Posted on 09/14/2004 1:26:43 AM PDT by Cableguy
In his campaign book Massachusetts Senator John Kerry notes there was fine line between actions that merited a court martial or a medal. He reported that medals were given for questionable activities in order to boost morale.
This narrow distinction figures into the controversy that has raged for a several weeks regarding the Silver Star Kerry was awarded for killing a Vietnamese man.
For more than 30 years, Kerry has portrayed a heroic version of a life and death struggle -- of staring down a suspected guerilla who was about to fire upon Kerry's swift boat. It was kill. Or be killed. At least, that's the version Kerry tells.
Eyewitnesses offer a far different account. They allege Kerry shot a wounded teenager retreating from battle.
Kerry has made public, hundreds of pages of official Navy documents to bolster his many claims. Conspicuous by its absence is the official after action report of what actually happened that day. The after action report written by John Kerry, himself.
In an exclusive, The Point has obtained this document from U.S. Navy archives (you can see it here). The pertinent section reads:
"PCF 94 beached in center of ambush in front of small path when Viet Cong sprung up from bunker 10 feet from unit. Man ran with weapon towards hootch. Forward M-60 machine gunner wounded man in leg. Officer-in-charge, LTjg Kerry, jumped ashore and gave pursuit while other units saturated area with fire and beached placing assault parties ashore. Kerry chased VC inland behind hootch and shot him while he fled -- capturing one B-40 rocket launcher with round in chamber."
So there you have it. The official record written by John Kerry supports what the critics have alleged rather than the John Wayne Kerry version the Massachusetts liberal has been telling.
Death is a reality of war. Events occur that are not for the faint of heart. Yet, John Kerry's account of killing what turned out to really be a wounded man while he fled continues Kerry's pattern of lies, exaggerations and embellishments.
Killing a wounded man while he retreated from battle is not an action that most servicemen would brag about. But then again, most servicemen would not return home and attack the very country they were supposed to fight for.
And that's the Point.
bump
Kerry chased VC inland behind hootch and shot him while he fled -- capturing one B-40 rocket launcher with round in chamber."
Sure sounds like a Silver Star action if I ever heard one. At short range if the VC only had a B-40 he was unarmed.
what a turd
My ad idea for Cableguy's article fits this article's to a T.
How about this:
Scene… John Kerry, part of the clip where he states that if he was president on 9/11 that he would have not sat immobile for x amount of time in front of a group of children! Fade…
Announcer: Okay, hindsight in defining moments of history can go both ways:
Scene… Viet Nam river bank. A wounded, exhausted child clad only in a ragged blood splattered loin cloth. Child is crying, writhing in pain, feebly trying to crawl away from someone that horrifies him. Child is crying for his mother.
Announcer: In the past, at war - sometimes hard choices were made by good soldiers. Sometimes these choices were pre-planned, and so the choice was easily made by mere soldiers!
Scene… Fast, booted (boot’s new and shiny) foot steps crunch loudly through the jungle, seeking… Back shot of a tall, lanky solider (new, clean, starched uniform) following a blood smeared trail. At the sound of the rapidly approaching footsteps - the boy… with greater, more desperate emotion… start wailing pitifully for his mother, for mercy, for recognition that he now is merely an unarmed and wounded child.
Announcer: Mere soldier…
Scene… Foot falls quicken - shouts of glee... scene goes quiet. A wounded, terrified child is now framed between the legs of a tall American solider. The child stares at the face of the solider. Horror, terror, and hopelessness flash across the face of this wounded child… a last, body trembling sob - as the child takes in his last breath.
Announcer: A mere soldier who would be your President!
Scene… The tall soldier raises his rifle. Cut to the rifle’s ejection port. First burst is rapid, coupled to the extremely loud ripping sound of an M-16 on full auto. Ten bullets casings fly from the rifle.
Scene… Now slow motion framing of the remaining 10 bullets leaving the rifle’s ejection port. The rifle’s action movement is clearly visible as round after round is jacked, and fired. The last round fired leaves the action locked back… smoke now drifts from the action.
Scene… Bullet casing after bullet casing is framed and caught in slow motion cascading to the jungle floor.
Scene… A soft, obscured focus.. Near the feet of the tall soldier, a shattered child’s shape, now silent, lies on the jungle floor.
Announcer: We know what one mere solider did...
Scene… The tall soldier says… “Sorry Charlie… I’ll need that medal!” Could leave this with just the “Sorry Charlie” comment.
Announcer: The question today is… “What would George Bush have done?”
Now if we could just figure out why he has FOUR Campaign Stars on his Vietnam Camapign Medal, when he seems to have only served in TWO Campaigns of the Vietnam War...
He picked them out of a Crackerjack box.
IMO even DRUDGE is afraid to post now after CBS got embarassed....notice how when CBS went with 60 minutes stories the were BANNER material.......
This story which could prove that swiftvets aren't lying.... **gets hid under an older 60 minutes story, and above the sexy playgirl story** about a smartmouth MSM sports annoucer wanting to be the next brokaw.
Shooting a guy in the back, who is running away WITH A ROCKET is not dishonorable.
Should you wait until the guy runs behind a tree and aims the rocket at another Swift boat?
If this guy was running away to FLEE, he would have dropped the rocket. It's instinct, life and death, if this rocket is slowing you down, get rid of it. It was an offensive weapon (ie, you're not going to defend a position or cover a retreat with one RPG).
The VC was likely going to use the rocket again, and Kerry did not want to wait for the smoking gun before he protected his comrades.
I've never been in war, but I, like the president, will not dispute that it took GUTS to leave his boat, all alone, with an unknown number of enemy all around. Kerry did not know this guy with the RPG was alone, but he knew he had to take him out before that VC had a chance to re-position himself for a better shot at Kerry's comrades with the RPG.
I hate Kerry. I think what he did after the war was treason.
But what happened IN Viet Nam, to me, is off limits.
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.