Kerry, in 1971, Admitted Writing Combat Reports

CNSNEWS.com ^ | 8/26/04 | Marc Morano

[kattracks]

CNSNews.com) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's 1971 testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee reveals that the then anti-war activist admitted to writing many of the battle reports during his four months of combat in Vietnam.

Kerry told the committee on April 22, 1971, "...I can recall often sending in the spot reports which we made after each mission..."

Kerry also said that many in the military had "a tendency to report what they want to report and see what they want to see."

Kerry's comments about the battle reports came in response to a question from then Senator Stuart Symington (D- Mo.), who wondered about the accuracy of information from military sources.

According to the testimony , which is available in the Congressional Record, Sen. Symington asked Kerry, "Mr. Kerry, from your experience in Vietnam do you think it is possible for the President or Congress to get accurate and undistorted information through official military channels.[?]"

Kerry responded, "I had direct experience with that. Senator, I had direct experience with that and I can recall often sending in the spot reports which we made after each mission; and including the GDA, gunfire damage assessments, in which we would say, maybe 15 sampans sunk or whatever it was. And I often read about my own missions in the Stars and Stripes and the very mission we had been on had been doubled in figures and tripled in figures.

Kerry later added, "I also think men in the military, sir, as do men in many other things, have a tendency to report what they want to report and see what they want to see."

The 34-year-old testimony could shed light on the present debate over who wrote key battlefield reports that critics of Kerry say allowed him to win awards.

B. G. Burkett, author of the book Stolen Valor and a military researcher, calls the 1971 testimony "significant."

"What is significant about this is [Kerry] is readily admitting that he often submitted reports and he is implying that he himself exaggerated in those reports," Burkett told CNSNews.com.

"We have no way of knowing specifically which documents Kerry composed; and of the the ones he did compose -- did he in fact exaggerate or outright lie in those reports? That is the issue here," Burkett said.
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The controversy about who authored the now controversial after-action reports arose earlier this week, when the Washington Post obtained the military records of Larry Thurlow, one of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Thurlow's military records indicated that enemy fire erupted after Kerry's boat was hit by a mine explosion on March 13, 1969.

Thurlow now insists there was no enemy fire that day. The best selling new book by John O'Neill and Jerome Corsi, Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, details the groups' critique of Kerry. Kerry has denounced the book and the Swift Boat vets and accused them of being an affiliate of President Bush's re-election campaign.

Thurlow and Kerry were each awarded a Bronze Star for heroism on that 13th day of March. Kerry also received his third Purple Heart as a result of the events of that day.

At the center of the controversy is whether or not there was enemy fire during Kerry's rescue of James Rassmann from the Bay Hap River. Kerry and Rassmann and others say there was enemy fire, while Thurlow and other swift boat veterans insist there was not.

Thurlow's own Bronze Star citation states that there was "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire" directed at "all units." But Thurlow believes his citation was based on Kerry's own account of the day.

"I am convinced that the language used in my citation ... was language taken directly from John Kerry's report," Thurlow said earlier this week. "John Kerry was the only officer who filed a report describing his version of the incident," Thurlow added.

The Washington Post summed up the controversy this way: "Much of the debate over who is telling the truth boils down to whether the two-page after-action report and other Navy records are accurate or whether they have been embellished by Kerry or someone else."

Burkett believes that Kerry stated the controversy surrounding his war record.

"Kerry thought that he could make a grand presentation of his combat record, and there would be no response, obviously, from the Republicans, considering the lack of military experience on that side of the aisle," Burkett said.

"I think [Kerry] completely misjudged the anger of Vietnam Veterans collectively and their ability to organize and have an answer to John Kerry," he added.

See Related Articles: Kerry 'Unfit to be Commander-in-Chief,' Say Former Military Colleagues (05/03/2004) Kerry Files Complaint With FEC Against Swift Boat Veterans (08/20/2004) Kerry Campaign, Liberal Group Attack Anti-Kerry Book ((08/20/2004) MoveOn Ads OK; Swift Boat Ads Not OK, Kerry Campaign Says (08/20/2004)

E-mail a news tip to Marc Morano.

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[dennisw]

One story I heard is his superior hated writing reports (because lots of guys cannot type?) and had Kerry wrote them or typed them for him. That's why the 100 page Kerry military record we want to see may be 25% Kerry's own words. His exaggerations and embellishments.

May even find JK writing about going into Cambodia.

[devolve]

".....seared      seared in my mind....."


     

 Martin Luther King Day in Kohnboatia? 

[Use It Or Lose It]

To avoid the incoming fire

Well, well, little Jimmy Rassman must be a genius. He can distinguish "enemy" from "friendly" while he's underwater. The Swiftees have said they opened fire when they thought it was an ambush. So now Rassman is somehow capable of seeing ammo underwater whizzing by, and knowing it's from the enemy. The MSM will believe that before they believe the Commanders of the other boats. Was a time of day ever given for this incident?

[dennisw]

CSPAN is supposed to run his entire Senate testimony tonight at 8PM.

Lots of people who don't know the facts will be turned off seeing the arrogant John Kerry holding forth in his plummy Boston Brahmin voice. Which by the way he seems to have lost.

 

One entry found for plummy.

Main Entry: plum·my
Pronunciation: 'pl&-mE
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): plum·mi·er; -est
1 a : full of plums <a rich plummy cake> b : CHOICE, DESIRABLE <got a plummy role in the movie>
2 a : having a plum color b : rich and mellow often to the point of affectation <a plummy singing voice>

[dennisw]

Great graphic/flow chart. Beats heck out of the NY Times and WaPo graphics.

[philman_36]

Was a time of day ever given for this incident?
Perhaps, but I don't remember whether or not it was and it just doesn't seem important enough to bother look up.

[Flint]

I can certainly understand how a guy falling off a boat in a war zone, thinking he would be run over by other boats, going deep. Makes sense. I can then understand how while underwater, hearing boats whizzing around and hearing .50 cal. machine gun fire from the guns on the boats, he could think he was part of a fire fight. I can then understand how he would come up for air, still hearing his own side shooting, think there was return fire and going under water again to protect himself. I can understand how in all that confusion he didn't really know what was going on. Only what was going on inside his head. He is not lying, he is just relating what he was thinking at the time. In that condition, I can understand when someone reached down to pull him out of the water he would be grateful.

All of that doesn't make his version of the story correct. I can then understand how Kerry would take advantage of that fact. He has a loooonnnngggg track record of creating and taking advantage of confusion.

[Taliesan]

I wonder if anybody has pulled the issues of "Stars and Stripes" to see if there are articles about Kerry's missions.

[hawkaw]

Wow. This is very good read and very interesting.

Of course wasn't this the same testimony where he was lying that he witnessed and participated in some nasty stuff which turned out to be a lie? My point is I really don't know when this sKerry guy is or is not telling the truth anymore.

What is it that Bush said ... something like ... If you are in disagreement with sKerry, wait a day or two.

[xzins]

If the testimony's going to be on C-Span and seen by thousands, then it behooves us to email like crazy today the pictures of Kerry with the communist negotiators, with anything communist or anti-American.

Be nice to remind everyone what his agenda was

[philman_36]

They just talked about this on F&F.

[gunnedah]

No doubt Kerry is a pathological liar and cant be believed or trusted. I heard on Brit Hume last night Kerry gave a speech sometime back to the NAACP where he had another vision seared in his brain. It was he remembered the news of MLKs being shot on a day when he was in battle. Come to find out on the day MLK was shot Kerry had not been assigned and could not have been in battle. His mind must be seared like a steal from some drug!

[CDHart]

Is that 8 am or pm -- also is it EDT? Thanks!

Carolyn

[Bahbah]

Oops, PM. I now know what I will be doing at that time.

[devolve]

[Arrowhead1952]

John Kerry would LIKE us to focus on his 1960's resume, instead of his anti-war protester years, or his Senator Do-Little years.

Check the reason for leaving work in this reply. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

[Steely Tom]

Has anyone heard sKerry say the name Ghengis Khan during the campaign recently? Has he learned how to pronounce it?

Kerry pronounces the name Ghengis Khan in the manner of Asian people. Perhaps he learned how from the Vietnamese...

(steely)

[Arrowhead1952]

Check this article as well.

[BunnySlippers]

•

[tutstar]

They said on Fox & Friends that Kerry's testimony before Congress will be played tonight on CSPAN.