Re Tom Tiede: A good, pro-American writer. His information was wrong re 1969, since Kerry didn’t gain any publicity until late 1970, esp. April 71 with his Senate Testimony.
The AAR, After Action Report, on Kerry’s boat doesn’t mention a single bullet hole or any other explosives damage. The boat may have hit an underwater object which knocked the heck out of its frame, windows and underwater propellers.
Alston was not on Kerry’s boat so his Democratic Convention speech for Kerry was another lie of his.
There is the possibility that another of K’s crewmen also was not there. He was wounded about Jan. 31st, 1969, and was sent to a medical hospital for treatment. Doubtful he recovered in time to rejoin Kerry’s ship before Kerry bailed out of Nam.
Kerry claimed that his Swift Boat went 5000 meters under enemy fire on the Bay Hap River. He would have been sunk if he was hit that many times, or at least he would have had dead and wounded, and the boat would have looked like swiss cheese and not been able to pull PC-3 down the river.
Rassmann’s memory is suspect since what he claimed happened to him on Kerry’s boat changed over time, and he supposedly spent a lot of time underwater, not on the surface watching the enemy shoot at him. I think the shock of hitting the water dazed him and he mistook friendly covering fire for enemy fire.
Kerry has a way of corrupting good people to lie for him. That is his legacy.
See post 125.