Donate to Swift Boat Vets for the Truth HERE.
Posted on 09/05/2004 11:56:20 PM PDT by Former Military Chick
ON THE BAY HAP RIVER, Vietnam -- 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 the insurgents in his unit except two.
"It was very fierce fighting," said Mr. Sinh, 52, who lost his left eye during the war and still has shrapnel in his arm. "Each side tried to eliminate the other."
Although Sen. John Kerry may be worried about the support of veterans in the United States, Mr. Sinh said, he would vote any day for his former enemy over President Bush.
Mr. Sinh and Mr. Kerry were fighting along the Dong Cung canal about the same time in early 1969, experiencing the intensity of war along these muddy waters, but from opposite sides.
Although Mr. Sinh said he had never heard of Mr. Kerry, he had a strong opinion about the debate surrounding the Democratic presidential candidate's Vietnam War record as a U.S. Navy swift boat commander: Mr. 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," Mr. Sinh said. "He deserves the medal."
The memories of the swift boat battles in these waters are being scrutinized under the divisive lens of the U.S. presidential election, where Mr. Kerry's actions under fire have been disputed by a group of veterans.
As a Navy lieutenant, Mr. Kerry commanded two swift boat units, PCF-44 and PCF-94, in Vietnam for four months in late 1968 and early 1969. He was awarded three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star.
Mr. Kerry's actions in several of those instances have been challenged in a series of television ads aired by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
When Mr. Kerry and Mr. Sinh plied these muddy waterways, mangroves grew thick on both sides of the Bay Hap River, forming perfect cover for Viet Cong guerrillas who lay waiting to ambush the U.S. boats.
Mr. 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 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. Mr. 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 Mr. Sinh realized that this was not a fight his unit could win. Five of his comrades died, including his buddy who fired the crippling blast. Mr. Sinh escaped by fleeing into the dense forest.
To Mr. Sinh and those who still live along the Mekong Delta, the debate over Mr. Kerry's tour of duty in Vietnam is dumbfounding.
"I think it's American politics," said Nguyen Van Khoai, 61, a former Viet Cong soldier. "On any side, a soldier who made an outstanding feat is given a medal -- but maybe some people try to think otherwise."
An earlier thread (slightly different article, but similar content)
Viet Cong Vets Puzzled Over Attacks on Kerry (They would VOTE for Kerry)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1208101/posts
"Although Kerry may be worried about veterans' support in America, (former Viet Cong soldier) Sinh said he would vote any day for his former enemy over President Bush."
===
They should make an ad: Communist Viet Cong Endorses Kerry
What a good little Communist. Where did they dig him up?
This is sick.
Great headline
"Viet Cong support Kerry"
I just hope all American voters will see this.
Better yet, Kerry money.
Thank you Mr. Singh, commies telling us who they'll vote for really does make up peoples minds.
John F'n Kerry. Communist North Vietnamese' best friend (then and now).
"On any side, a soldier who made an outstanding feat is given a medal -- but maybe some people try to think otherwise."
And Mr. Nguyen is of course lying. ARVN soldiers did not get any medals, and ARVN burial grounds are treated with the utmost disrespect by the Hanoi Stalinists.
He's Kerry's other man servant.
This ex VC Guerrilla knows absolutely zilch about John Kerry. This would be like interviewing an Iraqi soldier about the bravery of Jessica Lynch, sure they were both there, but they don't know JACK about each other
If I told somebody the Communists were the "friends" Kerry was talking about whe he stated "foreigners" wanted him elected, they would have called me a right wing reactionary, but it's ok for a reporter. I hope this make the top fold on the NYT. We might add Osama and Sadam are friends also. Lets add N Korea, Iran, and Cuba to the increasing list. How about the UN? All of which will increase the Bush bounce.
And you were expecting............
What??????????
(This is par for the course)
That would be correct.
Support for GWB runs about 80 to 90 percent in the Vietnamese-American community. That's exceeded only by Filipino-Americans.
There is widespread belief among V-As that John Kerry was/is on Hanoi's payroll. The Haiphong real estate deal with Kerry's cousin is believed to be the same sort of political graft that Hanoi officials deal in regularly.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.