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Kerry's Lie Number 1: "I volunteered for service in Viet Nam." The truth: Kerry joined the Navy after his request for a draft deferment was denied to study in France. He joined the Navy because it offered a officer's commission and it would avoid getting drafted in the army and the dangerous jungles of Viet Nam.

Kerry's Lie Number 2: "I volunteered for service aboard a swift boat." The truth: Kerry's first duty was in June 8, 1967 when he reported aboard the USS Gridley (DLG-21), a a Leheay-class guided missile frigate. Ensign Kerry was assigned duty to head the Deck Division. This division was considered the lowest in the rank of status. The boatswain's mate was commonly known as a "deck ape" in the Navy social order. How much beneath his dignity Yale graduated Kerry must have thought to be working with a crew of foul-mouthed, hung-over, disrespectful, and low-class "deck apes."

From Feb. 1968 to June 1968, the USS Gridley was deployed to do plane guard duty in the Gulf of Tolken. This duty would follow an aircraft carrier to rescue (or recover) pilots in case a plane goes into the water. The Deck Division was responsible for the deployment of the motor whaleboat used for the downed pilots. It was this time that Kerry requested swift boat duty. It would serve two functions: Kerry would be able to (1)prove himself as the commander of his own boat. This would give his better duty in later duty assignments. and (2) it had a relatively safe function: inspecting and boarding sampans in the South China Sea. However, suddenly the function of the swift boat shifted suddenly to highly dangerous river patrol. It was for this reason that Kerry began looking for a way out of a dangerous eight month tour. In about three months he was able to succeed not only getting out of Viet Nam duty early, but also taking away from the experience a medal cache that would insure he got something better than watching over a division of "deck apes".

Of the 15 members of Skull and Bones, an extraordinary bond formed between the four on their way to Vietnam: Kerry; Thorne; Fred Smith, a Kerry flying partner who would later found Federal Express; and, Pershing, Kerry's close friend since age 13.
All four could have used their connections to avoid or at least delay military service. (Michael Kranish Boston Globe June16,2003)

When he approached his draft board for permission to study for a year in Paris, the draft board refused and Kerry decided to enlist in the Navy.(Harvard Crimson,Feb18,1970)
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Oh what a web we weave when once we practice to deceive.