Posted on 08/21/2004 8:50:15 AM PDT by Pikamax
CHICAGO, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- "There were three Swift Boats on the
river that day in Vietnam more than 35 years ago -- three officers and 15 crew
members. Only two of those officers remain to talk about what happened on
February 28, 1969.
"One is John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate who won a Silver
Star for what happened on that date. I am the other."
(Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040821/CGSA002-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040821/CGSA002-b http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040821/CGSA002-c
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040821/CGSA002-d )
So begins William Rood's compelling account of events that happened more than 35 years ago. The article appears in the Sunday, August 22 edition of the Chicago Tribune. Rood, now night city editor for the Chicago Tribune, earned a Bronze Star for his part in the operation. Rood has chosen to break more than three decades of silence in defense of the men who served alongside him. "It's gotten harder and harder for those of us who were there to listen to accounts we know to be untrue, especially when they come from people who were not there," Rood writes. "What matters most to me is that this is hurting crew men who are not public figures and who deserved to be honored for what they did. "My intent is to tell the story here and to never again talk publicly about it." William Rood's complete account will appear in the Sunday, August 22 edition of the Chicago Tribune, available Saturday in Chicago and online at chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune Managing Editor James O'Shea said Rood has refused all interview requests up to now, including some from the Tribune's reporters. "Bill is a modest man and he didn't want his harrowing combat experiences to become engulfed in a political campaign. "As the coverage of Senator Kerry's war record has intensified, though, Rood decided to come forward with his story, primarily, he says, because Kerry's critics are telling stories that Rood knows to be untrue. The false accounts are casting doubts on the actions of those men who served with and under Rood, men who are not public figures running for president but brave, ordinary Americans, war veterans whose courage, Rood believes, should not be diminished by a heated political campaign."
NOTE: William Rood will not be available for further comment or interviews. Deputy Managing Editor George de Lama and reporter Tim Jones are available.
SOURCE Chicago Tribune
Anyone know where I can find a copy of the Kerry campaign's FEC filing from yesterday?
The age, condition, and other details surrounding the single VC he killed are irrelevant to that point of contention. Once again, the DEMs are attempting to change the subject of the argument.
Rood not being willing to comment further says all that you need to know. He does not want to address the point of contention.
LOL
Notice the timing........they trot this out in time for the Sunday talk shows.....they are trying to change the subject again....from the second ad..
I am willing to wait for O'Neill's statement on this. O'Neill has been one step ahead of the Kerry gang.
A newspaperman who doesn't like responding to other reporters' questions? Who would've thunk it.
So "Bill" gets the final word, huh? Whatever he says, goes. Guess we'll see if this guy is a scumbag. IF he refutes 250 other vets in this sneaky "no further comment" way, then he is the ultimate scumbag. A typical DNC-mouthpiece newspaper mouse from the big city.
Personally, it already sounds to me like Rood is a scumbag and he is setting himself up to look like a liar.
The subject material from both ads in in play. Kerry has not addressed the substance of either ad. He can't, so he attacks the messenger or the process. Good technical tactics, but bad politics.
I hope the media handles the Swiftees CLEAR communication, that Rood's article does not address the point of contention. Get those points of contention out there, and concede details regarding irrelevant side shows.
I guess he'll stick his fingers in his ears and hum to avoid questions.
Bite me. If you want to make a statement and call your fellow soldiers liars, you will be asked questions about your account.
You can choose not to answer them. Just sit there in silence like an idiot.
Chicago Tribune-- "We're just to the left of the NY Times!"
That story is about the Silver Star which the SBV's have never challenged. They may be stepping in a big pile of poopoo by drawing attention to the medal that was "revised" and issued by Secretary of the Navy, Lehman, in 1986. Kerry has some 'splainin to do about that!
Sorry, I cannot believe anything from anyone connected to the LIB-UNE!
Whether the swiftvets are right, wrong or indifferent makes no difference.
The spotlight is now on Kerry's activities at home during the war. His actions were inexcusable.
After those activities are fully publicized, they can move on to his record as a Senator.
William B. Rood Jr. (*WCAS64, GJ65) of Naperville, Ill., is editorial vice president for Fox Valley Press, which publishes four daily newspapers and weeklies in northern Illinois*WCAS Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Liberal Arts/ GJ Graduate Journalism
Da Nang is a loooong way from Dong Tam....lol
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