Ex - Viet Cong Soldier Recalls Swift Boats [amazingly one-sided, even for MSM]

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS via NY Times ^ | August 31, 2004 | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

[68skylark]

ON THE BAY HAP RIVER, Vietnam (AP) -- The 50-foot Swift boats were easy targets as they plowed through the waterways of the Mekong Delta in packs of three or four, making big waves and thunderous noise when approaching. Former Viet Cong soldier Duong Hoang Sinh remembers them well -- the one time he tangled with three Swift boats, the Americans killed all of the insurgents in his unit except for two.

``It was very fierce fighting,'' said Sinh, 52, who lost his left eye during the war and still has shrapnel embedded in his arm. ``Each side tried to eliminate the other.''

Sinh and John Kerry, the U.S. Democratic presidential nominee, were fighting along the Dong Cung canal around roughly the same time 35 years ago in early 1969, experiencing the intensity of war along these muddy waters, but from opposite sides.

Although Sinh had never heard of Kerry, he has a strong opinion about the debate surrounding the candidate's Vietnam War record as a U.S. Navy Swift boat commander: Kerry must have had guts to troll the Mekong Delta's spider web of rivers and narrow canals knowing that Viet Cong like himself were waiting to pick him off.

``Kerry served in Vietnam and he was awarded the medal for his bravery,'' Sinh said. ``He deserves the medal.''

The memories of the Swift boat battles in these waters are now being sharply scrutinized under the divisive lens of the U.S. presidential election, where Kerry's actions under fire have been disputed by a group of veterans.

As a Navy lieutenant, Kerry commanded two Swift boat units, PCF-44 and PCF-94, in Vietnam in late 1968 and early 1969. He was awarded three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star.

Kerry's actions in several of those instances -- including a March 13, 1969 incident when he rescued U.S. Army Special Forces Lt. Jim Rassmann under enemy fire; a February 28, 1969 incident when he chased and killed a Viet Cong fighter; and a December 1968 incident when he was wounded -- have been challenged in a series of television ads aired by the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

They claim he did not come under heavy enemy fire as his medal citations state. But other veterans of the ``brown water navy'' who witnessed the fighting, along with Navy documents from that time, have backed Kerry's version of events.

The Associated Press took a boat tour along the same rivers and canals of the Mekong Delta that served as a battleground for Kerry. The people who live here now have worked hard to put the fighting behind them, but the memories persist.

When Kerry and Sinh plied these muddy waterways, mangroves grew thick on both sides of the Bay Hap River, forming a bushy shield of impenetrable green. It was perfect cover for Viet Cong guerillas who laid waiting to ambush the clunky U.S. Swift boats.

Sinh recalled one morning in February 1969 when he and six other insurgents watched silently from their hiding spot in the thick forest that grew along the banks of the Dong Cung canal, about 7.5 kilometers, or 4.7 miles, off the Bay Hap River in Vietnam's southernmost province of Ca Mau.

When the U.S. Navy boats rumbled into view, the Viet Cong were in for a shock as the Americans began firing on them. Sinh recalled his comrade got off one good shot from a B-40 rocket launcher, blasting a hole in the side of one vessel. But it wasn't enough. The Americans charged, unloading a hail of bullets, and Sinh realized this was not a fight his unit could win.

``We got more fire from the American soldiers after that. We tried to fight back, but decided to flee,'' he said.

He believes the Americans must have had intelligence about the planned ambush that day because the three U.S. boats fired first. Five of his comrades died, including his buddy who fired the crippling blast. Sinh escaped by fleeing into the dense forest.

He said it was the first and last time he fired at Swift boats along the waterways where he grew up. Not long after, he was sent away from his family in Dong Cung village to fight elsewhere, which is why he remembers the date so well. His village was renamed Tran Thoi after the war. To Sinh and those who still live along the Mekong Delta, the controversy over Kerry's tour of duty in Vietnam is dumbfounding. Since the war ended in 1975, they have reveled in peace and more recently, economic growth.

``I think it's American politics,'' said Nguyen Van Khoai, 61, a former Viet Cong soldier who attacked American troops along the water but never fought directly against the Swift boats. ``On any side, a soldier who made an outstanding feat is given a medal -- but maybe some people try to think otherwise.''

The area that once crawled with Viet Cong has changed. The thick mangrove forests that lined both sides of the Bay Hap River, Dong Cung canal and other tributaries are mostly gone. Some canals just wide enough for the U.S. Navy boats to pass through are double in size today.

Many more thatch houses are perched on stilts along the water's edge and small speed boats now zoom past. Shrimp farms litter the landscape where forests once grew, and the names of many wartime canals and villages have been changed.

Cai Nuoc village where Kerry put in on March 13, 1969 -- the day for which he was awarded his third Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for rescuing Rassmann -- has ballooned into a district. Cafes abound along the water here as well as shops selling a wide variety of wares, including shiny bathroom tile. A thriving floating market also bustles where mounds of ripe rambutan, pomelo and bananas form a rainbow of color.

But much also remains the same. The water is still dotted with children splashing and men checking fishing nets attached to crude sticks poking out of the river. The smell of diesel fuel and smoke is in the air and stinging downpours still come in the afternoon.

Many of the residents here in the Mekong Delta have never heard of Kerry. They do, however, remember the Swift boats and the Americans who roared by aboard them.

``I was very scared when I heard the American boats coming up the canal, so I had to hide in my back yard,'' said Phu Thi Nguyet, 60, who has lived along the Dong Cung canal since 1960.

For those who have followed the debate, the Kerry controversy is confusing.

``It's very strange in a way. It's just a small thing, but they have made it into a big deal,'' said Lam The Hung, 42, a native of Cai Nuoc village who now serves as a provincial official in Ca Mau. ``The fact that one soldier rescued another -- that happened thousands of times among the Vietnamese, so I don't understand.''

Hung said he's also puzzled by the uproar over Kerry's decision to join the anti-war movement upon returning home. He said Kerry's actions proved he learned a lot during his time in Vietnam and that he wanted to keep other Americans from dying here.

``When they went home, they knew the nature of the war and the people here were innocent and they knew it was nonsense to wage war here,'' said Hung, whose two older brothers joined the Viet Cong and laid mines in the rivers where the Swift boats operated.

And while Kerry may be worried about veterans' support in America, Sinh said he would vote any day for his former enemy over President Bush. In the veteran's opinion, Kerry's experience along these rivers fighting Viet Cong might keep him from sending other young Americans to invade countries.

``He knew the suffering and how much misery it brought to the people of Vietnam -- he knew the cruelty of war,'' Sinh said. ``So, I don't think he would go to war again if he's elected.''

[TheCrusader]

"They found a Viet Cong to help support Kerry??"

LOL. These are very desperate times for the Kerry campaign. Maybe Al Franken will host a "tell all" interview of a former vietcong named Wee Ly Tu.

[RightOnline]

"He's OUR pig, and damn it, we're gonna keep putting lipstick on him until you ALL think he's pretty, damn it!!!"


The Mainstream Media

[Mo1]

LOL. These are very desperate times for the Kerry campaign

Well .. I've been hearing on the news they are making changes in the Kerry Camp *L*

[Chapita]

I'd hate to have to defend that fraudulent bastard!

[americanmother]

I saw a report but I don't remember where or when that they had polled a Viet community in US. They said, all of them were voting Bush. Did anyone else see that?

[Darlin']

LordHaveMercy ! Thanks for the ping... I think. I'm speechless. It boggles the mind.

[LibWhacker]

The next DNC assignment for its lackeys in the MSM: Wade through the mud and the muck and the leeches into Cambodia and find an old Khmer Rouge soldier to back up Kerry's claims there, preferrably one who didn't murder too many people in the slave labor camps.

KEEP DIGGIN', YOU RATS!

[klink]

They didn't search long or far... he works down in the mail room

[tomahawk]

AP = Kerry/DemonCrap Shills

Nothing more.

[OESY]

Sinh and John Kerry, the U.S. Democratic presidential nominee, were fighting along the Dong Cung canal around roughly the same time 35 years ago in early 1969, experiencing the intensity of war along these muddy waters, but from opposite sides.

Duong Hoang Sinh, 52, a former Viet Cong soldier, climbs off a boat on the Bay Hap River in Vietnam's southernmost province on Friday, Aug. 27, 2004. Sinh fired on U.S. Navy Swift boats during the Vietnam War roughly around the same time U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry served as a Navy Swift boat commander on the same waterways. Kerry's war record has been challenged by other veterans who allege he did not come under heavy enemy fire as his medal citations state. (AP Photos/Tran Quang Tuan)

* * *

Give me a break. This isn't investigative journalism. It's rank Democrat Party propaganda.

* * *

BTW, what time was it? How does Sinh know? What evidence exists? Did Sinh have a watch back then? Did anyone else fire? For how long? Could it be described as "intense automatic weapons and small arms fire" as Kerry's Silver Star citation? Though he "had never heard of Kerry," how did Sinh recognize John Kerry's boat to establish a point in time? Did Sinh recognize John Kerry? Mike Medeiros? Did Sinh know the teenager with the rocket launcher who was shot? Was it in the back? Behind a lean-to? Whose? Did the teenager have a wounded leg that prevented him from running away? Did Kerry or Medeiros do the killing? Did any of the other villagers see intense hostile fire toward Kerry's boat or Kerry's pursuit of the wounded teenager? What did the AP reporter say to Sinh before and after the interview? Who was the reporter? Was it the AP photographer, Tran Quang Tuan? Who else was present for the interview? Was a tape-recording made? Is a transcript in existence? What edits were made by AP staff? Which editors reviewed and approved the story? Was it Mike Silverstein in New York? When will this information be available? Could it be posted on the Internet tonight? [E-mail inquiry to be sent to AP.]

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Professional courtesy.

[68skylark]

This isn't investigative journalism. It's rank Democrat Party propaganda.

Oh I agree. What's funny is that it's very poorly done propaganda. Some lib thought it would reflect well on Kerry to get an endorsement from a communist veteran. In fact, this endorsement just plays into the very worst image that many people have of Kerry -- he's someone who's got no real problem with communism, or with U.S. defeat in wartime.

[KeyLargo]

Kerry will go around the world if he need be to find anyone that will say anything good about him.

The only difference between this Viet Cong (since they were both on the same side), was that the VC kept his medals and Kerry through his away.

Go to:
http://www.vhpamuseum.org/badguys/badguys.html

[El Gato]

``I think it's American politics,'' said Nguyen Van Khoai, 61, a former Viet Cong soldier who attacked American troops along the water but never fought directly against the Swift boats. ``On any side, a soldier who made an outstanding feat is given a medal -- but maybe some people try to think otherwise.''

Oh so the communist party cadres among the Viet Cong never got medals they didn't deserve. In a pigs eye (A Vietnamese Pot Belly's preferably :) ).

[El Gato]

How man man-hours do you suppose the Slimes put into finding this one guy?

Not much they just called up the Vietnamese Propaganda ministry, and they served up one VC. Supposed VC that is.

[68skylark]

Exactly. That's why our press is so comfortable hobnobbing with tyrannical governments -- it makes their job easy.

[piasa]

This story wasn't done by just the AP/NYT today.... NPR had a nice little 5 or 6 minute segment on this story this morning, too. Looks like all the lefty news outlets are in collusion here.

The audio interviews were chock full of rousing praise for Kerry from ex-Viet Cong guerillas and the like.

Ya'all have to see this thread.

[piasa]

They found a Viet Cong to help support Kerry?? And this is suppose to help Kerry ... how???

Maybe it isn't supposed to "help" Kerry. Maybe this story has Hillary's stamp of approval.

[BykrBayb]

The irony here is that this communist seems to think the the swift boat vets were all courageous, which flies in the face of kerry's depiction of himself as the only hero among a bunch of cowards.

Okay, that's not the only irony. How about the fact that this communist would vote for kerry over Bush?

I almost upchucked reading about the idyllic life they lived after we pulled out. No mention of those who were bludgeoned or otherwise tormented.

[Hi Heels]

The twenty bucks the reporter gave the VC says Kerry deserved it.


Clearly.