Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Vietnam vets rally against Clackamas County prosecutor (Kerry Goons want Swift Vet Al French Fired)
The Oregonian ^ | 24 August 2004 | DAN HORTSCH

Posted on 08/24/2004 11:49:52 AM PDT by Stultis

click here to read article


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-111 last
To: Stultis

They should look to see if all these Vets against French are actually Vets.

French is unlucky in that he is operating in nutty Oregon.

Swifties from Kansas, SC, VA and other places will get nothing but "atta boys."


101 posted on 08/25/2004 6:29:01 AM PDT by faithincowboys
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: George W. Bush
We don't have the affidavit, but in the link to the Oregonian that you provided above, that newspaper wrote this:
The biography, written by Douglas Brinkley, says Kerry suffered two injuries that day. The first was a shrapnel injury to his buttocks from a grenade that was thrown into a rice bin to destroy food caches for Viet Cong soldiers. The second, for which he received the Purple Heart, was for an injury to his right arm from an enemy mine explosion, according to the book.

French also said Kerry lied about their unit's record in Vietnam. The two men were in the same division for two months in early 1969. He said Kerry's claims after he returned home that the unit engaged in "atrocities" are false.

That item refers to the assignment in Jan 1969 to Coastal Division 11 at An Thoi where Kerry becomes commander of one of their swift boats, PCF 94. This from Frontpage magazine describes the organization of a Coastal Division of Swift Boats:

Kerry’s four-month tour of duty was with Coastal Division 11, a small naval unit of roughly a hundred sailors and fifteen to sixteen boats, where Kerry spent most of his time. These boats operated in even smaller groups of two to six and, quoting O’Neill: “Each of these boat officers operated directly with John Kerry on numerous occasions.”

These guys would hang out together, eat together, bunk together, dock together, party together, have unit functions together, etc.

French and Kerry were part of this same unit. They overlapped for 2 months (half of Kerry's very short 4 months), and French would have had more than ample opportunity to both observe Kerry and hear first hand accounts about Kerry.

I would love to see French's affidavit to see if he is clear about this. Remember....only 5 of these 100 sailors would have been on Kerry's boat.

102 posted on 08/25/2004 7:01:31 AM PDT by xzins (Retired Army and Supporting Bush/Cheney 2004!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 100 | View Replies]

To: George W. Bush
An affadavit by attorney can be an excited utterance? Come on.

You're really not so good at reading are you?

A person giving an affidavit can mention in the affidavit something that he heard a third party say in an excited state.

I.e. a statement like: "I was walking along the street and Joe came running out onto the sidewalk bleeding and screamed 'Bill shot me!'" is an exception to the hearsay rule because Joe's statement was an excited utterance.

Excited utterance has nothing to do with the mental state of the testifying party.

103 posted on 08/25/2004 7:30:52 AM PDT by wideawake (God bless our brave soldiers and their Commander in Chief)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 68 | View Replies]

To: ILBBACH
Were Americans being sent to Viet Nam after 1/21/69?

Yes. Not nearly as many as previously and many more were being withdrawn while they were being sent, but yes.

104 posted on 08/25/2004 7:33:15 AM PDT by wideawake (God bless our brave soldiers and their Commander in Chief)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 65 | View Replies]

To: George W. Bush; Stultis
This is the actual affidavit. Found at: French Affidavit

ALFRED FRENCH'S AFFIDAVIT

Saturday, August 21, 2004

The following is the sworn affidavit of Alfred J. French III, signed July 21, 2004:

"My name is Alfred J. French III. I am over the age of 21 years, and I am fully competent and able to make this affidavit. I am able to swear, as I do hereby swear, that all facts and statements contained in this affidavit are true and correct and within my personal knowledge or belief.

"I served in Coastal Division 11 with John Kerry during his brief stay in Vietnam. My picture may be found (against my wishes) on John F. Kerry's ("Kerry") website, www.johnkerry.com, under his Lifetime commercial, where John Kerry includes my picture along with 18 other Patrol Craft Fast ("PCF") (also known as Swift boats) commanders in An Thoi along with him during his service there. I am a retired Captain in the United States Navy Reserve and was an Ensign when serving with Kerry.

"Kerry has wildly exaggerated and lied about his record in Vietnam. By way of example, on two occasions Kerry obtain Purple Hearts under false pretenses from negligently self-inflicted grenade wounds in the absence of hostile fire. His first Purple Heart is the subject of widespread coverage. Thus, for example, his third Purple Heart of March 13, 1969 is attributed in his report of that day to a "hip wound" from an enemy mine while he himself admits on page 313 of Tour of Duty (by Douglas Brinkley; New York: Harper Collins, 2004) that he was wounded supposedly by a grenade placed in a rice bin by friendly troops. Kerry's commercials, for example, portraying him as a soldier with bandolier going through the jungle totally mischaracterizes his actual role in Vietnam.

"Most important to me, Kerry has lied about our record in Vietnam, claiming on a 1971 Meet The Press show that our unit was engaged in "atrocities." This is not true. On the Dick Cavett Show on 1971 (cf. Kranish at 92), he claimed that crews at An Thoi were involved in a mutiny. This was likewise a lie. There are many other lies that Kerry has told about his record and our mutual record in Vietnam.

"Further affiant saith not.

"Alfred J. French III"

Paragraph 1: No problem at all.

Paragraph 2: No problem at all.

Paragraph 3: Problem with the "lied" accusation is the subject of discussion. Actually, in that paragraph, I've highlighted where French says his knowledge of these events come from Kerry's own book...note the word "thus." I have no problem at all with the last sentence. This is easily based on French's own experiences with the uniforms that they wore at that time. There is absolutely NO WAY he could successfully be prosecuted for that paragraph. I doubt the case would be pursued...except for political vendetta.

Paragraph 4: No problem at all. Easily based on his own experiences.

105 posted on 08/25/2004 7:37:01 AM PDT by xzins (Retired Army and Supporting Bush/Cheney 2004!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 102 | View Replies]

To: TheDon
Isn't this about the time the liberals would be whining about a "chill wind blowing"?


106 posted on 08/25/2004 8:15:40 AM PDT by Stultis
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 76 | View Replies]

To: xzins

Thanks! I tried to find that but had no luck. (Swiftees should have all these available and easily located on their site since their willingness to come forward and make charges in their own names is one of the primary indications of their veracity.)


107 posted on 08/25/2004 8:19:15 AM PDT by Stultis
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 105 | View Replies]

To: xzins
Interesting find and good observations.

I notice that the previous descriptions were that it was a 3-page affidavit. This isn't that big. But maybe it had a cover page or seperate pages to attest to witnesses or something. I'd like to see that PDF that they had on SwiftVets.com and that they pulled down, just to make sure that something hasn't changed. Otherwise, why pull it?

I bow to your superior googling in any event. And French isn't the issue here anyway. It seems to me that the rest of the Swifties have to be taken more seriously for the events that they personally witnessed.
108 posted on 08/26/2004 6:38:47 AM PDT by George W. Bush
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 105 | View Replies]

To: George W. Bush; P-Marlowe

I've had occasion to see on of these affidavits recently, and they use an excessive amount of paper. Each page had a large header and footer section, and I want to say it was triple-spaced, but maybe it was the font made a double space look exceptionally large.

I agree...all that and a cover page, and I could see someone describing it as three pages.

Marlowe's a lawyer -- perhaps he's seen these things stretched out over a lot of paper....maybe for the sake of clarity.

But, I'd guess they pulled the original pdf to ensure it remained intact without change due to the legal issues that French was confronting.


109 posted on 08/26/2004 7:02:02 AM PDT by xzins (Retired Army and Supporting Bush/Cheney 2004!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 108 | View Replies]

To: xzins

ping....


110 posted on 08/26/2004 7:05:33 AM PDT by pointsal
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 109 | View Replies]

To: xzins

Good work.


111 posted on 08/28/2004 12:40:00 PM PDT by mtntop3 ("He who must know before he believes will never come to full knowledge.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 105 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-111 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson