Let me first thank you for your service. I sincerely appreciate it, as do I sKerry's. However, While the decision to serve is noble, it is not, in and of itself, heroic. Keep in mind that sKerry only volunteered to prevent from being drafted--after his application for a deferment to study en Francois was denied. I seem to recall that he is on the record as saying he did not want to experience combat, that he chose the Navy, and avoided following in his father's footsteps by avoiding aviation, in order to avoid combat. He was looking at three options: be drafted, dodge the draft, or volunteer. The safe and honorable thing for him to do was to volunteer.
He certainly didn't go for the $.
Of course not. One can't reasonably expect to find a billionaire wife in a combat zone.
I refuse to believe he did it for the "fame."
Remember, he was running for the presidency as far back as prep school at least--anyone who knew him knew that because he told everyone that he would be the next JFK. He volunteered for swift boat duty so that he could follow in JFK's footsteps by "commanding" a small boat. When he volunteered, I believe the swifties were limited to coastal duty, but that mission changed to include the inland duties to which sKerry was assigned. I would assume that coastal duty was at least somewhat less hazardous--more open landscape with gooks only on one side of you, as opposed to a more closed landscape with the potential for gooks being all around you. I think there's no question that sKerry made a calculated decision to capitalize on the fame of his service. His exaggerated and fabricated reports, his filming reinactments of his combat exploits (you gotta admit--that's more than a bit bizarre), his flaunting of his medals, and his numerous telling of sea stories since all testify to this.
I'm glad to hear you're not a sKerry supporter. I was thinking you might be one of those paleoliberals. Thanks again for your service--o noble, albeit sometimes illogical, one.
Just the facts. Enough BS.
A.Kerry didn't know Teresa existed in 1968.
B. He did in fact, volunteer. Period. I don't give a damn what his reasons were. Check out why many join the French Foreign Legion. Who knows, who cares. He volunteered. That is a fact.
C.So what if he looked up to JFK? Many did. Cliff Robertson played him on the Big Screen. Idolized by many. I see nothing wrong there. Many joined the Marines and some may have idolized John Wayne. Did it make them any less Marine?
D.These boats were nothing more than RPG magnets. Humvees without tires. They presented a large, crisp target. Safe duty?
Lastly, you pick apart his record based on what you have read here, there, and everywhere. Were you In-Country? A friend of mine has a Harley with a bumper sticker that I dearly love. It simply says,"VIETNAM, IF YOU WEREN'T THERE JUST SHUT THE F UP!"
> Keep in mind that sKerry only volunteered to
> prevent from being drafted ...
Also, word is that when he signed up for swifts, they
were not at that time being used on combat-likely
missions. That changed before his deployment.
By contrast, F-102s were, but were later withdrawn
before GWB would have been sent to VN.
It appears that George and John had exactly opposite
initial expectations of going in harms way when they
signed up. Don't expect the White House or the DNC to
bring this up. Anyone who cares will need to do their
own independent research.