John Kerry Abandoned His Friends and Left an Ambushed Boat to Fight Alone

Unfit for Command | August, 2004 | John O'Neill & Jerome Corsi

[Silver Falconer]

This is an excerpt from the book Unfit for Command, copyright 2004 by John O'Neill and Jerome Corsi. The excerpt begins on page 79 immediately under the subtitle of "Ambush."

A couple of days before his second Purple Heart, Kerry was also operating with Bob Hildreth, officer in charge of the accompanying boat. It was a day Hildreth would never forget. Kerry was the lead boat, with Hildreth behind. There was a small hole in a line of fishing stakes. Kerry's boat slipped through first. When Hildreth's boat started through, a mine went off, and then at least five rockets were fired at the boat. Standard doctrine and procedure when a boat was under such intense fire was for accompanying boats to stand and fight or return and provide fire support. According to Hildreth, Kerry simply fled, providing neither fire support nor even mortar support. Instead, Hildreth and his gallant crew were left alone to fight their way out of the ambush--which Hildreth has never forgotten: "I would never want Kerry behind me. I wouldn't want him in front of me. And I sure wouldn't want him commanding our kids in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Typically, on Kerry's website, as well as in the operating report for that day, which Kerry wrote and Hildreth never saw, it is Kerry's boat--rather than Hildreth's--that encounters the five B-40s and the mine. Kerry's flight, leaving Hildreth's boat in serious jeopardy, vanishes from the account, and the event is a real triumph--at least on Kerry's website.

[Silver Falconer]

The impression I get about Kerry from reading this book is that he didn't want to be in a dangerous combat area in Vietnam, and he believed he had the right to choose whether to fight or flee depending on the situation at hand. If the current situation looked too dangerous, he usually fled. He had little concern for his fellow American sailors while in Vietnam and he would often disappear from his assigned position on missions. The story of this mission with Bob Hildreth shows how little Kerry cared about the men on Hildreth's boat. Kerry's actions could easily have lead to the deaths of Hildreth and his crewmen. It's just astonishing that Kerry now thinks he's qualified to be Commander in Chief. Stay tuned for further excerpts.

[Delta 21]

Kerry the Coward!

[Delta 21]

Welcome Aboard.

[Silver Falconer]

Thank you sir. It's an honor and a pleasure to be join this group.

[carl in alaska]

Kerry's behavior in this incident is so pathetic. He had twin 50-caliber machine guns on his boat that fire 1100 rounds per minute and destroy everything in their path for one mile. All he had to do was determine the source of the rockets fired at Hildreth's boat and he could have suppressed that fire in less than a minute. That doesn't mean there weren't other attackers waiting to fire, but when your boat has that kind of firepower and your fellow sailors are under attack, you have to stand and fight and win the battle. Kerry clearly did not follow orders on this day and on many others. Kerry is a vain, self-serving, kooky rich kid with delusions about becoming President of the United States.

[onedoug]

I'm surprised the Navy would actually keep an officer who so bitched and moaned about his duty station that he'd actually be assigned to a "less hazardous" one. --Tour Of Duty p 45.

[dahvid]

I'll bet that THIS BOOK WOULD MAKE A GREAT MOVIE! Good enough to wipe-up moore's geuesenheit 911. Yes, I really hope somebody makes a docu-drama about this and publishes just like moore did. It would bee too powerful.

[carl in alaska]

After four months, the Navy did get rid of him. Kerry simply would not follow orders, so after his third Purple Heart his commanding officers urged him to leave Vietnam.

[carl in alaska]

I belive there is a scathing documentary that was just released about Kerry, but I'm not sure where it's going to be shown. The book I would really like to see made into a movie is "Stolen Valor" by B.G. Burkett, just to finally set the record straight about Vietnam vets.

[dennisw]

Stuff like this is why John Kerry's peers, the Swift Vets, have absolute contempt for him. They've been swapping such accounts for years.Kerry comes off to me as a wise guy punk Yalie who would do things the way he wanted, and to hell with orders from above and helping out your Swift Boat brothers in danger

[Patriot_from_CA]

"Kerry comes off to me as a wise guy punk Yalie who would do things the way he wanted, and to hell with orders from above and helping out your Swift Boat brothers in danger."

That about sums it up. My overall perception of Kerry is that he doesn't believe laws and rules apply to him. In this way he's very much like Clinton, and while he may not be as ruthless as Clinton he appears to be (incredibly) a much bigger liar than Clinton. Old Bubba saved his lies for when he was in trouble, while Kerry lies as standard procedure in every situation. If Kerry gets elected (which I doubt he will), we are in a big trouble as a nation.