[68skylark]

Kerry must have had guts to troll the Mekong Delta's spider web of rivers and narrow canals knowing that Viet Cong like himself were waiting to pick him off.

So John Kerry is a super-hero for serving in these waters. And what about the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth -- many of whom spent even more time on this mission? Are they heroes who deserve to be heard? I guess not -- the article doesn't talk about them.

Just to clarify my own feelings, I have the utmost respect for ALL veterans (even Kerry -- whose service in Vietnam may be one of the few things he's done in his life that I really admire). I'm sick of the MSM who try to tell us which veterans to respect (libs) and which to ignore (everyone else).

[Mr. Silverback]

I'm sick of the MSM who try to tell us which veterans to respect (libs) and which to ignore (everyone else).

Roger that. I've always said that anyone who raises their right hand and takes the pledge deserves great respect unless they do something to unearn it. But check this out, from the Federalist Digest, some details I hadn't learned before:

Initially, Kerry took the defensive: "I think a lot of veterans are going to be very angry at a president who can't account for his own service in the National Guard...criticizing somebody who fought for their country and served." (Oops, another cheap shot at our National Guard and Reserve forces.)

Fortunately, President Bush can account for his service. He wanted to fly fighter jets, he earned his wings, and he logged many air defense hours in an F-102 Delta Dagger with the 147th Fighter Group and its subordinate 111th FIS, Texas ANG. Mr. Bush's unit was subject to rotation in Vietnam under the Palace Alert Program. In fact, 15 F-102 pilots were killed in Vietnam, but American involvement in that conflict was de-escalating by 1972, and Bush was honorably discharged from his service with the ANG.

Implicit in Kerry's warning, however, is the notion that he, himself, volunteered for service in Vietnam. Remember Bill Clinton's repetitive "Send me" paean at the Demo Convention? Try again. Kerry's anti-military sentiments were well known when he was a student at Yale. After graduating, Kerry petitioned his draft board for a student deferment so he could study in -- where else? -- Paris. His deferment denied, Kerry then calculated that he could avoid Vietnam by joining the Naval Reserves, where he'd likely be able to serve stateside even if his unit was activated. Kerry's service record indicates that on 18 February 1966 he enlisted in the USNR under "inactive" status. This puts the lie to any assertion that Kerry "volunteered" for dangerous swift boat duty while George W. Bush somehow slunk off to fly fighter-jets.

As fate would have it, Kerry's reserve unit was activated, while the President's ANG unit remained stateside -- yet both circumstances were far beyond the control of these two junior officers. As for Kerry's choice of Swift Boats, he told the Boston Globe last year, "I didn't really want to get involved in the war. When I signed up for the swift boats, they had very little to do with the war. They were engaged in coastal patrolling...."

[F.J. Mitchell]

Vietcong to Kerry's defence. We should have seen this coming. Naturally they will say or do anything in support of the guy who contributed more to their victory than anyone but Hanoi-Jane.

Question is: Why the hell do they think anyone except the NYT will believe them?

[Mo1]

And while Kerry may be worried about veterans' support in America, Sinh said he would vote any day for his former enemy over President Bush. In the veteran's opinion, Kerry's experience along these rivers fighting Viet Cong might keep him from sending other young Americans to invade countries.

Come see what the NYT found

A Viet Cong supporting Kerry for President

[N. Theknow]

``Kerry served in Vietnam and he was awarded the medal for his bravery,'' Sinh said. ``He deserves the medal.''

Hmmmm?

A Viet Cong served on Kerry's boat? How can this person have an opinion on Kerry unless he served with him and was also highly decorated?

N. Theknow strides cautiously up to the barrel ands peeks inside.

Hmmm? Nope. Nothing there. That's the absolute bottom of the barrel in the "Saving Kerry's Ass Sweepstakes." Thank you for playing. Have a safe trip home.

[BlueNgold]

One again .. the VC cast their vote for JFnK

[RightOnline]

"He's OUR pig, and damn it, we're gonna keep putting lipstick on him until you ALL think he's pretty, damn it!!!"


The Mainstream Media

[Chapita]

I'd hate to have to defend that fraudulent bastard!

[americanmother]

I saw a report but I don't remember where or when that they had polled a Viet community in US. They said, all of them were voting Bush. Did anyone else see that?

[LibWhacker]

The next DNC assignment for its lackeys in the MSM: Wade through the mud and the muck and the leeches into Cambodia and find an old Khmer Rouge soldier to back up Kerry's claims there, preferrably one who didn't murder too many people in the slave labor camps.

KEEP DIGGIN', YOU RATS!

[tomahawk]

AP = Kerry/DemonCrap Shills

Nothing more.

[OESY]

Sinh and John Kerry, the U.S. Democratic presidential nominee, were fighting along the Dong Cung canal around roughly the same time 35 years ago in early 1969, experiencing the intensity of war along these muddy waters, but from opposite sides.

Duong Hoang Sinh, 52, a former Viet Cong soldier, climbs off a boat on the Bay Hap River in Vietnam's southernmost province on Friday, Aug. 27, 2004. Sinh fired on U.S. Navy Swift boats during the Vietnam War roughly around the same time U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry served as a Navy Swift boat commander on the same waterways. Kerry's war record has been challenged by other veterans who allege he did not come under heavy enemy fire as his medal citations state. (AP Photos/Tran Quang Tuan)

* * *

Give me a break. This isn't investigative journalism. It's rank Democrat Party propaganda.

* * *

BTW, what time was it? How does Sinh know? What evidence exists? Did Sinh have a watch back then? Did anyone else fire? For how long? Could it be described as "intense automatic weapons and small arms fire" as Kerry's Silver Star citation? Though he "had never heard of Kerry," how did Sinh recognize John Kerry's boat to establish a point in time? Did Sinh recognize John Kerry? Mike Medeiros? Did Sinh know the teenager with the rocket launcher who was shot? Was it in the back? Behind a lean-to? Whose? Did the teenager have a wounded leg that prevented him from running away? Did Kerry or Medeiros do the killing? Did any of the other villagers see intense hostile fire toward Kerry's boat or Kerry's pursuit of the wounded teenager? What did the AP reporter say to Sinh before and after the interview? Who was the reporter? Was it the AP photographer, Tran Quang Tuan? Who else was present for the interview? Was a tape-recording made? Is a transcript in existence? What edits were made by AP staff? Which editors reviewed and approved the story? Was it Mike Silverstein in New York? When will this information be available? Could it be posted on the Internet tonight? [E-mail inquiry to be sent to AP.]

[KeyLargo]

Kerry will go around the world if he need be to find anyone that will say anything good about him.

The only difference between this Viet Cong (since they were both on the same side), was that the VC kept his medals and Kerry through his away.

Go to:
http://www.vhpamuseum.org/badguys/badguys.html

[El Gato]

``I think it's American politics,'' said Nguyen Van Khoai, 61, a former Viet Cong soldier who attacked American troops along the water but never fought directly against the Swift boats. ``On any side, a soldier who made an outstanding feat is given a medal -- but maybe some people try to think otherwise.''

Oh so the communist party cadres among the Viet Cong never got medals they didn't deserve. In a pigs eye (A Vietnamese Pot Belly's preferably :) ).

[BykrBayb]

The irony here is that this communist seems to think the the swift boat vets were all courageous, which flies in the face of kerry's depiction of himself as the only hero among a bunch of cowards.

Okay, that's not the only irony. How about the fact that this communist would vote for kerry over Bush?

I almost upchucked reading about the idyllic life they lived after we pulled out. No mention of those who were bludgeoned or otherwise tormented.

[Hi Heels]

Ping. You gotta see this garbage....

[Robert A Cook PE]

"have been challenged in a series of television ads aired by the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

They claim he did not come under heavy enemy fire as his medal citations state. But other veterans of the ``brown water navy'' who witnessed the fighting, along with Navy documents from that time, have backed Kerry's version of events.

So, now we see what the democrat media allies have decided their "standard faux fax phrases" and soundbites are going to be: "Official records" (written according to Kerry and by Kerry (in most cases) are acceptable (unless they show Bush served honorably and completely!) and "other vet's" (never mentioning that these "other vets" also are democrats inside Kerry's campaign) are the ONLY "true" sources.

Anybody who says anything else is engaged "in a right-wing, replublican-funded, mean and nasty smear campaign organized inside the White House and directed by Carl Rowe."

[ozzymandus]

Hey, they finally found a Vietnam vet who would endorse kerry! However, he was a viet-cong.

[metesky]

That settles it. What on earth could I have been thinking? I'm registering as a DemocRat tomorrow. (/sarcasm)

[Justin714]

Wow...a Vietcong vouching for Kerry. Where did they find this guy?

[Lucky2]

Another endorsement from a fellow commie. kerry's just a regular Mighty Mouse!