Vet with L.B. roots backs Kerry

LONG BEACH — Before the controversy about John Kerry's service in Vietnam, launched by a group called Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth, fully runs its course, a swift boat commander with Long Beach connections wants to reiterate that Kerry was a legitimate war hero.

Wade Sanders, who attended Long Beach area high schools, Long Beach City College and graduated from Cal State Long Beach, served with Kerry in Vietnam, took on enemy fire alongside the Democratic presidential nominee and bristles at the claims by the rival veterans group that questioned Kerry's service.

Although several of the swift boat veterans group's most serious charges have been discounted by official records and eyewitnesses who fought with Kerry, the issue is not quite dead.

Sanders, now a lawyer in San Diego, has been an active campaigner for Kerry, a longtime friend and one of his staunch supporters and allies.

Describing Kerry as "the kind of guy you want to have your back," Sanders said he was a fellow swift boat commander in Vietnam and fought with Kerry on several missions during which the boats faced enemy fire.

"When you're directing 50 caliber machine gun fire, you're fully exposed to enemy fire," Sanders said. "We could see each other and what we were doing."

Sanders said in those instances, Kerry was aggressive, brave, focused and well-respected.

Although not a part of any of the missions in which Kerry received his three Purple Hearts, Sanders, who has a Purple Heart of his own, has no doubt about the veracity of Kerry's claims.

Sanders said he and Kerry "got into the (Mekong) Delta during the most vicious period in the war."

As the Kerry campaign gained momentum, particularly among veterans, for Kerry's war service, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, led by Kerry's former swift boat fleet commander, retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffmann, launched political advertisements assailing the candidate, questioning both his war record and his patriotism. It continues to run ads on a Web site.

Sanders and others in the Kerry campaign have been quick to note that some of the leaders of the anti-Kerry group formerly supported the senator and praised him both verbally and in written reports. And when it comes to war conduct, Sanders has a particularly harsh appraisal of Hoffmann.

Democrats have accused the swift boat group of being orchestrated by President Bush's re-election campaign. It has been bankrolled by a group of conservative Republicans with ties to Bush, including Texas millionaire Bob Perry. On Wednesday, Benjamin Ginsberg, national counsel for the Bush campaign, acknowledged he had done legal work for the group and resigned. Also Ken Cordier, a member of the group who appeared in an ad, was later dismissed as a volunteer on the Bush campaign.

Bush finally criticized the commercial Monday, more than a week after the ad stopped running and more than three months after the anti-Kerry group launched its campaign. Bush said such attacks had no place in a presidential campaign.

On Thursday, after Sen. John McCain renewed calls to condemn the ads, the president said he would team with McCain to crack down on independent groups spending millions of dollars on political attack advertisements. The president did not disavow the ad, but did say he did not believe Kerry had lied about his service, according to The New York Times.

The Times also reported lawyers for Bush were filing two lawsuits. One, they said, is intended to expedite their complaints that Moveon.org, The Media Fund, and America Coming Together, liberal groups running ads against the president, were illegally coordinating with Kerry. The other lawsuit, they said, would seek tighter restrictions on the groups' fund raising.

The swift boat group recently released a new Internet advertisement, again calling Kerry "a liar."

Nationally, reports of overlap between local Republican committees and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth continue and several county Republican parties from New Hampshire to California were directing visitors to their Web sites to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth site, according to, The New York Times .

Sanders' connection with Kerry dates back to before when the two served in Vietnam. Sanders and David Thorn, Kerry's brother-in-law, were shipmates and shared an apartment in Belmont Shore, where Kerry "became a resident of our couch," according to Sanders.

Through the years, Sanders said he and Kerry have remained friends. Sanders, who was a former deputy assistant secretary of the Navy, has been campaigning for Kerry across the country. He has also been critical of Bush on veterans' issues for many years.

As the Republicans head into their national convention on Monday, the swift boat issue appears to be receding, which is just fine with Sanders.

"I think it's a dying story," Sanders said. The anti-Kerry group has "so lost credibility. I think they're at the end of their rope."

Anglain, you've found a gold mine.

Guess who's not a legitimate war hero, according to Wade Sanders:

The military has been particularly guilty of their abuse of the term of “hero” and their dispensing of medals traditionally reserved for heroes. They are rapidly cheapening the symbolic value of medals such as the Silver Star (which is to be awarded for gallantry in action) and the Bronze Star with Combat Distinguishing Device (a bronze “v” device which graces the medal and the ribbon, and is commonly referred to as the “combat ‘v’” and which is normally reserved for heroic achievement). PFC Jessica Lynch, injured in an automobile accident and well cared for by her captors received the Bronze Star with combat “v,” is only one example of this abuse. Any one who has served in combat can cite numerous cases of truly heroic men and women who performed heroically in the face of fire and received either nothing, or a much lesser award. Yet, the Air Force, Army and Navy have recently awarded medals once reserved for heroes to individuals who never left the safety and comfort of their air condition rear echelon headquarters in Iraq and, in some cases, never left the United States. None of these ever experienced a shot fired in anger; none of them where ever exposed to enemy fire. Only the Marine Corps seems to understand the concept of heroism and continues to award that title with appropriate restraint.

I guess it's okay to question PFC Lynch's medals, but not John Kerry's. Don't question John Kerry's medals! He's a hero! Even if there was no enemy fire!

Here's an interesting Sanders column. Was Mr. Sanders trying to get a medal for Gardner, perhaps to shut him up on behalf of John Kerry?

Wade R. Sanders: Forgotten Heroes

Ribbons, Awards and Medals

December 23, 2003

The crucible of war is often the ultimate test of human courage. From that searing process emerge those few who went beyond duty and displayed significant courage. Some of these men and women are recognized for their courage by enlightened leaders and a grateful nation. That recognition often comes in the form of medals, from Commendation Medals, the Bronze Star, and upward to the Medal of Honor. Others receive medals that celebrate their exceptional accomplishment in the completion of their non-combat assignments. A few of these men and women earned their medals for individual acts; but most earned them as part of a team.

During my service in Vietnam, and since, I have noticed that too few team leaders (particularly officers) fail to fulfill their primary duty of taking care of their troops by providing them with recognition for their courage and professionalism. Too often the members of that team are forgotten by the officers who receive medals for being in the same place at the same time doing the same thing. More often this sin is one of neglect, not mean spiritedness…many just wanted to put the war behind them and get on with their lives. However, I may be a bit more sensitive to this issue because I was a "mustang," a Naval Officer who started in the enlisted ranks (as did my father), and my father repeatedly reminded me where my primary duty lay.

During my tour in Vietnam aboard Navy patrol boats I was part of a six man team, five enlisted and myself as the boat commander. We experienced intense combat together; we fought and shed blood together: were a team of brothers. Some of us were wounded, and some of us did not come home. Because we (note the "we") performed with distinction in combat, I was singled out and awarded a number of personal decorations for our combat performance. I remembered my father's words; I understood that my medals were not solely mine. If I hadn't had each of my brave men with me, "we" would not have prevailed. So I made sure that each of my crew members were recognized for their bravery and I recommended them for their awards. I thought that this was the right thing to do, and I believed that everyone else did as well. I was wrong.

What I discovered was that many of my fellow boat officers had failed to recognize that they were part of a team and had neglected to take care of that team. (Of course, this syndrome is not restricted to the combat zone or to the military culture, but that's another article). This struck me hard about six months ago in the den of a Vietnam Veteran I had served with. This man had served two tours in Vietnam, including a year with aboard a patrol boat with an officer who received several of our nation's highest awards for heroism and gallantry in action. This former enlisted man had stood by that officer in the same combat, exposed himself to the same risk, was part of the same team that prevailed, and his officer left him behind with nothing but a Purple Heart. To my mind this is a terrible injustice.

Since I belong to an association of those who served in Navy patrol boats in Vietnam, I decided to see if I could improve the situation. After all, the one mantra that was ingrained into me by my father, and by the traditions of my service, was that my number one responsibility as an officer is to take care of my men (or women, to be contemporarily correct). So, I did a bit of research and discovered that there is no statute of limitations on awards. I found the office in the Pentagon that deals with awards, and I got the guidance I needed. The process is simple. An officer in charge of a unit is fully authorized to recommend any member of his "command" for a military decoration. Thinking this information would be of us, I requested to have it published in our quarterly newsletter. That's when the fecal matter hit the fan.

Not only was the information not well received by a surprising number of officers, it stirred up a backlash of resentment that shocked me. It was as if I was not merely passing information to enable officers to fix what they may have forgotten, it was as if I was personally accusing them of deliberately avoiding their responsibility. What I received was not gratitude, what I received was anger and resentment. However, the enlisted folks "got it."

So, I send this message to all military officers. It is never too late to do the right thing. If you feel you may have forgotten your men or women, you can still rectify that by contacting the office in your service responsible for processing military awards. For those of us from the Vietnam era and before, time is running out. Just a year ago I helped a friend of mine facilitate the awarding of a Distinguished Flying Cross to an 84 year old former B-24 tail gunner. I will never forget the look on that man's face as he joined the other members of his crew who had received the same medal nearly sixty years before.

I often recall the words of General George S. Patton in response to a member of the press. Struck by the magnificent display on the General's chest, the reporter commented, "You must be very proud of all your medals, General."

"Son, these medals are not mine, I wear them for the men who earned them."

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