John Kerry: Heroism, and growing concern about war

The Boston Globe ^ | 6/16/2003 | Michael Kranish

[christie]

The Christmas Eve truce of 1968 was three minutes old when mortar fire exploded around John Forbes Kerry and his five-man crew on a 50-foot aluminum boat near Cambodia. ''Where is the enemy?'' a crewmate shouted.

In the distance, an elderly man was tending his water buffalo -- and serving as human cover for a dozen Viet Cong manning a machine-gun nest.

"Open fire; let's take 'em," Kerry ordered, according to his second-in-command, James Wasser of Illinois. Wasser blasted away with his M-60, hitting the old man, who slumped into the water, presumably dead. With a clear path to the enemy, the fusillade from Kerry's Navy boat, backed by a pair of other small vessels, silenced the machine-gun nest.

When it was over, the Viet Cong were dead, wounded, or on the run. A civilian apparently was killed, and two South Vietnamese allies who had alerted Kerry's crew to the enemy were either wounded or killed.

On the same night, Kerry and his crew had come within a half-inch of being killed by "friendly fire," when some South Vietnamese allies launched several rounds into the river to celebrate the holiday.

To top it off, Kerry said, he had gone several miles inside Cambodia, which theoretically was off limits, prompting Kerry to send a sarcastic message to his superiors that he was writing from the Navy's "most inland" unit.

[christie]

.
Pure fiction.

Check out the John F. Kerry Timeline.
.

[BenLurkin]

''Where is the enemy?'' a crewmate shouted.

They are within, my friend, and we need to smoke them out.

[oyez]

''Where is the enemy?''

Given the number of people working for and contributing to the Komrade Kerry Kampaign(KKK), I think we are surrounded.

An immortal Pogo quote, "We have met the enemy and he is us!"

[oyez]

''Where is the enemy?''

Given the number of people working for and contributing to the Komrade Kerry Kampaign(KKK), I think we are surrounded.

An immortal Pogo quote, "We have met the enemy and he is us!"

[syriacus]

Vote John Kerry for a Stronger Sportier America

[yoe]

(SBV)

Check out the picture to see just how many of Kerry's ship mates still stand by him........then donate to the SBVs again.

[dirtboy]

Michael Kranish

More like Michael Kneepadish.

[ssaftler]

This is the infamous "President Nixon ordered us into Cambodia" crap, isn't it? The Boston Glob is making a "Rather" large gaff, no?

[christie]

It's an old article, but they still have this pile of &^*% on their web site.

[Cicero]

Odd that the peaceniks at the Boston Globe would call shooting an old man and a water bufallo heroic.

Maybe he was a Vietcong. Or maybe he just got caught in the middle. But sure as hell if this had been a story about some Republican candidate this story would have read very differently.

[twigs]

"near Cambodia."

Make that 55 miles from Cambodia.

[twigs]

Odd that the peaceniks at the Boston Globe would call shooting an old man and a water bufallo heroic.

Have you read "Unfit for Command?" Apparently, Kerry was known in VN for needlessly attacking the S Vietnamese. Most of those working with him were appalled.

[pawdoggie]

Kerry would watch in despair as a crewmate killed a boy who may or may not have been an innocent civilian. He would angrily challenge a military policy that risked the death of noncombatants. And he would try to escape the fate of five of his closest friends, all killed in combat.

John was upset that his "crewmate" shot the innocent civilian before he could zap him (her?), and claim an oak leaf cluster to the "V" device on his Silver Star.

[christie]

.
This is worse garbage than Tour of Duty.

.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

I'm John Kerry and I approve
the desecration of the American Flag.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"...For Kerry, his Yuletide mission was an epiphany: the moment when he realized his government was lying to the people about what was going on. This is the turning point, the moment that set the young Kerry on the path from brave young war volunteer to fierce anti-war activist.

And it turns out it's total bunk."

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
August 15, 2004

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Harvard Crimson : Kerry refused order to destroy Viet Cong village

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=352185

Published on Wednesday, February 18, 1970
John Kerry: A Navy Dove Runs for Congress

By SAMUEL Z. GOLDHABER
Crimson Staff Writer

"...One time Kerry was ordered to destroy a Viet Cong village
but disobeyed orders and suggested that the Navy Command
simply send in a Psychological Warfare team to be
friend the villagers with food, hospital supplies,
and better educational facilities."

My Note:

Kerry disobeyed lawful orders and
gave aid and comfort to the
Viet Cong while US service people
died in Viet Nam
and were POW's in North Viet Nam

[moonman]

"When Kerry returned to his base, his commanding officer, George Elliott, raised an issue with Kerry: the fine line between whether the action merited a medal or a court-martial.

"When [Kerry] came back from the well-publicized action where he beached his boat in middle of ambush and chased a VC around a hootch and ended his life, when [Kerry] came back and I heard his debrief, I said, `John, I don't know whether you should be court-martialed or given a medal, court-martialed for leaving your ship, your post,"' Elliott recalled in an interview."

Abandoning your post (your vessel and your crew) to chase an already wounded combatant fleeing the fight, and then commit cold blooded murder in lieu of taking him prisoner ... hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!!

[Radix]

Last year the Boston Globe ran an 8 straight day front page above the fold series on John Kerry. Supposedly they were going to give equal time to all of the candidates but I doubt that was the case in the end. Think about that above the fold front page everyday for a week and the first primaries were months off in the future. The Globe has been shilling for Kerry ever since 1971. They have long been in bed with him and this is not news.

Typically the Globe everyday inserts disparaging comments into their reports from Iraq. They regularly criticize the effort, and they emphasize every casualty while at the same time they show the poor victims of American aggression. I do not buy that rag everyday but I get it enough to know where they stand. Reuters and the AP as well as others employ the same sort of bias.

The thing in my view that is most outrageous now is that they consistently refer to the Swift Boat veterans as liars despite the fact that John Kerry is the proven liar concerning certain of his claims concerning his Viet Nam exploits, i.e. Cambodia and Christmas when Nixon was president.

Notice on the article there is a map linked which includes the commentary concerning where John Kerry received his medals during his SECOND tour. I see 2 medals and a citation mentioned in the map and I wonder if that was intentional to only mention the two.