I found this Kerry quote over at Winter Soldier and was wondering if the timeline on this had ever been verified of when he actually went to Saigon to meet with General Abams?
We established an American presence in most cases by showing the flag and firing at sampans and villages along the banks. Those were our instructions, but they seemed so out of line that we finally began to go ashore, against our orders, and investigate the villages that were supposed to be our targets. We discovered we were butchering a lot of innocent people, and morale became so low among the officers on those 'swift boats' that we were called back to Saigon for special instructions from Gen. Abrams. He told us we were doing the right thing. He said our efforts would help win the war in the long run. That's when I realized I could never remain silent about the realities of the war in Vietnam.
-- John Kerry in the Washington Star, June 6, 1971
He says he went with over Swift Boat officers.