Posted on 09/01/2004 9:20:24 PM PDT by USMCVIETVET
More on distortions
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Doug Regelin
Special to The Augusta Free Press
I read with great interest the article from Alan Schlingenbaum (The politics of distortion, Monday AFP). This title only applies to Alan's article and not to the facts that he has tried to refute. My name is Doug Regelin, and since my name and my facts are brought up in Alan's article so prominently, I think it's only proper that I try to expose Alan for what he really is.
First some facts. Alan and I traded a few e-mails in an effort to resolve what he thought were blatantly incorrect facts that I had stated in my first article. That it was impossible to navigate to Cambodia by water from either of the two An Thoi patrol areas. Since Sen. John Kerry was on a Swift Boat when he allegedly went to Cambodia, my assumption was that it was not possible to navigate to Cambodia by water in a Swift Boat. I stand by this conclusion. Alan has obviously been in contact with others who have given him the same information, but he still chose to go ahead and distort the truth about the contents of the e-mails we exchanged.
Alan has correctly stated that there are numerous canals and tributaries that proceed north from the Vinh Te canal and avoid the mouth of the Bassac. That is correct. None of them, however, will support a Swift Boat. If Alan would like to claim that Kerry went into Cambodia on a sampan, I will concede this point. Sampans are small, maneuverable and very quiet. They were the preferred transport of the Viet Cong. There were a number of small canals that ran north from the Vinh Te that could support sampans, but none of them could support a Swift Boat. Alan can look at maps all he wants. I was there, and it just wasn't possible. I made this information available to Alan, but he chose not to disclose this information in his article.
Alan tried to make a serious argument about navigation along the Vinh Te canal. I never said a boat could not navigate the Vinh Te. I said a Swift Boat could not get into Cambodia from the Vinh Te. This is accurate. A Swift Boat could get to the Bassac, but would be stopped there by other naval forces and barriers constructed to keep military vessels out. I also explained this to Alan, but he chose to leave this information out of his article.
Alan has stated that the Giang Thanh River that runs from Ha Tien to the beginning of the Vinh Te canal was known as Bernique's Creek. This is incorrect. Bernique's Creek was a tiny tributary that ran north into Cambodia at about the same location that the Giang Thanh met with the Vinh Te Canal. It was named Bernique's Creek after Mike Bernique, who was the first and last Swift Boat officer to go into Cambodia via this tributary. Later, a foot bridge was constructed that would prevent further incursions up this tributary by boats larger than sampans. Mike Bernique was almost court-martialed for his incursion. I informed Alan that I had honestly forgotten about the Bernique's Creek incident in my first article but still did not think John Kerry used this route because of the bridge. Alan chose to leave this information out of his article.
The Vinh Te canal was 31 miles long, straight, over flat terrain, and only 25 meters wide in the wet season. For a Swift Boat to navigate its length, it would have to do so in the wet season during a flood tide. At any other time, Swift Boats would have been limited to the west end of the Vinh Te near Ha Tien. The fact that a few boats made this trip is meaningless in this discussion because none of those boats ever ended up in Cambodia. The Vinh Te does not cross the border, and none of the canals and tributaries that Alan talks about will support a Swift Boat at any time of the year. The only opening large enough for a Swift Boat in 1969 was the Bassac River. However, this opening was heavily guarded by river assault group boats and PBRs. Alan knew this from our e-mails but chose to leave this information out of his article.
Alan has also called into question the length of time I was in Vietnam by stating I was there eight months. This is lie, and Alan knew it before he submitted his article. In e-mails that we exchanged, Alan said he got his information off a Web site that I was unable to access. In another e-mail, he said he was sorry, but it must have been taken off the Internet. At that time I informed Alan that I was in Vietnam from April 6, 1969, to April 9, 1970. However, again, Alan chose not to share that information in his article. In fact, he tried to besmirch my service by comparing me to John Kerry's four-month tour.
Alan makes the claim, and actually calls in to question whether I drove Swift Boats in Vietnam. He actually states that I even tried to duck his questions. He never asked about driving the boat. Alan has a severe misconception of the crews responsibilities on Swift Boats. First, I was a Radarman 3rd Class. I have never claimed in any articles or blogs that I was an officer. Secondly, officers on Swift Boats rarely drove the boats unless they did so from the aft helm or if the driver, who could have been any rating, was not available. On the 82 boat, I drove more than 98 percent of the time. That's because I had almost every river, channel, canal, sand bar and fishing stake memorized. This talent was necessary so that when things went bad at night, and if the radar unit wouldn't work, we could still get out of trouble.
Alan's misrepresentation about my duties on the 82 Boat attests to the distortions that Alan puts into everything he writes. Alan likes to look at maps from 8,500 miles away and make judgments about what is possible. I'll stick by my firsthand knowledge of the area and stick with my conclusion that John Kerry was never in Cambodia. I'll also state that no matter what John O'Neill said to President Nixon in 1971, he wasn't in Cambodia, either.
Alan states that I tried to duck some of his questions. This is false. I answered all of his questions as honestly as I could. When it became apparent that he wasn't interested in hearing any opinion that differed from his, I broke off our e-mails. It seem obvious to me that Alan had an agenda, and it didn't have room for any facts other than his.
A Swift Boat is 50 feet long, 15 feet wide, draws four feet and its screws will bottom out in six feet of water. With twin V12/71 marine diesels, Swift Boats were very noisy and totally unsuited for special ops where stealth was necessary. Special forces like the Seals had their own boats that were much more suitable. Perhaps Alan can suspend common sense in his articles, but that will still not get a 15-ton Swift Boat from Vietnam to Cambodia. The only places where that was possible were either blocked by a bridge or was heavily patrolled by other Naval Brown Water forces such as the river assault group and PBRs. For Alan's tale to be supported, about 5,000 Navy personnel would have to have gone deaf, dumb and blind the night John Kerry went to Cambodia. With firsthand knowledge of the areas in question and not just a map and a PC, the only person who is deaf, dumb and blind is Alan Schlingenbaum.
Alan's article was titled The politics of distortion. Alan has distorted most of the information that I shared with him. He has misquoted, speculated and left out any information that does not fit his obsession. By personally attacking my veracity, and my service, in my opinion, Alan is a liar and a hypocrite.
Alan called into question the sources that people used without checking. I think the same should apply to Alan Schlingenbaum. He has no sources except a PC, a map and obsession to prove that John Kerry made it to Cambodia. I guess if we can suspend the truth, common sense and the laws of physics, Alan just might be right. Now, if we can just get one other person on this Earth, including John Kerry's band-of-brothers, we can put this issue to rest.
The views expressed by op-ed writers do not necessarily reflect those of management of The Augusta Free Press.
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(Published 09-02-04/Opinion)
Great article. I don't know who this Alan chump is, but he'd better get his facts straight. These people are getting desperate, because their Walter Mitty house of cards is collapsing all around them.
Schlingenbaum is a computer nerd in Mass. without any expertise or experience in maps or in the geography of the area, who spun a yard of yarns about how one could get to Cambodia by circuitous routes.
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