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 ...
Same tired old war-plan. The democratic talking points haven't changed since impeachment.
Heheheh.... Let the Dems eat their own
The graphic shows Alston as the 50 cal gunner. Has it been definitively established that he, rather than Fred Short, was the gunner on 13 March?
Hey! Some guy named Rood who works for the Chicago Tribune is going to come out with his story tomorrow and he claims that he was on the third boat. Is his name anywhere in this story?
O'Neill said that he begged Dobbs to interview
approximately 50 SBVFT who were in Washington, D.C.
early last week.
Dobbs refused.
I wonder why?
This graphic also states under #3 that at 9:45am Kerry was wounded attempting to destroy rice reserve with grenade.
This wounding is what earned him his 3rd Purple Heart, this supports what the Swiftvets have said all along that Kerry's 3rd PH was awarded under false pretense. The medal commendation itself says Kerry was wounded and bleeding from schrapnel from the mine explosion. And only Kerry and his crew say there was a second mine, the other vets say there was never a second explosion.
Excellant point. On another thread I mentioned my mother's first husband. He was a National Guard vet of WWII and Korea. He died of injuries received in Korea.
She gets really PO'd when the Dems attack W's Guard service.
Add to that the thousands of Guard and Reserve that are currently serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia and you have a considerable number of people (they have families) who aren't going to take too kindly to the attacks. Further, the hypocricy of Clinton the draft dodger being A- OK with the Dems and MSM and we may be witnessing one of the dumbest campaign blunders of all time.
Rood's story is already up.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1196258/posts
Different incident. He was at the Silver Star incident.
For example, Kerry refuses to release his diaries and a 1971 book proposal because of some alleged agreement with Douglas Lewinsky. Kerry has denied access to the PCF-94 boat log maintained by Medeiros (Douglas Lewinsky has seen it). Also, Chenowith has a diary that he will not release but that he read parts to the reporter.
Also, we learn that Kerry's Navy file consists of at least 100 pages, but that a FOIA request by The Post resulted in only six pages being released. The Post reiterates that Kerry will not authorize the release of that file nor his Navy medical records.
And The Post does their first in depth reporting on the Christmas in Cambodia fraud with a sidebar article.
Last but not least, Kerry refused to be interviewed for this article.
this story is actually pretty hard-hitting, considering it's source...have we ever seen the WaPo run anything that has brought up this many points of contention without dismissing them entirely?
I smell smoke...
And, now the witness to the Silver Star has his story out there and also refuses to be interviewed.
WHAT A COINCIDENCE
you made me go back and look!
sidebar mentioned:
A Record Questioned
Members of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have challenged several aspects of John F. Kerry's military record in addition to his account of the March 13, 1969, mission on which he was awarded the Bronze Star; Kerry's campaign has vigorously defended his record. Among the events at issue:
Kerry's first Purple Heart
What Kerry has said: On a predawn patrol, as he and other sailors were firing on suspected Vietcong, a "stinging piece of heat socked into my arm and just seemed to burn like hell," meaning he had taken a small piece of shrapnel.
What his challengers say: Kerry took a tiny fragment of shrapnel when he fired an M-79 grenade too close to his boat, inflicting his own wound, which was trivial. Self-inflicted wounds are ineligible for Purple Hearts.
What available military records say: A medical report on Kerry's injury was signed by J. C. Carreon, not Louis Letson, the doctor who treated Kerry, according to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Letson says that Carreon, a Filipino corpsman, routinely drew up reports on his behalf.
Christmas in Cambodia
December 1968
What Kerry has said: Over the years, he has repeatedly said he was illegally ordered into Cambodia during Christmas 1968. Last week, his campaign issued a statement saying he was in Cambodia but did not specify a date.
What his challengers say: At the time, Kerry was stationed in an area about 50 miles from the Cambodian border, and he never entered that country then or at any other time during his service in Vietnam.
What available military records say: Kerry's boat at the time, PCF-44, was 40 to 50 miles south of the Cambodian border at 7 a.m. on Christmas Eve. With a cruising speed of 23 knots, the boat could have reached the border in about two hours, but there is no archival evidence it did so.
Kerry's Silver Star
Feb. 28, 1969
What Kerry has said: While in command of a three-boat mission, his Swift boat was ambushed; he ordered his men to beach the boat so he could pursue the attacking Vietcong; a teenager with a grenade launcher popped out of a hole a few feet away; one of Kerry's men shot and wounded him in the leg, but he ran; Kerry, fearing the youth was trying to get far enough away to fire a grenade, chased him and shot him dead.
What his challengers say: Kerry's conduct was neither extraordinary nor medal-worthy; the decoration was based on false and incomplete information that Kerry provided and was not properly reviewed; ordering the craft beached reflected poor tactical judgment.
What available military records say: The Silver Star citation describes the beaching of the boat and says, "Without hesitation Lt. Kerry leaped ashore, pursued the man behind a hootch and killed him, capturing a B-40 rocket launcher with a round in the chamber."
SOURCES: "Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War" by Douglas Brinkley; "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry" by John E. O'Neill and Jerome R. Corsi; the Los Angeles Times; and military records on the Kerry campaign Web site.
The only thing of interest imo is their account of how Kerry "sacrificed" 10 pounds of socks and underwear in his baggage in order to carry his typewriter.Fighting a Phony War
Because the real events would picture Kerry as a coward bugging out and leaving the other boats. They HAVE to change this part of the story.
Contribute to and support the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth at http://swift1.he.net/~swiftvet/index.php
Just sent them $25.
I've read the posts on this thread and guess I get the idea now. The "press" can say and do whatever they want. Private citizens are to be muzzled.
Still, I wish someone with a widespread voice would make the connection between Kerry telling his inner circle that it was "time to go after this" on Wednesday night and the Washington Post running the first hit piece Thursday morning and the New York Times running its pathetic expose Friday . . . with Sunday's papers further devoted to "going after this."
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