[Brad from Tennessee]

Murtha did not receive his two Purple Hearts in the normal manner. What happens 99 percent of the time is a Marine is wounded and the hospital corpsman or surgeon fills out a form attesting to the actual wound and the likelihood it was incurred from hostile action with the enemy. Murtha applied for his Purple Hearts, after the fact, and was awarded them administratively. This happened after his own congressman's staff decided there wasn't enough evidence to prove Murtha was ever wounded. Murtha apparently pulled strings after entering politics. Murtha's and my 13-month tour overlapped and we both served in the 1st Marine Division but in different regiments. As a regimental intelligence (S-2) officer, he would have spent most of his tour inside a perimeter organizing raw data that was fed to his office by the rifle companies and battalions and disseminating information that came from Division and 3rd MAF intelligence. Of course, even people in the rear were subject to mortar and rocket attacks and assaults on the base. What gives Murtha away as a phony is the way he brags about his service. Whatever, Murtha would still be a crook and coward no matter what he did in Vietnam.

Thanks for posting this site. I am just sorry I can't vote against Murtha.

[pillut48]

"As a regimental intelligence (S-2) officer, he would have spent most of his tour inside a perimeter organizing raw data that was fed to his office by the rifle companies and battalions and disseminating information that came from Division and 3rd MAF intelligence."

Are you saying in all probability that Murtha was just a pencil pusher??

And he has nerve to talk about Karl Rove's backside??

[robowombat]

At last the mystery of Drunken Murtha's Purple Hearts is solved. Thank you so very much for this post. The question now becomes what BS he churned up to get the Navy Dept. to make an administrative award of the PH.

[mass55th]

"Murtha did not receive his two Purple Hearts in the normal manner. "

Sounds like Murtha suffered from either a paper cut, staple prick, paperclip scrape, or a sliver from a pencil he was sharpening.