***JOHN KERRY, SPEECH AGAINST VIETNAM WAR, "Vietname Vets Against the War*** (FLASHBACK 1971)

Modern History SourceBook ^ | Apr. 23, 1971 | John Kerry

[motherof 3]

I also read that he wore his medals and flight jacket when he had that operation a few months ago. Who's medals did he throw?

[judicial meanz]

Quote:

"As to whether Kerry's actions in Vietnam were the stuff that legends are made of, I doubt we'll ever know. As an Army Veteran who served in Vietnam, I can say that (with the notable exeception of Naval Aviators and SEALS) the Vietnam-era Navy was notorious for handing out "valor" awards for acts that would have been considered "doing your duty" in other branches of service.

Answer:

First of all, thank you for your honorable service.

The Navy did, and may possibly still have a system where the OFFICERS were basically handed out valor awards for seemingly doing their jobs. I've seen officers get awards for things their enlisted men did as well. Its not everywhere, but it was rampant.

I've also seen enlisted men pay for officers mistakes.

I also read part of another article that wondered why Kerry publicly gave a great amount of lip service to finding and returning any Vietnam veterans who may have still been POWs, and privately worked against it at every turn.

This came out about a year ago, and I know Vietnam has a policy of harassing other members of service who fought over there, but its noteworthy. It shows the other side of Kerry's Silver Star

___________________________________________________________

Associated Press | Saturday, June 1, 2002

Vietnam: Kerrey Committed War Crime

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Vietnam accused former Sen. Bob Kerrey of crimes during the Vietnam War, saying Friday that families of villagers killed by his Navy team experienced ``incomparable suffering and losses.''

It was the first time Vietnam has publicly accused Kerrey of criminal activity. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh made the accusation in reaction to a revised account of the raid in Kerrey's new memoir.

Thanhdid not specify what crimes Vietnam believed Kerrey had committed.

``Whatever Mr. Kerrey says cannot change the truth. Mr. Kerrey himself has admitted that he was ashamed of the crimes he committed,'' she said.

On Friday, Kerrey said he was disappointed by the government's comments,saying officials there have long blamed Americans for war-time atrocities.

``I pointed out then, and I'm pointing out now, both sides did a lot of damage in the Vietnam war,'' he said, adding the North Vietnamese used terror as one of their tools.

``You gotta get beyond it,'' he said at a Washington bookstore where he was doing a reading. ``I'm quite certain the majority of people in Vietnam want to go on with their lives.''

Kerrey currently serves as president at New York's New School University.

The incident, which Kerrey first acknowledged last year, put the former senator at the center of a national discussion about U.S. conduct during the war.

Kerrey said then that about 13 civilians were killed ``by mistake'' after his SEAL team was fired on and returned fire during the raid on Thanh Phong village on Feb. 25, 1969. He said he did not know of the civilian casualties until the shooting stopped.

But in his new memoir, ``When I Was a Young Man,'' Kerrey writes that he was aware that women and children had begun to gather as his squad searched the village for enemy Viet Cong.

Shortly thereafter, Kerrey says his men were fired upon from the direction of the women and children. The Americans fired back, and the villagers were hopelessly caught in the cross fire, he says.

Kerrey acknowledged the difference in his recollection of events in an author's note, saying it changed after he met with members of his squad following news reports.

After Kerrey acknowledged the incident last year, a member of his Navy SEAL unit and two Vietnamese women who said they witnessed the raid alleged the soldiers herded the women and children together and massacred them - a
charge that Kerrey and five other members of the Navy SEAL team deny.
Oneof the women, Pham Thi Lanh, said 20 unarmed villagers, mostly women and children, were killed.

On Friday, Thanh, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, said, ``Our countrymen in Thanh Phong, Ben Tre province, clearly told the truth about the massacre.''

She said families in the village had experienced ``incomparable suffering and losses'' because of the ``crimes committed by Kerrey's unit.''

She said Kerrey and other Americans who fought in Vietnam now ``should take specific and practical actions that contribute to the healing of the wounds of the war they caused in Vietnam.''

Thanh did not specify what crimes Kerrey had committed in the raid or what actions should be taken.

Kerrey, who later served as Nebraska governor and senator, and ran for president in 1992, received a Bronze Star medal for heroism in the Thanh Phong raid.

More than 58,000 Americans and an estimated 3 million Vietnamese perished
in the Vietnam War, which ended in a communist victory in 1975

[votelife]

bookmarking in case Kerry is the nominee.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

NEVER FORGET


'Freeper Alert: Sen. KERRY / Communist Vietnamese Killing Off Christians in Central Highlands'

http://www.FreeRepublic.com/focus/news/675016/posts


NEVER FORGET

[lorrainer]

Great article--bookmarked !!

Apparently, it's John FONDA Kerry?

[FairOpinion]

The article you posted in post #22 is about BOB Kerrey, another Dem. ex-Senator, NOT John Kerry.

Don't feel bad, others have made the same mistake, it's easy to do.

BUT there maybe something similar in JOHN Kerry's past, see the article I posted in post #14,

[judicial meanz]

Thanks for the correction! Now it makes sense.

[virgil]

They're vehemently opposed to any war in defense of this country.>/i> Yep and we might as well line up and be ready to be slaughtered if this guy or any of the dems get the WH. Political misfits and deviants all of them.

[FairOpinion]

Now you know why they want to take away our guns.

[Dan from Michigan]

And it's amazing with people like John F'ing Kerry turning traitor when they get home and hurt morale overseas when others were still there.

[stocksthatgoup]

bttt

[syriacus]

Bookmarked

[syriacus]

More_{Kerry 2004}

Flimandflam

[aj2004]

You folks intrigue me. How is questioning our governments policies 'betraying' our country? Reading Kerry's statements, his biggest mistake was not being specific enough. Did any of these activities actually occur in Vietnam? Were American soldiers allowed to get away with committing these so called 'war crimes'? I think that is the bigger picture. If he was going to address Congress about these alleged attrocities, he should've offered specific examples and cited reports on the incidents. Other than that, he seemed to make some interesting points. I think that questioning our governments motives on something as significant as war is the ultimate act of patriotism.

[syriacus]

He lied about his service.

He lied about the behavior of men who served in Vietnam.

He lied about what would happen when we withdrew from Vietnam.

He met with enemy leaders in Paris and espoused their ideas when he came back to the US.

[syriacus]

If you want to know more detail...go here

[PISANO]

For the life of me, I just cannot get a handle on their "strategy" for winning in 2004.

Your question HIGHLIGHTS my opinion that this election is a WATERSHED event in our nations history. On one side we have a self-admitted WAR criminal whose actions when he returned from Vietnam were treasonous. He AIDED and ABETTED the enemy. When elected as Senator proceeded to vote against every Military pay raise and every weapons system, culminating with the horrendously hypocritical action of VOTING for a WAR and VOTING against giving our troops the guns, bullets, equipment and FOOD to fight that SAME WAR!!!

On the other side we have a Commander-in Chief, who is CONSISTANT and is doing everything possible to protect his country and to fullfill his oath of office.

Which will we as a nation ELECT?

The outcome will prove whether or not this country is LEFT or RIGHT and will have a lasting and profound effect on our nation's future.

[Howlin]

After these last two days, I'm convinced this is a fight to the death.

[robnation]

My God,
This speach made me want to cry. The fact that these men did die for something. To be honored for what they did, instead of scorned. I give nothing but respect for the ultra loss of life we gave to the vietnam war, and as Kerry put it, it was a time the ultra power of the USA admited we made a mistake. this was a time that was not lost on meaningless thanks to people who spoke out. God bless my country in it's rights and wrongs. give me the strenth to see my rights and wrongs. give me the strength to admit when i have been wrong. give me the strength to see right. give me the strength to love. bless me god for i can only do what you accept.