Posted on 08/24/2004 11:49:52 AM PDT by Stultis
OREGON CITY -- The clash between Vietnam veterans over Sen. John Kerry and critics of his war record heated up several degrees Monday as a group of vets called on a Clackamas County deputy prosecutor to resign.
"He's hurt a lot, a lot of people," Don Stewart, one of the organizers of a rally on the Main Street steps of the county courthouse, said of Alfred French. "It opens up a lot of wounds. . . . This is personal."
Stewart of Oregon City and Don Kirsch of Canby drew about 45 people to a rally to criticize French, a senior deputy district attorney who said in an affidavit that Kerry lied about his service record. French later admitted his sworn statements were based on the accounts of others.
French's comments have been used in anti-Kerry ads by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group of Vietnam veterans who have said the Democratic presidential candidate lied about or exaggerated his actions during Swift boat river duty in 1969.
The ad campaign has become a national issue, and French's admission to The Oregonian last week that his signed affidavit was not based on personal observations raised the emotional level of the veterans-versus-veterans debate in Oregon.
Respect for combat veterans
French was wrong "to disrespect fellow combat veterans," said Kirsch, 51, a disabled Marine veteran, who said he still has nightmares of his service.
John Prescott, an Army veteran who lives in the Canby area and attended the protest, criticized the anti-Kerry ads and what he called "a small group rewriting history in such a negative way."
His concerns, he said, have led him to become active in Veterans for Kerry.
Stewart, 58, a Navy veteran, estimated that the courthouse event included about 30 veterans that he and Kirsch had contacted.
During the rally, Stewart read a letter he and Kirsch wrote in which they tell French he should resign because he has lost the trust of county residents.
"We question your fitness to serve as an enforcer of the law after swearing to facts in a legal affidavit that you do not know to be true," they wrote.
They urged others during the rally to join them in signing. Stewart later said about 60 people have done so.
Kirsch said French has a right to criticize Kerry "as a concerned veteran" but should not have signed a sworn statement based on secondhand information. "He's told lies and hearsay evidence," Kirsch said.
French did not return a telephone message asking for comment.
District attorney defends rights
John S. Foote, Clackamas County district attorney, said in a printed statement that he personally disagrees with French's viewpoint, but that "all of our employees have the right to their own opinions" and to express those opinions on their own time.
Foote, who said the office had received numerous angry calls and e-mails -- many demanding that French be fired -- reiterated that French has "earned a reputation as a trusted and respected member of the office."
He added, "Sometimes good people just honestly disagree."
Dan Hortsch: 503-221-8223; danhortsch@news.oregonian.com
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."
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.
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.
Yes. Not nearly as many as previously and many more were being withdrawn while they were being sent, but yes.
ALFRED FRENCH'S AFFIDAVITSaturday, 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.
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.)
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.
ping....
Good work.
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