Posted on 04/22/2004 10:49:24 AM PDT by moondoggie
But Kerry tells the admiral he earned the Silver Star, and gets it in the ceremony we see above..... But the real citation was actually disapproved (worst case), postponed while they asked for supporting details (nominal case) or "accidentally" lost (best case) in the Pentagon
Based on my personal experience, I didn't receive my NCM with Combat V until almost a year later at my next post. I suspect the same thing happened with Kerry. I don't know who would be the approving authority for the Silver Star, the third highest combat award in the Navy. If CINPAC had to approve, it is not unusual for them to edit the citation. I seriously doubt that SECNAV had to be the approval authority. Usually, they don't present the medal until the paperwork has been approved. I believe Lehman was just providing replacment medals or the original medals, if that is what Kerry claimed. There is probably some administrative requirement that SECNAV approve any reissue of the medals. Changing Hyland's citation language, however slight,is odd.
What we need is the original nomination form with the write-up for the award to see who was in the approval chain. The Bronze Star is a little more straightforward with only two citations, but it would be odd indeed if they both came to Lehman at the same time, unless Kerry requested replacement/reissue at the same time.
I am sure Kerry could have purchased replicas, but he has so much hubris and arrogance that he wanted the Navy to supply him with the real McCoy. Again, without going down into the weeds about the different wording of the citations, the real story is why Lehman signed the citiations and whether Kerry intiated a request for them. If so, that request should be in his miliary record.
Or could it be that he didn't throw his medals on the capital steps so he asked to have them replaced to make it appear that he was replacing the ones he had supposedly thrown away?
But, given the current swirl over his "medal toss", I'm most interested in two issues: the 2-yr gap (70-72) that keeps appearing and disappearing in Kerry accounts AND the "Lehman signature" issue. I want to give the info to a reporter. Before doing so I'd like to make sure I'm on solid ground. Please help me review the following:
1) The DD215 (issued 3-12-2001):
There's been much discussion about this doc amending the medals list. But has anyone noted it also says "Separation Date on DD Form 214 Being Corrected: 03-01-70"? I couldn't find a "separation date" on DD214. Is this correcting that omission. Or did I miss it and it's changing the separation date? Might this amendment be the reason many articles have MIS-REPORTED his service dates, omitting the 2-year gap, some even saying he was honorably dischared in 1970?!
DD 215
2) The Lehman signature(s):
In post #183 Machias Liberty provided a link to the "Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon Replacement Recognition".
That page includes the following "Establishing Authority":
The Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon was established on September 17, 1968, by Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman, Jr. and announced in OPNAVNOTE 1650 of June 3, 1987.I found the same language at this site:
Overseas Service Ribbon Replacement Authority
Both clearly state that John F. Lehman, Jr. was SecNav on 9/17/68. But Paul Ignatius was SecNav from 9/1/67 to 1/24/69. Best I could determine, Lehman was an ensign in the Navy in 1968. I did find the OPNAVNOTE 1650, dated 9/18/68 and it IS NOT issued by Lehman.
Note that the announcement date fits Lehman tenure as SecNav. Looks like the above is a typo, but it certainly is strange that it's a typo fitting right into the timeframe of Kerry's original citation.
Do we KNOW the date the original citation was issued?
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I think it's likely that Kerry did indeed throw his own medals in 1971 and is now dangerously close to being caught out in a flat out lie. Years later, when he realized patriotic union members disapproved, I think he applied for replacement medals and changed his story to "ribbons" vs. "medals". The replacement citation was signed by Lehman, whose tenure fits the timeframe just before, including, and after Kerry's senate campaign.
I want to nail this down before giving this info to the reporter. What am I missing?
Summary of my questions:
1) What's the significance of the "separation date" change on the DD215?
2) Do we know the date of the original Silver Star citation (later replaced with Lehman-signed one)?
3) Can anyone explain the language saying Lehman issued the OPNAVNOTE in '68?
-Eric
Kerry was in the inactive reserves from 3 Jan 1970 to 1 July 1972. He was then transferred to the Standby Reserves (inactive) until 16 Feb 1978. A brief summary of his naval service appears in the 24 May 1986 letter from the Department of the Navy in response to a request from Kerry. See http://www.johnkerry.com/about/Request_For_History_of_Service.pdf
DD215
The source document for Kerry's release from active duty is included in his Release from Active Duty endorsement dated 2 Jan 1970. See http://www.johnkerry.com/about/Release_From_Active_Duty.pdf
His DD214, at least the one on his site, appears to be missing a cover page or letter. There are only pages 2 and 3. Those pages aren't dated. His separation date from active duty is given as Jan 3, 1970, which tracks with his release from Active Duty endorsement that gave him 1 day travel. The DD215 "correction" doesn't seem to contradict what was on the DD214 if you read the date day/month/year. In any event, he didn't receive his honorable discharge in 1970, only his release from active duty. He received his honorable discharge from the Reserves in 1978.
Lehman was not the SECNAV in 1968. See http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq37-1.htm . I don't see any point in trying to track down the validity of an erroneous reference.
John F. Lehman, Jr. was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 14, 1942. He received a Bachelor's Degree in international relations from St. Joseph's College in 1964, and spent three years in the Air Force Reserves while attending Cambridge University. In 1968 he left the Air Force Reserves and accepted a commission of Ensign in the Navy, where he advanced to the rank of Commander. After serving on the National Security Council and as Deputy Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, he was president of Abington Corporation. Lehman was selected to be Secretary of the Navy on January 23, 1981 and remained in that post until April 10, 1987
Good luck with the reporter.
We don't have all the documents needed to have a detailed chronology. We don't have the original award forms nor do we have the various transmittal and cover letters. Kerry needs to release all of his military records.
After reviewing Kerry's service records, as released by him, I cannot believe the media has not picked up on the John Lehman connection. It should set off all kinds of alarm bells, especially considering the current flap over whether he threw his medals away or not.
A very curious question arises over Kerry's multiple Silver (3) and Bronze (2) star citations. Two were signed by John Lehman who was Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan Administration 5 Feb 1981 - 10 Apr 1987. There are three Silver Star citations supplied by Kerry. One was signed by ADM Zumwalt, one by ADM Hyland, and one by Secretary Lehman. The Bronze Star citations were signed by Zumwalt and Lehman. Specifically,
Zumwalt: The Silver Star citation is more than likely the original citation taken from the award submission. Normally, as part of the nomination form, the nominator must provide a synopsis of the award (citation) that can fit on a single page suitable for framing with the certificate. Zumwalt's citation covered two pages. I suspect that Zumwalt forwarded the award to CINCPAC, ADM Hyland, for the final signature, including the citation. Due to the lengthy time delays processing these awards, it is not unreasonable to posit that it took CINCPAC 12-18 months later to approve it. It is worth noting that the requirement to go to CINCPAC applied only to the Silver Star, hence only the Zumwalt and Lehman citations for the Bronze Star, i.e., Zumwalt as the final approving authority and Lehman for the replacement/reissue.
Hyland: CINCPAC probably edited the Zumwalt Silver Star citation to make it fit on to one page and to clean it up a bit to fit the existing format.
Lehman: Except for the last sentence, the Silver Star citation is the same as Hyland's. What makes this curious is that Secretary Lehman signed the citation at least over 12 and up to 18 years after the events occurred. I doubt, in any event, that the final approval authority for Silver Stars had to go to SECNAV for approval. We also have photographic evidence that Kerry had the Silver Star medal pinned on in 1969. My take is that Kerry requested replacement medals and due to the fact that Kerry was no longer an active duty service member, administrative requirements mandated that SECNAV's office had to approve the issue of the replacements once it was verified from official records that Kerry had actually earned them.
The bottom line is that Kerry probably did throw away his medals and then requested replacements in the 1980s. Someone needs to raise this issue with Kerry, i.e., why did Secretary Lehman sign duplicate citations at least 12 years after you left Vietnam? Kerry needs to release all of his military records including the nomination forms, which will give us the chronology and the approval chain of command.
Kerry's latest reaction on Good Morning America fits his MO. He wants it both ways. When he discovered that throwing away your medals was politically a negative, he came up with the story about his ribbons and someone else's medals. Kerry realized that he couldn't walk away from the story entirely, especially since he has the medals displayed prominently in his office. However, the fly in the ointment is that we now have the citations, released by him, signed by Lehman. If he indeed requested replacement medals, he has a real problem, i.e., he was telling the truth initially, lied in the 80s and is lying now.
I recognize that confronting Kerry on his military service is fraught with problems, but I believe there are plenty of inconsistencies that need to be made public. His antiwar activities and associations (Fonda, Ramsey Clark, the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, et. al) also need to be exposed fully. The fact that Kerry was a member of the inactive Naval Reserves (1970-1) subject to involuntary recall and could meet with the Communist Vietnamese in Paris (per his sworn Congressional testimony) while our forces were engaged in hostilities is disgraceful. Kerry is unfit to be Commander-in-Chief.
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