Posted on 08/19/2004 12:50:51 PM PDT by gilliam
Statement by Navy Veteran Van Odell, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, in Rebuttal to Michael Dobbs, Washington Post, August 19, 2004
A courageous, soft spoken man of the Midwest, Larry Thurlow has a heart bigger than the great plains and a commitment to truth and honesty that is boundless. He is under attack, because John Kerry is feeling the heat of truth at the hands of this honest man and others like him.
The Kerry Campaign is attacking the truthfulness of this man and the Bronze Star he so richly deserves for his actions on March 13, 1969. I was there. I saw what happened.
The mine’s detonation lifted PCF-3 completely out of the water just yards ahead of me. All boats commenced suppression fire in case enemy small arms fire ensued. None did.
All boats came to the aid of PCF-3, except one: John Kerry’s boat. Kerry fled.
Larry Thurlow piloted his boat straight toward the mine-damaged PCF-3 from which thick, black smoke billowed. He jumped aboard and personally led damage control operations that saved the boat and rescue operations that saved the lives of badly wounded men. Larry’s leadership was in the highest traditions of the naval service. His leadership allowed the other men and boats of the mission to exit the river safely.
This “single act of meritorious service” – the chief requirement of the Bronze Star – should be honored, not ridiculed, by the Kerry campaign and its allies in the mainstream media.
To reiterate, only one enemy weapon was deployed that day – the command-detonated submerged mine that disabled PCF-3. Larry Thurlow’s citation contained references to “enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire,” because that was the language chosen by John Kerry who penned the “spot report” on the action that day. There was no “enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire” received that day. John Kerry’s report was fiction – a hoax on the entire chain of command.
Larry Thurlow’s heroism and meritorious service, however, is real. To me Larry is one of the heroes of our country. He is a man who served his country when called and who returned home to be a productive citizen. Larry and men like him are the strong backbone of our society. I am proud to have served with him.
I heard O'Neill on the radio the other day and he said he, and many of the other Swiftee's, are Democrats but that he couldn't let that liar and phony Kerry become President without speaking up.
I love it when the Dems go after other Dems!
Nader is finding out how viscious the Dems can be also.
DemoRAT feeding frenzy!
However, I still support the Swift Vets even if some are DemoRATs.
From Drudge:
SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH TO RELEASE NEW TV AD // latest television ad from Swift Boat Veterans for Truth will be released tomorrow at 10:00 am. The ad will begin airing next week in select markets... Developing...
The correct course of action is to basically circle the wagons around the wounded vessel. By fleeing you leave the disabled boat in the open so that whoever is on the shore has a "sitting duck" target.
The reason they travelled in groups was so that if one boat were attacked, the other boats would give cover to rescue the attacked boat. The protocol was for the boats to circle the damaged boat and to engage in laying down fire in all directions while attempting to rescue the crew from the damaged boat. By fleeing, Kerry cut off at least one direction in which the other boats could lay down fire. He also reduced the number of guns available to lay down cover fire for the rescuers.
LOL...Fox News just reported that
Kerry basically dared them [the SBVfT] to keep up their 'attacks' " ...I turned to Hubby and said "I THINK they'll take him up on that dare"
I saw a cryptic message on another thread that the new ad features POW survivors from the Hanoi Hilton.
Can we obtain a copy of the "After Action Report" under the FOIA?
But according to G.I. Gigolo's report, and Rassman's corroboration...Kerry went 5 KILOMETERS away, then turned and came back after all the heavy lifting was done!
Funny that no one else seemed to need 5 Klicks of "clearance"!
When danger reared its ugly head
John Kerry turned his tail and fled
Brave brave John Kerry
LOL I am hopping all over the place myself trying not to miss anything!
Not getting much done today!
LOL, I got to this thread far too late. see my #149.
"I didn't! I never!"
"But according to G.I. Gigolo's report, and Rassman's corroboration...Kerry went 5 KILOMETERS away, then turned and came back after all the heavy lifting was done!
Funny that no one else seemed to need 5 Klicks of "clearance"!"
That's a 10K round trip - just how fast were these boats?
I thought I heard that Rassman went under water 6 or 7 times to avoid the incoming(?) fire and then Kerry swooped in to save the day just before one of the boats that didn't leave the scene. Seems he only took 6 or 7 breaths while Kerry covered 10K - is that possible?
.
I just saw Larry Thurlow being interviewed by Chris Matthews. It was a disgusting display by Chris. I cannot imagine any undecided voter watching that show and not feeling that Chris was beating up on a very nice elderly true gentleman. Chris was acting like a cutthroat lawyer, utterly disrespecting Larry and trying his best to confuse him. UGH!
John Kasich didn't do much better with him. John is subbing for O'Reilly. Guess we will have to wait for Hannity to give the guy a chance to tell it like it really was.
Allies in the mainstream media? All-lies is more like it.
AUDIO BLOWS KERRY'S LIES OUT OF THE WATER.
KERRY OVERWROTE HIS AFTERACTION REPORT EMBELLISHING HIS REPORT FOR HIS SUPERIORS.
HE GOT BRONZE STAR AND PURPLE HEART DUE TO SELF INFLICTED WOUNDS.
I hadn't heard this; Gardner came back from DC with a situation report (SITREP) from the Navy archives for the incident with the sampan. Kerry declared there were 4 enemy who "jumped off the boat and ran ashore" in addition to those KIA. He also declared the small boat (30' long canoe like) had 5500 LBS of contraband (meaning the weight of a good size automobile).
Gardner has some kind of SitRep [Situation Report] that the Kerry supporters haven't seen. This SitRep apparently contradicts Kerry regarding the shooting of the family on a boat. The Rassman Bronze star/PH incident had to generate more than 1 SitRep - there were 5 swifts there - and these guys have the documents to prove that Kerry filed false reports.
Gardner: There is absolutely no way Kerry went up the river into Cambodia, because the river had barriers in it that made entry impossible.
Kerry is screwed.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1194251/post
"My name is Steve Gardner. I served in 1966 and 1967 on my first tour of duty in Vietnam on Swift boats, and I did my second tour in '68 and '69, involved with John Kerry in the last 2 1/2 months of my tour. The John Kerry that I know is not the John Kerry that everybody else is portraying. I served alongside him and behind him, five feet away from him in a gun tub, and watched as he made indecisive moves with our boat, put our boats in jeopardy, put our crews in jeopardy... if a man like that can't handle that 6-man crew boat, how can you expect him to be our Commander-in-Chief?"
-- Steven Gardner http://swift1.he.net/~swiftvet/index.php?topic=SwiftVetQuotes
Steve Gardner (Swift Boat Vietnam Veteran) Audio
Swiftboat Full Bronze + PH + SCambodia Story
LISTEN HERE:
http://www.wbt.com/hancock/index.cfm Look on this page.
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Generally, the "Award" describes Action in which the Recipient KILLED someone.
Most Soldiers are NOT PROUD of their "Kills."
Most "Medal Recipients" WILL NOT DISCUSS the "Circumstances" under Which They were awarded a Medal.
The Contrast between Legitimate "Medal Recipients" & Mr Kerry's Actions is STARK!!
IF "Mr Kerry" were a "True, Medal-Recipient War Hero," He would have "Kept His Mouth Shut!!"
Sorry, Guys,--John Kerry's "Heroism" SMELLS!!!
Doc
That's not exactly accurate. The reason for what they're doing is to help re-elect President Bush and to make sure that Kerry isn't elected. That's a good goal, and what they're doing is certainly necessary, but they certainly have something to gain: a second term for the Presidential candidate they prefer.
I think you are wrong here. There are Republican and Democrat swift vets. Their point is not the re-election of President Bush but pay back for Kerry's betrayal of all vets after he came home. That episode in history left very deep scars to many vets and the hatered of him and others like him runs very deep.
Payback is a b*#*#..
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