KERRY BACKTRACKS ON PURPLE HEART

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ^ | August 24, 2004 | Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

[Nick Danger]

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

KERRY CAMPAIGN BACKTRACKS ON FIRST PURPLE HEART AWARD

Campaign Says May Have Been Self-Inflicted

Washington—In a reversal of their staunch defense of John Kerry's military service record, Kerry campaign officials were quoted by Fox News saying that it was indeed possible that John Kerry's first Purple Heart commendation was the result of an, unintentional, self-inflicted wound."

"GARRETT: And questions keep coming. For example, Kerry received a Purple Heart for wounds suffered on December 2, 1968. But in Kerry's own journal written nine days later, he writes he and his crew, quote, "hadn't been shot at yet," unquote. Kerry's campaign has said it is possible this first Purple Heart was awarded for an unintentional self-inflicted wound -- Brit." (Special Report with Brit Hume Aug.23, 2004)

A recent television ad from Swift Boat Veterans for Truth featured Doctor Lewis Letson who treated Kerry for his minor injury and Grant Hibbard who served as John Kerry's direct commander on the mission where he claimed his medal. Both men say Kerry did not deserve the medal given the fact that Kerry received a very minor wound requiring no more than band-aid treatment and because the wound was not a direct result of hostile fire, a requirement for a Purple Heart commendation.

"When Grant Hibbard and Doctor Letson appeared in our ad, they were attacked and vilified by the Kerry campaign but now we see news reports saying the Kerry campaign is now sheepishly acknowledging that what we said was true," said Admiral Hoffmann, founder of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. "John Kerry's own journal reinforces the fact that neither Kerry nor his crew had seen hostile enemy action. John Kerry's first Purple Heart medal is based on fiction."

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is calling on the Kerry campaign to apologize to Grant Hibbard and Doctor Letson as the men did nothing more than come forward to speak the truth about the situation involving John Kerry's first Purple Heart medal.

This is not the only incident in which Kerry campaign officials have changed their story concerning Kerry's prestigious war medals. The incident on the Bay Hap River in which Kerry received his third Purple Heart and Bronze Star has also been the subject of considerable waffling by Kerry officials. 

During the Democratic National Convention, Kerry used the Bay Hap River incident to suggest that he alone returned to rescue Jim Rassmann—a Special Forces solider—who was on Kerry's boat and was tossed into the river.  Kerry described this incident to the American people as "No man left behind."

However Kerry officials were forced to acknowledge that Kerry's boat actually left the scene when another swift boat—operating on the other side of the river—was damaged by an underwater mine.  Kerry officials now admit that Kerry's boat returned after several minutes to pull Rassmann from the water while three other swift boats remained on site to render assistance to the injured crew of the one damaged boat.  Campaign officials once claimed that Kerry returned to the scene under withering hostile fire to rescue Rassmann after all the other swift boats left.  But other accounts from eyewitnesses of that day confirm that the other boats stayed on site and that Kerry returned to the scene, facing no enemy fire, only seconds before another swift boat was preparing to retrieve Mr. Rassmann from the water.

"John Kerry's stories are falling apart," added Hoffmann. His statements don't even match up with his own journal entries.  We are going to continue telling the truth about John Kerry's military service record so that the American people can make their own decisions about John Kerry's qualifications to be the next Commander in Chief."

Direct media inquiries to media@swiftvets.com

[ChadGore]

Kuck Ferry.

[WoofDog123]

"Wait until it becomes more widely known that Kerry had his silver heart citations rewritten to omit the fact that he shot that kid in the back behind the hooch."

In a case like this, where political influence is used to have records rewritten...

should his complete file still retain the originals the 1981 rewrites were intended to supplant?

[eeriegeno]

Washington—In a reversal of their staunch defense of John Kerry's military service record, Kerry campaign officials were quoted by Fox News saying that it was indeed possible that John Kerry's first Purple Heart commendation was the result of an, unintentional, self-inflicted wound."

If I am not mistaken, PH's are not issued for unintentional, self-inflicted wounds? That being the case, Kerry accepted it knowing full-well that he didn't deserve it! He then collected two more PH's to early out of Viet Nam leaving the more honest veterans to be shot at and killed. What a helluva guy!!!!! And this guy wants to be our president????

IMHO he still needs to serve out the rest of his 'tour of duty'!!!!!!

[Old Sarge]

It is time to demand that the self-confessed war criminal JOHN FORBES KERRY be turned over to the Hague to stand trial for Vietnam war crimes along side of alleged war criminals like Milosevic.

NO! Absolutely not! NO American citizen or soldier is responsible to anyone but the American people or the Constitution, for any judicial/legal action!!

It is time that the sociopath William Jefferson Clinton be turned over to the Hague to stand trial for Bosnian war crimes along side of alleged war criminals like Milosevic.

AGAIN - NO, absolutely not! Even in the case of William the Impeached! I will NOT have that door kicked open by a court precedent with him!

Indict the democrat party as a criminal organization under the RICO statutes.

That's doable. American law for American criminals. The UN/EU/Whoeverthehell has NO jurisdiction over Americans - EVER!

[onyx]

"May have" is troublesome,
but it "could be" the start of a hemorrhage.

[Peach]

You and me both.

Hey - check this out. Post #498. Now a doctor is saying Kerry has shrapnel in his leg because (hero that he is) he refused to be operated on!!

How many times does this make that the story has changed?

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1198227/posts

[jrpascucci]

My mail to hardball@msnbc.com and countdown@msnbc.com... Not that I expect it to do any good. I wonder what their .5 and .3 shares are going to look like after the Republicans completely stop showing up on their show? Is it possible to get a negative share?

"Chris owes Michelle Malkin (and the rest of America) an Apology..."

Now that the Kerry camp has acknowledged that Kerry's Journal entry about not receiving any enemy fire was written 9 days after his first purple heart "wound", and further acknowledged (quietly, but profoundly) it "might have been" unintentially self-inflicted, you definitely owe Michelle Malkin an apology for your being, not just wrong, but _stupidly_ wrong.

For one, Chris, you should have read the book, then you would have known the contention was not that John Kerry 'shot himself', as you kept yelling in such manner that she couldn't get an answer out (and subsequently crowed about in your blog), but that he did inflict the wound on himself. "Self-inflicted wound" means exactly that. And it's been confirmed. Be a man, and apologize.

And Olbermann was a smug jackass in both his hardblog posts on the subject. The only thing MM was overmatched in was Chris' capacity to bellow drivel and both of your capacity to carry the Kerry camp's water.

What really annoys me is that you treated MM (who's relatively new at this, and trying to present a more reasoned approach than the typical screeching) as if she were Ann Coulter (who would own your ass if you tried even half of those stunts). Not that she's not a big girl and you're a bully, but she didn't even get to the things she was called on your show to talk about, you had her attempting a reasoned defense of some third person, lambasted her as if she was the one making the accusations, and then cut her off from what she was going to talk about, and that's just bull.

[Truth29]

"Christ Matthews" LOL

Maybe in his own mind.

[Darksheare]

I'll take this kind of thing anyway I can get it!
C'mon Kerry, what else ya got?
LOL!

[Smartass]

---

Want to join in the fun? Click the logo to donate to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth!

[onyx]

Post #498?
Are you sure?
LOL!

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!

[Eva]

Oh,yeah, they are still there, but it doesn't matter, they are available now. The only thing that isn't available is the request, which would have explained the reasoning behind the requests. The second and third rewrite are exactly the same and the third rewrite occurred beyond the filing date, so it's really hard to explain the reasoning unless Kerry was asking for a higher medal. Anyway, Here's the article that explains the rewrites.

[Arizona]

Not that it will matter, but I sent O'Reilly an email today suggesting that, if he was the great investigative reporter he made himself out to be, he would take the time to check the facts instead of give Kerry a free ride.

I too have written BO suggesting that he actually read the book before casting it aside. I'm not holding my breath, however. Has he ever apologized about being wrong? Ever?

[Peach]

Oh, sheesh. SOrry.

Post #911.

[kabar]

Apparently an hour and a half of withering enemy fire from both sides of the bank resulted in no American casualties and the enemy shooting themselves to death. This Kerry character is a loon.

Wrong event. That was his third PH and Bronze Star incident. Kerry's first PH came on a training mission on a skimmer. He fired an M 79 greande launcher and wounded himself with a small shard of metal. A lttle Bactin and a band aid and he was fine. The only concern he had was keeping the shard in until the doctor saw it.

[Peach]

Hear what a hero Kerry is. He refused surgery. Because we all know he's such a tough guy.

Kicking off two days of pro-Kerry events across Pennsylvania on the eve of expected new anti-Kerry TV ads sponsored by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group, Del Sandusky said he personally witnessed the battle action for which Kerry received Silver and Bronze stars and two of his three Purple Hearts.

"He deserved every one of his medals," Sandusky, a retired computer repairman who drove Kerry's boat for nearly three months in early 1969, told a news conference at Pennsylvania's Capitol. "He carries a piece of shrapnel in his leg because he refused to be operated on and (spend) a couple of days in the hospital and leave us on the boat" without a commanding officer.

"I was there when he got wounded. I saw the blood. I don't care what Dole said," Sandusky said, referring to suggestions by Republican former Sen. Bob Dole and other Kerry critics that the Democratic presidential candidate received an early exit from combat for "superficial wounds."

[laurenmarlowe]

Bookmarked. Thanks.

[burndoubt]

Chrissy will never apologize or say he was mistaken. Never. The coward.

He's also busy organizing the line to spit on veterans as they return from service (someone's gotta do it...sKerry's busy campaigning)

[John_7Diamonds]

Nick,

Looks like they are going to do the clinton deal and admitt "mistakes" and ask for forgiveness.

John