Posted on 05/04/2006 1:13:03 PM PDT by Phil Harmonic
Two years ago, Charleston's Billy Schachte was caught in the undertow of presidential campaign debates over the circumstances of John Kerry's first Purple Heart. He had commanded Kerry's first Vietnam combat mission and his recollection of the experience was very much different than Kerry's published account.
Today, this tussle over truth and confusion simmers on just beneath the public's attention. That's likely to change soon. Television news veteran Marvin Kalb and his daughter are working through a Harvard-based grant to publish a book that will include commentary on the effectiveness and the credibility of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and Schachte's personal role in the 2004 campaign.
Billy Schachte was a hesitant player on America's biggest political stage. Next time, he says, he will not be so reluctant. He has a pointed response to Marvin Kalb's inquiries and to anyone else who wants to join the discussion: facts define truth and truth cures confusion; Senator Kerry should release all his military records and his personal chronicle. The disagreement can be settled accordingly.
[snip]
In early 2004, New Orleans-based historian Douglas Brinkley published "Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War." Kerry recalled he was in command of the skimmer, and his version includes engaging enemy sampans and then being wounded in an exchange of fire and that's how he said he qualified for his first Purple Heart.
"According to him, I was not even in the boat," the admiral says. "I was astonished. A rookie would never be put in command, and his account of how he was wounded in his first mission is just incredible."
[snip]
...the admiral and many others were nagged by the looming questions: How could Kerry be so confused, and how did he qualify for his first Purple Heart award?
(Excerpt) Read more at charleston.net ...
Jeeze, that's hard to watch even today. I have so much respect and admiration for John O'Neil. He put his life on the line for me in Vietnam, and he's still willing today to place himself in the line of fire of America's enemies.
It gives me the creeps just to watch "Leisure Suit Larry!"
I keep some more vids of Mr.O'Neil and (if you can stomach it...) good info about Kerry on my homepage. Feel free to link to them any time.
> But... Johnny's a hero, a zippo hero, a VC hero!
Ummmm... Charles Upham VC with Bar is a VC hero. John Kerry has little in common with him.
(The Victoria Cross is the British Commonwealth's highest military honor. Very, very few have been issued ever. Charles Upham VC is one of only three soldiers to be awarded the medal twice: first in Crete, then in North Africa)
Actually, I don't think so...at least according to another report from Powerline...
Josh Gerstein also explores the limitations of Kerry's SF 180 in his New York Sun article: "Kerry hangs back from disclosure to all." Gerstein quotes John O'Neill emphasizing absent records, but also quotes a Navy spokesman attesting to the completeness of the records released:[T]he Navy spokesman, Commander Hernandez, said the latest release does include the papers from St. Louis. "It's the whole record," he said.
That's interesting. Hadn't seen that.
That's not surprising. Once Kerry was able to dupe, yet again, a sympathetic media as well as an unsympathetic media (spell that blogosphere) who had tired of the story and no longer perceived Kerry as a threat, the pursuit of the Kerry truth came to a screeching halt.
Well, guess what sports fans...he rises. Must the Swiftees do the heavy-lifting for America again?
If your right and we see the lefty Kalb endorsing the veracity of the Swift Boat Vets, you'll be able to knock me over with a feather.
Stranger things have happened; after all its politics!
In the primary, all a RAT candidate has to do is appear to want to help John Kerry. At the first debate one of the candidates would say: John, in order to win the presidency, you've got to answer the false allegations tainting your courageous and heroic service to our country. Why not release your full military record NOW, so you don't give the Pubbies and Swifties another chance to distort your record.
He'll be damned if he does (content of file), and damned if he doesn't (he was asked by a fellow RAT, not a Pubbie).
Perhaps, but I'd venture it's much deeper than that...much, much deeper.
What is, perhaps, at stake for Kalb, as well as the "journalists" who "wrote" the conventional wisdom of the "Vietnam Experience" into the national psyche, is his own credibility. The Swiftees attacked that conventional wisdom, and John Kerry is their surrogate, their icon. They MUST rehabilitate him in defense of their own ideology. The Swift Boat story has ALWAYS been about that.
Kerry probably convinced himself in his own mind he won the medals fair and square. True war heroes do not have to brag. Their actions speak louder than words. If Kerry won the medals honestly, he would not have a problem releasing his military records. There is too much spin going on here. Kerry's wife has the money to pay for spin and plenty of t.v. advertisements to shape public opinion. There are plenty of people who will believe anything they happen to see on t.v. Few people will take the time to research the facts and try to piece the Kerry war puzzle together. Kerry also sided with Jane Fonda to hurt our troops during Vietnam. How many people suffered because of their anti-war actions? Very similar tactics are now being used by the Democrats today against which could harm our troops. Kerry's negative anti-war actions, after returning from Vietnam, should not be forgotten.
If Kerry thinks for a moment that "John Kerry - War Hero" was a tough sell, wait till America gets an UP-CLOSE AND PERSONAL look at "John Kerry - Anti-war Hero" and his VVAW buds.
i went to Vietnam on a ship while John Kerry was running around with Jane Fonda playing up to the other side; people who were trying to kill me. i will not forget. The troops in Iraq will not forget the Democrats who are playing the same political games today, working hard to side with the very people who want to destroy this country. They are using politics to destroy us from within too. The John Kerry types want to weaken our country in an extremely dangerous world. It is all about the huge Kerry ego and lust for power.
Thanks for the link...looks like an interesting read and reference
Kerry's 1st PH is really the one that could hang him. The other two were phony, but we have the paperwork for those. Kerry's immediate boss, LCDR Grant Hibbard refused to recommend him for the the PH because there was no hostile fire (the wound was self-inflicted) and the treating doctor, Louis Letson described it as a tiny fragment barely embedded in his arm. The "wound" was smaller than a rose thorn prick. Schachte was in the boat at the time of the incident and wrote no after action report, which is required if you encounter hostile fire and to support the awarding of a PH.
No one knows how Kerry received the first PH. Kerry had been transferred to another command and received the PH months later. He has not released the paperwork for the award.
Not even close. See my post #56. Also, read Unfit for Command to learn the true story behind Kerry's three PHs, which he used to cut his tour in Vietnam to 4 1/2 months. He was never hospitalized for any of his "wounds."
Yes he has. Military Service Records of Senator John F. Kerry
That is an AMAZING interview. Schachte, who DESIGNED and was in OPERATIONAL COMMAND of the missions, directly contradicts the the testimony of Kerry and his 2 alleged crewmates...(emphasis mine)
The boats were manned by two officers and one enlisted person. Officers because officers were briefed daily. We had daily intelligence briefings seven days a week, with the latest intelligence from the area. Or in the patrolling boat – officers would come back and debrief their area. So, the officers had a good feel for everything that was going in our area of operation and our sectors. The enlisted person operated the motor. Now, this was my idea. And I went on each one of these – in command of each one that we did up to and including the night with Lieutenant Junior Grade Kerry. I did that because it was my idea and people volunteered for this. And I didn't think it was right having one of these operations and being on a swift boat or back at Operations Center or something like that.Marvin Kalb has his work cut out for him...
THANKS. Great articles.
Personally, I think FREEPERS SHOULD EMAIL KALB AND SERVE HIM NOTICE THAT IF THE BOOK IS NOT TRUTHFUL, WE WILL BE HAPPY TO HELP THE NATION UNDERSTAND THAT TO HIS SHAME.
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.