This is from an article I have that was from an interview that was originally published on Wednesday, February 18, 1970 in the News section of The Harvard Crimson.
Hope this helps.
Stay Strong,
Fuzzy122
Posted on 09/03/2004 11:41:03 AM PDT by jcb8199
I recall reading or hearing something about JF'nKerry trying to get out of service before he enlisted. Is this true? Any links? Further, did he also try enlisting in the National Guard before the Navy (the person from whom I heard this also said that, at the time, if you couldn't get in the NG, you tried to get in the Navy, as you would still only be in boats--accuracy?)
Thanks!
According to Unfit for Command, he asked for a student deferment to go study in Paris. I kid you not. He was turned down, and then joined the Naval Reserves (I think), knowing it was the least dangerous branch to join, given the fact that he could no longer avoid service.
Don't hold me to the REserves, but I do know the Paris study is correct.
From my memory, if you go to Kerry's record on his website you will see that he was actually in the Naval Reserve. He was always in the Naval Reserve. It just happened that he was activated for Vietnam.
Someone else may have more information on this.
He gave an interview to the Harvard Crimson where he said he tried to get a deferment to study in France (figures) but was denied. It was at that point that he enlisted into the navy and became an officer rather than get drafted into the infantry as a private. Him graduating and enlisting at the earliest possible chance out of his desire to serve and defend is a lie. The only difference between Cheney and Kerry is that Kerry didn't get his deferment for graduate studies.
Kerry tried to obtain a deferment to get out of the service on a couple of different excuses that were shot down. He also tried to enlist in the NG and there were no slots for him, so he ended up joining the Navy. The prevailing thinking at the time was that if you enlisted, you improved your chances of having a better career selection and avoiding 'Nam. Sometimes that gamble paid off, sometimes it didn't.
I think someone needs to find out what part of Boston his local Draft Board was located.
His "real residence" or used an address so he could register with a different board?
In the Harvard Crimson article published February 18, 1970,
containing the interview with Kerry, it says:
" At Yale, Kerry was chairman of the Political Union and later, as Commencement speaker, urged the United States to withdraw from Vietnam and to scale down foreign military operations. And this was way back in 1966.
When he approached his draft board for permission to study for a year in Paris, the draft board refused and Kerry decided to enlist in the Navy. "
(note he was active in the anti-war movement several years before he enlisted, because he couldn't get the deferment)
John Kerry: A Navy Dove Runs for Congress
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=352185
II. Kerry avoided combat duty and officially joined the US Naval Reserve (like the National Guard) (Unfit for Command Chapter 1: The Reluctant Warrior)
Contrary to the Kerry campaign assertions, Kerry sought deferment, faced draft, joined the Naval Reserves (similar to National Guard) and chose swift boats to avoid combat.
1) Kerry admits in Brinkley's Tour of Duty, pages 370-373 that he decided to enlist after facing the draft and the navy formally refused to grant Kerry's requested deferment to study in Paris, France.
2) US Navy Records confirm John F. Kerry enlisted in the United States Naval Reserves with initial status listed as "inactive" on February 18, 1966.
3) The Department of the Navy released a letter dated May 24, 1986, at Senator Kerry's request, specifying "18 Feb 1966: Enlisted as an OCSA (E-2), USNR (inactive)" - USNR = US Naval Reserves.
4) Kerry campaign document "Enlistment Contract" confirms Kerry enlisted in "USNR-R", the US Naval Reserve
5) Kerry campaign document "Service Record" shows Kerry was inducted and "D.O.R. as Ensign, USNR" (US Naval Reserve)
6) In an interview with New York Times, April 23, 1971, "An Angry War Veteran", Kerry stated "I wanted to go back and see for myself what was going on, but I didn't really want to get involved in the war." So late in 1968 he volunteered for an assignment on "swift boats" - the short, fast aluminum craft that were then used for patrol duty off the coast of Viet Nam."
7) Kerry also admitted the same to the Boston Globe, "Kerry initially hoped to continue his service at a relatively safe distance from most fighting, securing an assignment as "swift boat" skipper. While the 50-foot swift boats cruised the Vietnamese coast a little closer to the action than the Gridley had come, they were still considered relatively safe. "I didn't really want to get involved in the war," Kerry said in a little-noticed contribution to a book of Vietnam reminiscences published in 1986. "When I signed up for the swift boats, they had very little to do with the war. They were engaged in coastal patrolling and that's what I thought I was going to be doing."
8) Kery campaign document "Duty Recommendation" confirms Kerry "desires Swift boat billet" and that he was also "Interested in Language School", emphasizing Kerry "Speak(s) French fluently."
9) Kerry spoke with Harvard Crimson In a February 18, 1970 article, John Kerry: A Navy Dove Runs for Congress , "At Yale, Kerry was chairman of the Political Union and later, as Commencement speaker, urged the United States to withdraw from Vietnam and to scale down foreign military operations. And this was way back in 1966. When he approached his draft board for permission to study for a year in Paris, the draft board refused and Kerry decided to enlist in the Navy."
10) The Crimson interview & Kerry's statements were re-confirmed with the original reporter, Samuel Goldhaber, on July, 3 2004 by Charles Laurence of the UK Telegraph who reports "the revelation appears to undercut Sen Kerry's carefully-cultivated image as a man who willingly served his country in a dangerous war" and notes "at no point did Kerry contact either me or the Crimson to dispute anything I (Goldhaber) had written." (Revealed: how 'war hero' Kerry tried to put off Vietnam military duty)
11) In a June 15, 2003 article "A privileged youth, a taste for risk", the favored Boston Globe reporters wrote:
...As graduation approached, Kerry knew that he had three choices: be drafted, seek a deferment for graduate school, or join up and position himself to become an officer. ``It was clear to me that I was going to be at risk,'' Kerry recalled. ``My draft board . . . said, `Look, the likelihood is you are probably going to be drafted.' I said, `If I'm going to be drafted, I'd like to have responsibility and be an officer.' ''
At the same time, Kerry was losing interest in academics and was ready for adventure. ``I cut classes,'' Kerry said. ``I didn't do much. I spent a lot of time learning to fly.''
Kerry also had political ambitions -- and was aware of how much military service had served John Kennedy's career. ``John would clearly say, `If I could make my dream come true, it would be running for president of the United States,' '' recalled William Stanberry, Kerry's debate team partner for three years. ``It was not a casual interest. It was a serious, stated interest. His lifetime ambition was to be in political office.''
12) Kerry's naval records state he was discharged "from the United States Naval Reserve as a Lieutenant (O-3)"
13) Kerry campaign documents "Honorable Discharge From Reserve" and "Acceptance of Discharge confirms Kerry was officially discharged from the US Naval Reserve.
I also heard today that he wasn't discharged from the Navy until 1978! That would mean he was still in the military when he sold out his comrades before the Senate, and that just makes his actions even more despicable.
This has been looked at I believe he used his aunt's address it is listed in his background..strange he only used it for the year he registered for the draft.
From a Boston Globe article, June 16, 2003:
http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/061603.shtml
"Kerry initially thought about enlisting as a pilot. But his father, Richard Kerry - a test pilot who served in the Army Air Corps - warned him that if he flew in combat, he might lose his love of flying. So Kerry, who sought in so many ways to emulate John Fitzgerald Kennedy, took to the water, just as his idol served on a World War II patrol boat, the 109.
Kerry initially hoped to continue his service at a relatively safe distance from most fighting, securing an assignment as "swift boat" skipper. While the 50-foot swift boats cruised the Vietnamese coast a little closer to the action than the Gridley had come, they were still considered relatively safe.
"I didn't really want to get involved in the war," Kerry said in a little-noticed contribution to a book of Vietnam reminiscences published in 1986. "When I signed up for the swift boats, they had very little to do with the war. They were engaged in coastal patrolling and that's what I thought I was going to be doing."
But two weeks after he arrived in Vietnam, the swift boat mission changed -- and Kerry went from having one of the safest assignments in the escalating conflict to one of the most dangerous. Under the newly launched Operation SEALORD, swift boats were charged with patrolling the narrow waterways of the Mekong Delta to draw fire and smoke out the enemy. Cruising inlets and coves and canals, swift boats were especially vulnerable targets."
While a senior at Yale, Kerry asked his draft board for permission to study a year in Paris, which the draft board declined.
Kerry then enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserves.
Boston.com has good bio info.
Visit my John F. Kerry Timeline for more on John Kerry.
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This is from an article I have that was from an interview that was originally published on Wednesday, February 18, 1970 in the News section of The Harvard Crimson.
Hope this helps.
Stay Strong,
Fuzzy122
The man served, the man got wounded. End of story.
Well now he is berating Cheney for his deferments, how many deferments did Kerry get before he (forced to) served?
IIRC, people used addresses in order to get better(?) placement in the draft. Certain draft boards had more "eligible" draftees and were able to meet their quota easily, and give out plenty of deferments.
However, in Kerry's year, 1968, that was the biggest year of those taken in the draft. So,maybe there's nothing to it.
Why didn't he use his parents, or was he living with his Aunt?
BRAVO!!! fellow freepers!!!
He was in boarding school...I htink his parents were still overseas...check his background at his site..I think he got draft board #59 I am looking for the old discussion..yes in that time period there where some who tried to change residence for registration purposes, especially the wealthy...
Another question is how hard was it to get into the USNR?
"Safe" service billets were hard to find for those
facing the draft and who desired to avoid combat.
Did Kerry need the same sort of "help" that Bush is
charged with needing?
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