yeah... the old draftsmans berak trick hoping they could slip it by. i'd like to know how far he REALLY did run away since he said it was a 5000 yard ambush he went through!!!
Posted on 08/21/2004 8:41:10 AM PDT by Pikamax
Swift Boat Accounts Incomplete And Flawed Clashes Roil Kerry Campaign
By Michael Dobbs Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, August 22, 2004; Page A01
When John F. Kerry rescued James Rassmann from the Bay Hap River in the jungles of Vietnam in March 1969, neither man could possibly have imagined that the episode would become a much-disputed focus of an American presidential campaign 35 years later.
For Kerry, then a green and gangly Navy lieutenant junior grade and now the Democratic challenger to a wartime Republican president, that tale of heroism under fire has become integral to his campaign. A centerpiece of public rallies, videos and a new campaign advertisement last week, it has helped distinguish the candidate from his Democratic primary rivals and from President Bush, who spent the war at home as a member of the Texas Air National Guard.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
It was in the Congressional Record January 28, 1998.
Try this site for a link. I tried it but am having trouble with the pdf file.
http://beldar.blogs.com/beldarblog/2004/08/kerrys_belodeau.html
From
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r105:1:./temp/~r105SbPlnD:e45:
If the link dosen't work, go to thomas.loc.gov and you can search the 105th congress for
THOMAS M. BELODEAU (Senate - January 28, 1998)
Kerry-
"There was the time we were carrying special forces up a river and a mine exploded under our boat sending it 2 feet into the air. We were receiving incoming rocket and small arms fire and Tommy was returning fire with his M-60 machine gun when it literally broke apart in his hands. He was left holding the pieces unable to fire back while one of the Green Berets walked along the edge of the boat to get Tommy another M-60. As he was doing so, the boat made a high speed turn to starboard and the Green Beret kept going--straight into the river. The entire time while the boat went back to get the Green Beret , Tommy was without a machine gun or a weapon of any kind, but all the time he was hurling the greatest single string of Lowell-Chelmsford curses ever heard at the Viet Cong. He literally had swear words with tracers on them! "
Note that Kerry claims is was HIS boat that was blown 2 feet out of the water...and noone was injured except he bumped his elbow...
That's damned odd. The campaign has not said one word about "Vietnam issues" except to say Kerry served honorably as did George Bush during that era. Your concern is vastly misplaced and ill-conceived. Sorry to be harsh but such off the mark comments must not stand.
and not the most important issue - which cannot be denied - Kerry's voting record.
That is what the campaign is addressing, in fact.
yeah... the old draftsmans berak trick hoping they could slip it by. i'd like to know how far he REALLY did run away since he said it was a 5000 yard ambush he went through!!!
I agree with you. I wasn't refering to the Bush campaign focusing on Vietnam. I know they are staying away from that issue. I only meant that the Vietnam issue is what is what "people" are talking about, i.e. pundits, the media, radio talk, etc. I haven't heard a word about Kerry's record being discussed except in the Bush ads. I should have worded my comment better.
Did you catch this one from Kerrys website -
http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0117d.html
According to this, Rassmann was not even ON Kerrys boat.
They cannot even keep the story straight on their own site.
That is true. We cannot get overconfident or complacent here. The Dems will use the lie, deny, and discredit strategy all the way to election day. We still need a very strong turnout on election day. The Dems will show up and vote regardless of any polling results, and stuff thousands of extra votes into the ballot box. But it looks like Bush will achieve a comfortable electoral victory, although the popular vote may be close.
RS pointed out Kerry's press release, on his own website ...
http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0117d.html <-- Link
January 17, 2004
Kerry Reunites with Fellow Veteran in Iowa
Veteran says Kerry saved his life in combat; has not seen him since 1969
For Immediate Release
Des Moines, IA - Former Lieutenant John Kerry was reunited today with fellow Vietnam veteran Jim Rassmann, who says Kerry saved his life during combat.
On March 13, 1969, Rassmann, a Green Beret, was traveling down the Bay Hap river in a boat behind Kerry's when both were ambushed by exploding land mines and enemy fire coming from the shore. Kerry was hit in the arm, while a mine blew Rassmann's boat out of the water. With enemy fire coming from both sides of the river and swift boats evacuating from the area, Kerry's crew chose to turn their boat toward the ambush to save Rassmann.
"We were still under fire, and he was wounded at the time...," recalled Rassmann. And with his boat's gunners providing suppressing fire, Kerry extended his wounded arm into the water and the two lieutenants locked arms.
Kerry and Rassmann have not seen each other since 1969. Yesterday, Jim Rassmann called John Kerry's campaign headquarters and said: "I saw that John is in another tough fight, and I want to lend a hand."
Rassmann, a retired Los Angeles county sheriff who now lives in Florence, Oregon, flew to Iowa this morning to reunite with Kerry. Kerry, with fellow veterans around him, said he was moved by Rassmann's decision to come to Iowa.
"I remember the day and the moment we last met; the lingering bond between us comes from the shared experience of our service," Kerry said. "I told Jim what I tell the thousands of veterans I have met in Iowa: As president, I will never--ever--forget your service." Kerry added.
Has any one stepped up and actually asked them what the heck this version means ?
Someone must be interviewing Rassmann today .... Has anyone on the Kerry side explained or even been asked about this ?
The media hasn't noticed that Kerry's stories on the event are wildly inconsistent. Sort of like they didn't notice "Christmas in Cambodia, 1968 while Nixon is President." The information is out there, the media has its own agenda, and that agenda is NOT truth.
At some point, somebody in the media will be confronted with Kerry's changing stories. I trust the Swiftees to point it out. It is amazing that much of their argument is Kerry "Official Record from 1969" vs. Kerry biography in 2004.
Just noticed this -
"...ambushed by exploding land mines ..."
Did anyone ever tell Kerry he should keep his boat in the water to avoid the LAND mines ?
Boy did I ever need that! Thanks!
You're welcome. A later thread included a scenario which attempts to reconcile all the different versions as much as possible, and it put forth an interesting suggestion: Rather than Kerry's boat hiting a "second mine" (and the small damage to Kerry's boat makes that unlikely), what may have actually occurred is that while running full throttle away from the one-and-only mine hit on PCF-3, Kerry's boat hit a submerged treestump or sand bar or whatever (the river is not deep in that area), causing a major *bang* on his boat and lurching it so that Kerry fell into the doorframe and bruised his arm, and jolting Rassmann over the side. Meanwhile, this would not have been obvious to the other boats (none of which were near Kerry's at the time), as an actual mine blast would have been, which could be why the people on the other boats insist that there was no second explosion.
This scenario sounds pretty plausible to me. And it doesn't help Kerry, while at the same time it boosts the credibility of the Swiftvets.
Here's another version for the collection (spot report written by KJW)
www.johnkerry.com/pdf/jkmilservice/SpotReports_March1969.pdfHow could fire have continued for 5000 meters if Kerry took a hard left turn to help PCF3?
Spot Reports for March, 1969 [pdf: 301kb]GR. PCF 23 JOINED AT CAI NUOC. PCFS WITH MSF EMBARKED DEPARTED CAI NUOC AT 1445H PROCEEDING DOWN BAY HAP. AT VQ 995770 MINE DETONATED UNDER PCF 3 LIFTIN BOAT ABOUT 2-3 FT OUT OF WATER. VERY HEAVY BLK SMOT OBSERVED AT SAME TIME BOATS RCVD HEAVY A/W AND S/A FROM BOTH BANKS. FIRE CONTINUED FOZNABOUT 5000 METERS. TWO OTHER MINE EXPLOSIONS OVC RVED. ALL BOATS AND MSF RETURNED FIRE A D ATTEMPTED ASSIST PCF 3. PCF 94 PICKED UP MSF ADVISOR WHO WENT OVERBOARD. 94 TOWED PCF 3 AS BUCKET BRIGADE CONTROLLED FLOODING. PCF43 TOOK ALL WIA TO USCGC SPENCER DOR TREATMENT. PCF 94 AND 51 ASSISTED PCF 3. LCVP ITH D/C PARTY WAS IMMEDIATELY DISPATCHED FROM WASHTENAW COUNTY. BOAT DAMAGE SEPARATE MSG. SPOTTER AIRCRAFT IN AREA SPOTTED AND RF/PF CAI NUOC FIRED 4.2MORTAR AFTER BOATS CLEARED. ONE SECONDARY EXPLOSION VICINITY WQ 010782
How could fire have continued for 5000 meters if all boats stopped dead in the water to assist PCF3?
This report says there were a total of 3 mine explosions, but does not mention any of them being in the proximity of PCF94.
A separate report filed by Kerry that day reports extensive damage to PCF94 (same link as above).
Many have concluded that this report describes the damage to PCF 3 caused by the mine explosion, not PCF94.
Not really. Now that there are a million other questions about his Vietnam service the media wants to focus on just one controversy in hopes that they can manage the problem. If they make it the only issue and it goes away, then the rest go away, too. It's time to change the subject on the Kerry bozos. I don't want to talk about his Vietnam service anymore, now I want to talk about what he did for 18 months after he got home.
Not so very detailed if Rassman neglected to mention WHY he was along for a ride.
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