk to the men who served with Kerry. They brought it on themselves.

[Grampa Dave]

"L "Cockburn", "news organs". BWHAHAHAHAHA"

Isn't it amazing that we don't even have to make this stuff up. They do it for us!

[Williams]

"John Kerry has based his campaign bid for the US Presidency on his Vietnam war-hero status"

Never ceases to amaze me that a guy who was there 4 months and asked to get out asap would be billed as a war hero. Plus, even accepting his versions of events he did nothing exceptionally heroic. I would tend to believe that every soldier who saw action in a tank in the Iraq war did as much and saw as much fighting as Kerry.

[SunkenCiv]

LOL!

George W. Bush will be reelected by a margin of at least ten per cent

[Blood of Tyrants]

The Tennessean has yet to even print the word "Swiftboat".

[jetson]

"This just gets worse and worse Johnny."

[Bob]

It's merely my own personal opinion that attacking Senator Kerry *personally* for his actions while in uniform 3+ decades ago is a bit much. Other opinions will obviously and fairly differ with mine.

I guess we'll just have to disagree on that point. Our opinions do differ.

I don't consider it a personal attack to expose his actions in fraudulently acquiring awards for political purposes. His doing so dishonored those who legitimately earned their medals.

[Question_Assumptions]

The book is out and apparently needs a second printing. I had no trouble finding a copy in New Jersey but some Freepers are finding none in stores in "Red States". It's a short book and a compelling read. Buy a copy and give it to them. I had a college room mate who told me that he didn't believe the press was biased. I had him watch the Republican National Convention in 1988 on television and then watch the news coverage. Within a few days, he said, "You're right. The press is biased." This book, and the way it is being handled, illustrates bias at a profound level. They are letting Kerry's advocates get away with easy-to-verify lies about the book without question.

[finnigan2]

If this went to Drudge there ain't going to be no spike, but I don't believe this story for one minute. The Kerry diary, if it did contain such a sentence, would be kept in a sealed mayonnaise jar down Sandy Bergers pants with Mc Auliffe acting as a bodyguard.

[mattdono]

I'm not even in favor of going back so far for a current political campaign

Good point. It is precisely the reason that what Kerry or Bush did 30 years ago.

Bush has proved what he is capable of. He has lead this country through one of the most tumultuous times in our history and we are not yet clear from what threatens. The guy hasn't done everything right in the last 2 years.

But, at least Bush has actually been at work. Kerry has been so wrapped up in his quest for power that he hasn't even marginally discharged his duties and responsibilities as a Senator.

Then, you look at what Kerry has actually done in government and it doesn't even resemble leadership...certainly not the leadership of a free, capitalist society. As Garth said, "Live in the NOW!"

Seriesly though, one has to think that perhaps the Kerry campaign is relishing talking and arguing over the past. It may just be 1 giant Red Herring to avoid talking about Kerry's actual record. What think?

Everytime a Republican or Bush-support criticizes Kerry actual record, they pull out "John Kerry is a war hero, has a Silver Star, 3 purple hearts, etc." and re-focus the debate on 30 years ago. The democraps have forced the debate to be about John Kerry's service.

Interestingly, this gives them two distinct benefits: 1) it avoids the discussion about his actual public service (or lack thereof) and 2) allows them to call Bush, Cheney and anyone that remotely agrees with Bush as being "mean-spirited" (a pasttime that liberals and demoSCUM have enjoyed for decades).

I just can't believe that the throughly investigative media present in this country isn't sleuthing through this story left and right....oh, wait a second...I was in Bizarro world for a second there. Breathe....

[COUNTrecount]

[malakhi]

Well, I'll believe this post when I see the excerpts, and Kerry admits they're from his war diary.

Well obviously he lied to his diary (aka the Josh Steiner Defense).

[sweetiepiezer]

This story does indeed have legs and they are walking, walking, walking.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

[Wild Irish Rogue]

" Hail the Conquering War Criminal Comes ,"

Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair July 29, 2004
http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn07292004.htm

Cockburn is a far lefty, anti war- who despises President Bush.

" Kerry sustained a very minor wound to his arm, probably caused by debris from his own boat's salvoes.
"The scratch earned him his first Purple Heart, a medal awarded for those wounded in combat."
"Actually there's no evidence that anyone had fired back, or that Kerry had been in combat,
as becomes obvious when we read an entry from his diary about a subsequent excursion,

written on December 11, 1968,
nine days after the incident that got Kerry his medal."

"A cocky air of invincibility accompanied us up the Long Tau shipping channel,
because we hadn't been shot at yet, and Americans at war who haven't been shot at are allowed to be cocky."

I have just begun "Unfit for Command, " so I may be wrong, but, I believe the following info from Kerry is contradicted by O'Neill.


"Craving more action, Kerry got himself deployed to An Thoi, at Vietnam's southern tip,
one of the centers for the lethal Phoenix sweeps and the location of a infamous interrogation camp which held as many as 30,000 prisoners."

"Kerry's first mission as part of the Phoenix program was to ferry a Provincial Reconnaissance Unit of South Vietnamese soldiers,
which would have been led by either a Green Beret or CIA officer."
" After off-loading the unit Kerry hid his Swift boat in a mangrove backwater."
" Two hours later a red flare told them that the PRU wanted an emergency "extraction"."
" Kerry's boat picked up the PRU team, plus two prisoners. The leader of the PRU team told Kerry that while they were kidnapping the two villagers (one of them a young woman) from their hut,
they'd seen four people in a sampan and promptly killed them."
" The two prisoners were "body-snatched" as part of a regular schedule of such seizures in the victims would be taken to An Thoi for interrogation and torture."

"Kery's term to Brinkley for such outings--and there were many in his brief--is "accidental atrocities".

"On occasion we had shot towards the border when provoked by sniper or ambush, but without fail this led to a formal reprimand by the Cambodian government and accusations of civilian slaughters and random killings by American 'aggressors'."

" I have no doubt that on occasion some innocents were hit by bullets that were aimed in self-defense at the enemy, but of all the cases in Vietnam that could be labeled massacres, this was certainly the most spurious."

"Our orders", he tells Brinkley a few pages later, "were to destroy all the hooches and sampans we could find."

"As part of Operation Sea Lords Kerry would ferry Nung tribesmen on assassination missions."

[CyberAnt]

Hmmm? I think there's a scripture in there somewhere .. about how GOD confused our enemies and the enemies turned and devoured each other. I could live with that.