"The Bronze Star recommendations for both Kerry and Thurlow were signed by Lt. Cmdr. George M. Elliott, who received reports on the incident from his base in the Gulf of Thailand."
You don't suppose Elliott wrote what he did based on what Kerry told him? If that is what happened, as far as this story is concerned, there is no there there.
Lt. Cmdr. George M. Elliott is listed in Unfit for Command as one of us.
The article resolves nothing and supports the swift boat vets' accounts in key points - while hiding it in a cloud of obfuscation. What we need to concentrate on is not allowing the mass media spin on this or any other swift boat vets allegations interfere with the FACTS about Kerry's actions. And interferance is exactly what they're running here. We don't need spin. We need KERRY'S records, KERRY'S records to prove whether the allegations are true or not.
I need to go to bed.
That is exactly what Elliot says! He was presented the report by Kerry and he made the mistake of believing him. Nobody realized until years later what had happened! That's (one of many reasons) why the SwiftVets are so ticked! and it is the same reason why Thurlow didn't know Kerry had done this and why he - of all people - feels shame over the receipt of that medal because of its taint by Kerry.
It would be interesting to compare the language of each citation to see if they were the same, or if they seemed to be written independently.