Kerry's Winter Soldiers
This essay was written during an online exchange between author John Boyle and Vietnam War historian Keith Nolan, who wrote, in reference to viewing a tape of parts of the VVAW's Winter Soldier Investigation:
"In any event, I didn't hear any testimony that should have sent John Kerry running for the exit."
I suppose I could write a book on that truly sorry business in Detroit in late January and early February of 1971, for which Jane Fonda helped raise the money and John Kerry dutifully "vetted" some of the witnesses and sat as "Moderator" of one of the "Panels."
In general terms, be mindful that several of the "witnesses" were on a semi-professional tour of many places like Oslo and Moscow, where they were lionized by folks like the Pathet Lao. And that these tribunals were numerous and had been around the world for years, especially in Europe. The permanent one in Oslo was funded by the Soviet KGB.
None of this is particularly difficult to research, because the participants are still happy to brag about it.
Be mindful that several (not all) of the witnesses were fakes. How many more were phonies beyond the known dozen or so has yet to be definitively proven. Be patient.
Be mindful that everyone involved with the enterprise refused to cooperate with any of the several investigative agencies that tried to verify or refute these stories - supposedly because of the suspect motives of all government agencies. But I think much more likely because the stories could not withstand objective investigation. VVAW, at the time, would have us believe that they did not want guilty individuals punished when the overall policy was really at fault. Tell that to the families of the 400 plus American service members executed for war crimes by the U.S. military during World War II. I'm sure they wonder why Eisenhower and Marshall were not shot.
Were some true? No doubt. Does that make a case for anything about government policy, the Vietnam war, the people who served in it? Is everyone in Milwaukee a cannibal because Jeffrey Dahmer was a media sensation?
But one must ask, if VVAW had anything like its claimed 40,000 members, or even the 12,000 it would report if pressed, or even the 7,000 that is more likely accurate; and if they spent considerable time recruiting "witnesses" via "coffee houses" set up outside the front gates of military bases all over the country, using inducements beyond mere coffee; and if this recruiting was helped by free ads in publications like Playboy - - - if, after all this, they were able to produce only 120 witnesses to atrocities in Vietnam, witnesses of alleged military experience in Vietnam, including John Kerry, THEN, one must ask, from this sample, from this dubious collection of people, who in their right mind would conclude not only that this was "evidence" in any rational sense, but that is was representative of the actions of 3.5 million troops over ten years or more?
If anything, all the effort put into this enterprise, and the scant results it was able to produce, strongly argues that the occurrence of atrocities by the troops in Vietnam was rare.
But the opposite conclusion was drawn by VVAW.
And that was Kerry's stated conclusion. It couldn't possibly have been his belief; but it was his stated conclusion.
And VVAW to this day bemoans the fact that the fruits of this event were unjustly ignored by the mainstream media. NO functioning journalistic enterprise with even the minimum standards of ethical behavior could possibly publish anything of the kind and maintain its credibility.
Keep in mind that most testimony regarded as credible by historians (Mr. Nolan) and legal professionals, usually consists of "who, what, where, when" and, if possible, "why." All of the witnesses at Winter Soldier spoke extensively of "what" happened. None specified "who" did it. None specified exactly "where" it happened. Time of event is fuzzy or non-existent. And the general "why" seems to be that "everyone was doing it" or it was just "fun."
Such stories can be heard in any place where veterans gather, especially if the liquor is flowing, and most especially if some of the story tellers are not veterans at all.
How convenient for the brave witnesses to be shielded both from legal actions for libel and/or prosecution for crimes if they themselves did the things they testified to. Just be as vague as possible as to verifiable details, and your butt is good to go.
Now one may assume that all these diverse people could not all employ the same rhetorical limitations entirely on their own. So some kind of coaching had to have taken place, at a minimum.
Some of the events described defy the laws of physics and the ballistic properties of explosive devices (Joe Bangert seemed to be an expert in this sort of pornographic fantasy). Much else is just twisted opinion of commonly occurring war-time events often heard from malcontents in any military organization.
And I have often wondered lately about John Kerry's choice of words in his testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which enshrined this travesty into "truth" for all of American history - and which brings me here today. How he characterized the Winter Soldier investigation was, "They told the stories at times they had personally raped..."
"Stories..." he said. This was perhaps some of his guide Adam Walinsky's best legal foresight.
I wonder, was that one word deliberately used to provide cover some long time hence, if the truth ever got out about the Winter Soldier investigation? "Hey guys, I said they were only stories -- honest!"
Now that would be prime Kerry.
John Boyle
19th Combat Engineers
RVN 11/66 - 2/68
The Official John Kerry Blog
Swift Boat Vets Evoke Nixon's Ghost
'Swift Boat Vets' evoke Nixon's ghost
Cape Cod Times
August 25, 2004
My View: reader commentary
By JOE BANGERT
The first weekend of the month marked both the 40th anniversary of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the 30th anniversary of the disgraceful resignation of a very slippery GOP president named Nixon. And now Nixon's ghost appears in the current smear job by the so-called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth against my good friend, longtime comrade and fellow Vietnam War veteran, John Kerry.
This group is deflecting criticism of George Bush's bellicose presidency by lies, lies and more damnable lies. Unleashed by Karl Rove and company, this attack ship of fools is having its third cruise around the truth in a futile attempt to besmirch Kerry's military service record. These GOP attack dogs now need to be muzzled by the truth.
Some of these attackers are veterans of the black propaganda used against such prior targets as Sen. John McCain, whom they called "The Manchurian Candidate" in 2000.
Then in 2002 they turned their sights on Sen. Max Cleland, a triple-amputee veteran of the Vietnam War whose patriotism they attacked - and got away with it.
Sen. McCain called these attacks on Kerry "dishonest and dishonorable" and called on George Bush to condemn their ad. Regrettably, George Bush has refused to do so.
So who are these men who insist they are "not affiliated with any party"?
A report filed July 15 with the IRS shows initial funding for the group came from Houston home builder Bob R. Perry. Perry is a staunch GOP fund-raiser and donor of millions of dollars in Texas to the GOP, especially to the president's campaign as well as that of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Last year Perry gave $600,000 to 23 GOP candidates for the Texas Legislature, helping lift the GOP to its first takeover of the Texas House since Reconstruction. Perry gave $200,000 to the Swift Boat group.
The group has launched ads in key states, stating falsely that its members served with Kerry and "know him," and calling his combat valor into question. Lt. j.g. John Kerry served on three vessels, including two swift boats - PCF-94 and PCF-44. Each boat had a six-man crew - so the total universe of Kerry's real wartime comrades consisted of a band of a dozen brothers.
Tom Belodeau of Massachusetts, a close friend of John's, is now dead. All remaining members of the crews in No. 94 and No. 44 are onboard the Kerry-Edwards campaign. Not one of these Swift Boat Veterans for Truth actually served with Kerry at all!
Here is the Nixonian flashback, to 1971: John O'Neill, a Vietnam veteran and author of the soon-to-be-released book attacking Kerry's Vietnam service, did not serve on a swift boat at the same time as Kerry. Kerry was back home in the United States by the time O'Neill took command of his first unit.
But back in 1971, Richard Nixon needed to counter anti-war groups such as Vietnam Veterans Against the War, of which Kerry and I were members. He tasked Chuck Colson (of Watergate infamy) to form an attack group against Kerry, led by the young John O'Neill. Yes, this is an old, bitter fight.
The main round of Kerry v. O'Neill occurred in June 1971 on the "Dick Cavett Show." O'Neill spent most of his airtime attacking Kerry's patriotism for criticizing the Vietnam War, rather than discussing the issues of war and peace.
A newly released tape of Nixon's conversation with Kissinger, his national security adviser, reminded us that we had another corrupt GOP war president who sacrificed American lives by extending a war for the sake of his own campaign. Nixon said three months before the 1972 election: "South Vietnam probably can never even survive anyway. ... We also have to realize that winning an election is terribly important. It's terribly important this year."
So the war that John O'Neill defended on Cavett's show and that George W. Bush supported but chose not to serve on active duty comes down to not telling the truth to the American people. Nixon drew out the Vietnam War for political expediency. Thousands more died or were wounded by lies.
O'Neill was rewarded for his efforts by receiving a clerkship to Nixon's favorite Supreme Court justice, William Rehnquist, and became a law partner with Lezar Harold, a former speechwriter for Nixon.
So now we have President George W. Bush, who lied about how a perceived threat in Iraq would harm us. And now we have the media trumpeting the war, with thousands of young Americans wounded and almost a thousand dead - for political expediency. Just as in Vietnam, the war is being eclipsed by other stories and the news of its dead and wounded fall farther back in the newspaper pages.
We who have personally known John Kerry and all of his crew members stand up for our country and urge Democrats, independents and Republicans to dump Bush in November. Our best bet is to hire the vet. On the Great Seal of the United States, a bald eagle faces us. In one talon are clutched arrows and in the other, olive branches. This president just clutches arrows. But a President Kerry, who fought heroically in a war and then, like the great silent majority, spoke out for peace, will bring back the balance to our country. Semper Fidelis, John Kerry.
Joe Bangert of Brewster is a Veteran for Kerry.
(Published: August 25, 2004)