| John Kerry's Mysterious Combat “V” |  |
FrontPageMagazine.com | August 20, 2004
Posted on 08/20/2004 4:48:54 AM PDT by SJackson
| John Kerry's Mysterious Combat “V” | |
One Vietnam vet with nearly forty years of military service who retired as a major, spurred on by the revelations in our book, and, in his words. “having seen hundreds of DD 214s” (a veteran’s Record of Transfer or Separation), recently decided to take a close look at John Kerry’s DD 214, which is posted on his website. What the major called to our attention, which we have since verified, raises some extremely troubling questions about John Kerry’s Silver Star. Keep in mind that the Silver Star is the third-highest medal our Nation can bestow (after only the Medal of Honor and the three service “Crosses”).
Kerry's DD 214 lists a Silver Star with a combat “V” (for valor). As the major correctly observes, the “V” is never awarded with the Silver Star. But the actual wording on Kerry’s DD 214 (see www.johnkerry.com) is: “SILVER STAR WITH COMBAT ‘V’.”
There is an abundance of anecdotal evidence that a combat “V” (called a “Combat Distinguishing Device”) is simply not awarded with a Silver Star. For example, a former Vietnam War POW told us that he has “three SSs, and there was no V for any of them.” Countless other Silver Star recipients all say the same thing. Why? Because, among other reasons, it would be redundant to award a Silver Star for “gallantry” (the statutory term) and then embellish it with a “V” for valor.
Most conclusive, however, is that the law is very clear about the award of Combat Distinguishing Devices. According to the Navy Awards Manual:
Bronze "V" (Combat Distinguishing Device).
Prior to . . . 1974, the "V" was authorized for wear on the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal and Navy Achievement Medal. Between . . .1974 and . . . 1991, the "V" was authorized for wear on the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal and Navy Commendation Medal. [In] . . . 1991, the "V" was authorized for wear on the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. In all cases, the Combat Distinguishing Device may only be worn if specifically authorized in the citation. See also http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Valor_device.
Because the “V” is authorized for only the ten awards cited above, but not for the Silver Star, Kerry’s Silver Star citation (the “explanation” of why the award was made) does not even mention the “V” for valor (see www.johnkerry.com).
The presence of the combat “V” with Kerry’s Silver Star on his DD 214 raises two extremely disquieting questions. How did the unauthorized “V” get there, and why has Kerry allowed it to remain?
The first question should not be taken lightly because we are talking about possible federal crimes. We are talking about the possibility of a forged official document. We are talking, as well, about Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001, which states: “[W]hoever, in any manner within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the United States, knowingly and willfully . . . makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years or both.”
Was the combat “V” added by a sloppy clerk or a yeoman’s typo thirty years ago? Was someone pressured or persuaded to add it? If Kerry had nothing to do with the gratuitously added combat “V,” why didn’t he have his DD 214 corrected when he was separated from the Navy?
Which gives rise to the second disturbing question: If Kerry was not a party to the unauthorized “V,” why, for all these years, has he allowed his DD 214 to remain uncorrected and to repose on his website?
In light of the recent Swift Boat revelations and the cloud they have cast over Kerry’s awards, one plausible answer is that this is yet another example of Kerry’s multiple, and increasingly transparent, lies about his alleged heroics in Vietnam.
Let’s hope it won’t take a controversial TV spot to spark a mainstream media investigation of how candidate Kerry received an unearned “V” for valor.
Henry Mark Holzer [www.henrymarkholzer.com; hank@henrymarkholzer.com], Professor Emeritus at Brooklyn Law School, specializes in federal appeals. Erika Holzer [www.erikaholzer.com] is a lawyer and novelist. They are co-authors of “Aid and Comfort”: Jane Fonda in North Vietnam.
With Kerry it is one more thing that isn't right! By itself the "error" on the DD214 may be no biggie, but with Kerry where everyday he changes his story it is a big deal.
(My opinion of course)
My husband served in the Korean Conflict nothing obviously to do with Vietnam, but he cannot stand the sight or sound of Kerry, he said he is a traitor if not to the country then to the people still serving and those that were POWs at the time he was before the senate.
Most interesting. A federal document has possibly been altered or forged. Surely no clerk would make a mistake like that, it's adding something totally illogical to a military record.
He got 6 medals and threw 10. What a liar.
It could easily have been a mistake. They're typed up one after the other. I can't imagine altering a DD214 over something like this. But like most of the Kerry medal issue, it would be so easy to put to sleep. He was an ambitious (politically, not in terms of a military career), opportunistic officer, doing his duty thirty five years ago with a bit of embellishment for the girls back home. Big deal, he wasn't Chesty Puller, most aren't. But he can't bring himself to that conclusion, and there the character flaw lies. IMO a man very uncomfortable with his past.
Seems odd to me that Kerry never attended any specialized service schools or courses during his enlistment, at least
none are listed.
A Silver star and advanced courses are typical rungs of the ladder, but it seems JFnK had a different ladder in mind.
You're right, his "career" was going nowhere. I think it's fair to assume that while JFnK was climbing a political ladder of his own ambition, if he had had career ambitions in the Navy, his superiors, weren't about to advance them.
Ironically, Hackworth, who went after Boorda (perhaps deservedly), and who is refraining from criticizing Kerry, seems to have forgotten he didn't go to Ranger school, and got caught with an undeserved Ranger tab.
Integrity and the truth matter a lot. It turns out that the "Ministry of Forgiveness" guy who goes around apologising for naplaming that girl in the famous picture could not have ordered pizza, much less an air strike, at the time.
Kerry has a very similar history of regretting on our behalf, on the basis of inflated and fictional experiences.
I didn't mean to sound like a smart aleck -- I just am not familiar with the rules for such things. I notice, however, that ALL of the vets who have pointed this out are irate about this lapse! This is viewed as far more serious than a typo.
BUMP FOR SWIFT VET AD2... http://www.swiftvets.com/
and yet 35% of veterans still poll for Kerry
Tell that to Admiral Boorda.
Boorda's dead, Jim.
Were you in during that period? The guys who handled my records (Army) were often guys on a detail like KP or guard duty. Why try to corral this smoke when there are substantial issues to deal with?
Boorda's dead, Jim.
Yes, Boorda died precisely over the issue of a falsified Combat V.
"Trivial" is in the eye of the beholder.
Were you in during that period? The guys who handled my records (Army) were often guys on a detail like KP or guard duty. Why try to corral this smoke when there are substantial issues to deal with?
Did one of them during "that period" happen to be a SECNAV named "John Lehman"? John Lehman was SECNAV from 5 Feb 1981 - 10 Apr 1987 yet his signature is what is on Kerry's Bronze Star citation for something that happened in Vietnam in 1969.
Is the Combat V annotation to the Silver Star a Vietnam era mistake or a post-Vietnam era embellishment for the benefit of civilian voters who don't know any better?
Whether we like it or not, in our democracy, elections turn on trivialities such as if JFK looked better than Nixon on TV because Nixon refused to wear make-up or whether Dukakis looked like a dork while riding a tank.
This embellishment might seems like a "trivilaty" but it is one more piece of evidence in a pattern of behavior.
The "substatial issue" here is the credibility of John Kerry and how Kerry lies until he gets caught.
For example, earlier Kerry campaign biographies correctly stated that he was discharged from the Naval Reserves in 1978.
Howver, now that such a date looks bad considering his anti-war activities in the early 1970's, the Kerry biography has now been falsified and is being dutifully reported by the Associated Press as follows:
Thanks for your information. I just found out that one of my grandmother's brothers won the Silver Star in WWI. Now I'm ging to have to check this out and see what I can find out.
Several of my uncles were in WWII. Several received awards and decorations, None would talk about it, nor did the survivors of those who died.
I did not even know that my uncle who was just out of boot camp and stationed at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 was on the first ship out of the harbor when the bombing started. They fired at the planes with rifles from the dick of their destroyer (The Detroit). He never told the story or collected any decorations. He always said they weren't important to him.
I know he was wounded later in the war and spent time in the hospital, but he wouldn't talk about it.
The only way I know about Pearl is that several family members happened to be on a trip together and we took the tour boat out to the Arizona Monument (he never had wanted to visit Hawaii again, but his wife talked him into it as a stop on the way to China). The tour guide recounted the episode and the credit that was given to men of USSN Detroit for their bravery for leading the other ships out of the Harbor, thus saving some of the Navy.
I looked over at my uncle because we knew that that was his ship, and he was quietly weeping. I was shocked because he was such a big strong, accomplished man. He went from being a rowdy 17 year old volunteer recruit to being a man on one fateful morning in December, 1941.
John Kerry is a wimp compared to my uncles.
bttt...
I can't go along with this one. When I was applying for VA benefits in the 70's the VA official laughed and said, "Son, your DD214 is just a mess of mistakes!" I was worried and asked him if that was a problem? He replied, "No, 90% of them are. But you have to remember, the poor clerk filling them out in a dark tent, lit only with candles, using a manual typewriter, was doing the best that he could."
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