Posted on 10/14/2004 7:24:53 AM PDT by Aim Higher
“Don’t make this [story] about meeting the Admiral,” the Admiral requested of me. Make it about the boat men and the great job they did. All the boat men. That’s what this thing is really about. “
And so my interview with the most gracious Admiral Roy Hoffmann, Founder of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, came to a close -- in the very same way it began -- with a porthole into the heart of a military man who, having attained such a high rank, has every reason to be proud, but who is, instead, humble to the core.
When I first sat down with Admiral Hoffmann, I got my first glimpse through that porthole into his heart. Overcome with excitement to meet this man I so admire because he is willing to take a public stand for the truth -- come what may -- he responded to my uncontained effervescence by looking down at the table, shrugging his shoulder, and saying:
“Oh, I’m not anything.”
Never one to have my enthusiasm easily dampened, I quickly shot back, “Well, you sure have taken a lot of flack for what you’re doing!”
“Well, we have a saying,” Admiral Hoffmann said. “’If you’re not taking flack -- you’re not on target.’“
“It’s not original, it comes from the old Army Air Corps.” He paused, then couldn’t resist teasing, “But the Navy’s not embarrassed to borrow an old Army Air Corps expression.”
The Admiral’s eyes were shining. And I laughed. My father, a World War II veteran who flew missions over Italy, was part of that “old Army Air Corps.”
I spent a privileged personal hour with Admiral Hoffmann. And, at his request, I won’t make this “all about him.”
Nevertheless, the question must be asked:
What would drive a 78-year-old retired Navy Rear Admiral to come out of comfortable retirement to serve his country yet again -- knowing that hostile “enemy fire” is not only probable ahead, it is virtually guaranteed?
“We would have just as soon forgotten all about Vietnam and that whole business,” said Admiral Hoffmann. “But when Kerry made it the centerpiece of his campaign, we had to say something.”
And there you have it.
Thus ended the Admiral’s retirement, if only temporarily. Along with his faithful band of determined Swiftees who have joined him in coming out to serve their country “one more time” in fighting a new kind of war.
A War for The Truth.
Different War. Same Commander. Admiral Hoffmann was the overall commander of U.S. Swift Boats during the period of Kerry’s Vietnam coastal service. Thus he leads the charge again.
Some wars are not chosen. Indeed, this War for the Truth which Admiral Hoffmann and his Swiftees have found themselves engaged in, has not been of their choosing. But the audacious “war hero” status in which their “comrade-in-arms” John Kerry has positioned himself -- which Kerry himself chose to make the very centerpiece of his candidacy for Commander-in Chief -- has left them with no alternative but to step forward and warn their country as to the true John Kerry, which they know to be at polar opposites to “Kerry the Presidential Candidate.”
How does Kerry the Presidential Candidate want you, the American voter to see him?
Kerry wants you to see him as a Vietnam war hero with his faithful “band of brothers” standing by his side.
The Truth?
FACT # 1: At the Democratic Convention, only 13 vets actually “stood by Kerry’s side“ -- the same 13 that keep appearing with him around the country. Where are the rest of his “band of brothers?”
FACT # 2: Only three of the 21 fellow Swift boat commanders still living from Kerry’s Coastal Division 11 support his candidacy today.
FACT #3: Eleven of those commanders have unequivocally condemned Kerry -- in writing -- as being unfit to serve as Commander-in-Chief.
FACT # 4: Not one single officer Kerry served under in Vietnam backs his candidacy today. Not one. To the contrary -- going up through the entire chain of command -- every single officer Kerry ever served under during his tour in Vietnam is opposed to his candidacy, and considers him unfit to serve as Commander-in-Chief.
FACT # 5: Overall, more than 250 Swift Boat veterans are on record as questioning Kerry‘s fitness to serve as Commander-in-Chief.
What is John Kerry’s response to the thunderous, collective 250+ Swift Boat Veteran Voices for Truth?
Kerry says they’re nothing more than the dirty “Republican attack machine” going after him.
FACT # 6: Republicans and Democrats and Independents comprise the ranks of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
FACT # 7: It is Kerry’s own despicable actions in time of war which have galvanized Swift Boat Veterans across all party lines to come together and stand as one, to tell the nation the truth about the real John Kerry -- before it is too late.
And that truth is….
John Kerry betrayed our country.
John Kerry betrayed his comrades-in-arms.
Serious charges. The most serious. And if you have any doubt whatsoever as to the absolute veracity of these charges, know this:
On the count of, “ John Kerry, betrayer of our country:“ It is a matter of historical record.
On the count of, “John Kerry, betrayer of his comrades-in-arms:” It is a matter of historical record.
And it is all expertly laid out in the bestseller, Unfit for Command, authored by John E. O’Neill, along with Jerome R. Corsi, PH.D.
On the day I met Admiral Hoffmann, he greeted me with a gift copy of this book, knowing I was interviewing him specifically to post an article on the internet. I had wanted to read Unfit for Command for a good while, and I was thrilled at the unexpected gift copy.
What I hadn’t realized at the exact moment the Admiral gave me the book, is that primary author John O’Neill is himself a Swiftee -- and the very naval officer who took command of Kerry’s Swift Boat after Kerry left Vietnam. I hadn’t realized that Unfit for Command is the cornerstone of the entire Swiftee campaign against Kerry.
Once inside the pages, it became abundantly clear to me why Admiral Hoffmann had provided me with Unfit for Command. I had asked to meet him, to shake his hand. To hear his story. And not just his story. The whole Swiftee story. And here it was right before me. All the research, the factual data, the historical record. In short: The entire Swiftee case against Kerry -- every blistering detail -- in one book.
Now, in honor of all Admiral Hoffmann’s boat men, who served our nation so nobly in Vietnam, staying the course; on behalf and in honor of all those “who gave the last full measure” -- here and now, I wish to stand.
I wish to stand with the truth tellers: The Swiftees -- and their new partners in truth -- our brave POWs. I wish to add my small voice to their great, collective thunder. And I wish, along with them, to serve this great nation I so dearly love, by now publishing abroad, across the internet, the truth about John Forbes Kerry.
JOHN KERRY BETRAYED OUR COUNTRY.....HISTORY TESTIFIES
Without permission, without authority, while the war in Vietnam was still being waged -- while Kerry was yet a Naval Reserve officer -- he made his way into the Paris Peace Conference in 1970 and spoke privately with the enemy.
Kerry was not a delegate to the peace talks. He had absolutely no legal authority to speak on behalf of our nation. By being there he undermined negotiations of legitimate U.S. delegates with the Communist delegations -- and endangered every single one of our POWs and every man still fighting the war.
But that didn’t matter to Kerry.
Kerry wanted in. “Somehow” he got in. He had his own private talk with Madame Binh who represented the Viet Cong, in addition to talks with other members of the Vietnamese Communist delegations.
Illegal, unauthorized, coalescing with the enemy during time of war -- this is what betraying your country looks like. And no amount of spin during a presidential campaign can change what are the facts of history.
Michael Meehan, a Kerry presidential spokesman, insists that Kerry didn’t go to Paris intending to meet with the Communist delegations.
No? Ok. Have it your way. “Kerry never went to Paris intending to meet with our enemy.”
There’s just one little problem with this “cover” story, Mr. Meehan:
American patriots do not engage in private, illegal, unauthorized meetings with our enemy in time of war -- intended or unintended.
Oh -- and one more thing. Cozy little chats with our country’s wartime enemy like your candidate Kerry engaged in? Those meetings didn’t “just happen.” They were arranged. And they weren’t arranged by patriots, either.
Well, that is to say -- patriots of the U.S.
John Kerry not only wants you and I to swallow the tale that his 1970 Paris meetings with the enemy were purely “serendipitous” -- he also wants us to believe they were purely for “fact-finding” purposes. Not negotiations.
Does this explain to the American public why only one year later, in 1971, Kerry -- along with his Vietnam Veterans against the War brood -- were working directly with the enemy to oppose our country’s military objectives in the war?
In November of 1971, John Kerry was at the very helm of the VVAW when active consideration was underway to produce propaganda films for broadcast to American soldiers fighting in Vietnam.
QUESTION:
Would you say a U.S. Naval officer is with his country or working against it when he is planning to broadcast films to our American soldiers, inducing them to refuse the orders of their superior officers in the field, and not engage the enemy in combat?
With us or against us?
Until recently, Kerry claimed that he resigned from the VVAW in June of 1971 -- five months before the Kansas City, Missouri meetings took place, during which the aforementioned and other traitorous plans were being drafted. But FBI surveillance reports, now made public, (along with eyewitnesses) have positively placed Kerry at these Kansas City meetings. Kerry now “acknowledges” he was present at the meetings.
On the count of, “Betrayer of the United States of America during time of war:” The very records of history have testified. And history finds John Kerry: “Guilty as charged.”
JOHN KERRY BETRAYED HIS COMRADES-IN-ARMS.....HISTORY TESTIFIES
How many times have Vietnam veterans been met with the savage charge, “Baby killer!”
And more to the point -- where did this wretched phrase even come from?
Look no further than John Forbes Kerry, executive steering committee member of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and their contemptible “Winter Soldiers Investigation,“ conducted in Detroit in January of 1971.
The term “winter soldiers” refers back to the great pamphleteer, Thomas Paine, who wrote of George Washington’s brave soldiers and their willingness to endure the meanest winter for the just cause of liberty:
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in the crisis, shrink from the services of their country, but he that stands in the now deserves the love and thanks of men and women.“
Kerry and his fellow Vietnam Veterans Against the War fancied themselves the “winter soldiers.” The “tough” ones who deserve our thanks. Why? Because they were willing to take on our evil government, don’t you see, and stop them from waging that evil war in Vietnam against those nice communist aggressors.
So the “winter soldiers” decided to play political war games -- and handily killed the reputation of two million comrades-in-arms.
How?
They told lie after lie after lie about so-called war crimes, and gross atrocities committed by their brothers fighting the war -- the true winter soldiers -- who were still serving honorably and dying on the soil in Vietnam.
One by one, the witnesses at the Winter Soldiers Investigation in Detroit were called up to the makeshift platform to testify to the gruesome crimes they had “personally seen” committed by brother soldiers in Vietnam.
Shock tales of decapitations. Tear-gassing people for fun. Wires being attached to genitals and the power charge being turned up. Women raped. Villages gunned down. Innocent children and babies massacred. Each bloody, savage, monster crime worst sounding than the last. All done at the hands of the American soldier.
And most of it done, you know -- “just for kicks.”
Much of the testimony given during the investigations, the Detroit Free Press could not corroborate -- even with 10 days advance notice. When the Free Press asked witnesses for affidavits, they were not able to produce them.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service conducted their own inquiry. Several of the identities of those “appearing” before the Detroit Winter Soldiers Investigation were found to be totally fake. The names of real veterans were stolen and used by fake witnesses when they were testifying to all those savage, beastly acts they supposedly saw committed by our servicemen in Vietnam.
The NCIS has sworn statements and corroborating witnesses from the actual veterans whose names were stolen for use in this charade. Not only were the real veterans not present at the Winter Soldiers Investigation -- one veteran whose name was fraudulently used has never been to Detroit in his entire life!
And then there are the “Special 11” witnesses at the Winter Soldiers Investigation who also testified to seeing their brother soldiers commit war crimes so awful, no animal should be found doing such things. Ah yes. The very “Special 11.”
Wait a minute. What is it again that makes these 11 war veteran witnesses so special? Refresh my memory? Oh, that’s right:
Our National Archives show no military records for these 11 “war veterans” whatsoever. No record that they have ever served in any branch of the U.S. military.
Lies. Fraud. Fake witnesses. False testimony.
This is the legacy of Kerry’s Winter Soldiers Investigation. And he didn’t stop it at Detroit. Next stop: Washington, DC.
In the spring of 1971, Kerry presented before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, headed by William Fulbright, the same undocumented maligning testimony of shock and horror tales that were told at the Winter Soldiers Investigation.
This time the whole world was listening -- including our enemy. They loved Kerry’s testimony. They made great use of it. They ritually tormented our POWs in their cells by playing Kerry’s taped words over and over, while taunting our POWs with:
“This is the voice of your own American Naval Officer. Even your own American Naval officer says you are war criminals. So you see it is true. You are war criminals.“
When Kerry’s appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was done, his exercise in anti-war political theater had succeeded. The anti-war, anti-Vietnam soldier sentiment in America had reached its fevered pitch.
“Baby killers!“ became an instant part of the American lexicon. And the brave winter soldiers war game had successfully killed the reputations of two million veterans.
Certainly there were some atrocities committed in Vietnam in some places at some times. There are in every war.
The difference is, John Forbes Kerry stood on the world stage and announced that savage, beastly atrocities committed against innocent babies and other civilians were the casual day-to-day rule -- not the gross exception to the rule -- of the Vietnam soldier.
John Forbes Kerry -- testified against his comrades-in-arms before a captive world audience -- and committed wholesale character assassination on every one of them, providing no proof of his accusations. No supporting evidence. No documentation. No sworn statements. No corroboration.
Just one ugly, maligning tongue…
…which placed an instant and permanent cloak of disgrace and dishonor over the service and character of every single Vietnam Veteran.
Men who deserved our respect and honor and appreciation for serving our country so well were instead greeted home with shouts of, “BABY KILLER!”
Honorable young soldiers who had stayed the course in Vietnam returned to their hometowns where the citizens awaited their arrival -- not to give them a hero’s welcome -- but to unload on them the spittle in their mouths.
Shame. Humiliation. Dishonor. Disgrace. These are the “Welcome Home” gifts that awaited countless thousands of Vietnam Veterans upon returning home…thanks to John Kerry, executive leader of the VVAW pack.
On the count of, “Betrayer of his comrades-in-arms:” History has testified. And history finds John Forbes Kerry: “Guilty as charged.”
“I’m John Kerry -- and I’m reporting for duty!”
This was Kerry’s grand entry announcement along with a presumptive Commander-in-Chief military salute which he gave to thunderous applause at his Boston Democratic Convention in July.
Is this the kind of man you want “reporting for duty” as our next Commander-in-Chief on January 20, 2005?
A man who betrayed his country in time of war. A man who betrayed his comrades-in-arms.
No? Then I urge you to accept this challenge: I’ve just put my money where my mouth is -- I’ve just given $50 today to stand with the Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth.
Join me!
Click on the link below, and let’s help keep their killer ads on the air, and keep the truth about John Kerry before the American voters:
https://www.swiftvets.com/swift/ccdonation.php?op=donate&site=SwiftVets
Every vote counts! Remember Election 2000!
On Wednesday, September 22, when I interviewed Admiral Hoffmann, Bush was way up in the polls. I expressed my optimism because of what the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign was accomplishing.
“If [Kerry] wins,” said Admiral Hoffmann grimacing, “I guess we’ll all just have to grit our teeth and salute.”
Shocked, I looked at the Admiral and countered with my encouragement over the great difference they were making in turning the tide across America.
But the Admiral, a veteran of many wars, who knew and had experienced the bitter realities of combat firsthand -- knew the truth.
“Don’t think this thing is over,” he warned. “…Kerry is slick.”
Give your grassroots support to the Swiftees today! https://www.swiftvets.com/swift/ccdonation.php?op=donate&site=SwiftVets
Signed,
Aim Higher
aka Laughlines @ Blogit.com
If you think this article has been helpful -- please share it with anyone and everyone you know before Election Day. Email it! Send it out across the internet! Make copies and circulate! Thank you!
BTTT.
I understand your point,
but a bunch of somebodies somewhere, in positions of media influence, ought to be calling a spade a spade.
I am tired of this pussyfooting political correctness.
Even if the statute of limitations has run out (thanks a lot, Mr. Nixon), it doesn't change what he did.
Amen, sister.
Political correctness: Where are all those environmentalists when you REALLY need them to clean up the garbage in the air?
BTTT!
I am so so excited that you are "one of us," Kiwi. It made me sad to read what you said about all the things you hear around the world about the USA. It must be very strange having your accent and in that regard sort of being "undercover" and in a position to hear what is exactly in people's hearts and minds. I am so happy to have you as an American sister. So proud and excited. Welcome, welcome, welcome. And how excited I am to think of you on November 2. Next to our beloved President, George W. Bush, I think I will be thinking of you and my nephew the most on Tuesday November 2, Kiwi -- as you experience the thrill of your very first U.S. Presidential Election!
And all too often it takes a new American such as yourself, Kiwi, to appreciate that fact. As the saying goes, "Freedom isn't free." Amean, God bless the Swiftees. And God bless all who wear the uniform of the U.S. military -- bless them every one.
And something Aim always likes to receive!
SA-WEEEEEET!
Thanks for the ping.
I'd mentioned the discrepancies in discharge/SEPROS dates months ago. What in the hell took the press and MSM so long in their inquiries; where are those bright and fearless investigative reporters???
Taxman Bravo Zulu!
Most excellent interview and article!
I think we assume that everyone knows what we know about Kerry. They don't, as I learned last weekend.
My son and his family came up to my place for a visit for the first time since last spring. I began talking about Kerry's despicable and treacherous activities after he returned from VN, and they looked like they had not heard anything about it. Turns out they had heard a few things, but thought it was just unsubstantiated rumors which had been made into political dirty tricks. Now don't get me wrong, they are both Republican conservatives and they never had the slightest intention of voting for Kerry, but they did not know just how rotten the man really is and how important it is to stop him from becoming the C in C of our armed forces.
After learning that my own family had not known the truth about Kerry, it made me wonder how many other people have no idea what Kerry is all about. That's why I am urging everyone to email the article to everyone in your address book. We simply can't sit by and allow this proven traitor and collaborator to become the Chief Executive of our great nation and C in C of our armed forces just because some people didn't think their vote mattered this time.
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