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...Moreover, in recent days Republican operatives have been circulating copies of Kerry's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in April 1971, which has formed the basis of much of the conservative critique about Kerry's efforts against the war.... Although many of the alleged atrocities have never been verified -- and some have been disproved -- Kerry told the Senate that such stories were not isolated occurrences but had happened "on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command."... ...Historian Douglas Brinkley, the author of the recently published "Tour of Duty: John Kerry and...

Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley revealed Sunday that Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry personally met with "Hanoi Jane" Fonda at least twice during the days when the two played leading roles in the group Vietnam Veterans Against the War, including a never before detailed 1971 meeting in Detroit. "The Jane Fonda incidents occurred in two places; one on a march from Morristown to Valley Forge when they shared a platform at Valley Forge," Brinkley told WABC Radio's Steve Malzberg. "Then he met her in the more troubling Detroit Howard Johnson's Comfort Center [event], where there was this thing called the Winter...

Owens and Zaladonis, the Kerry Swift boat crewman, doubt there were anywhere near as many war crimes as portrayed by those who took part in the "Winter Soldier" investigation, which was organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War in early 1971 in Detroit and formed the basis for Kerry's later testimony before the Senate. Kerry attended the Detroit meeting but didn't testify. "My main objective was to educate myself," Kerry later told historian Douglas Brinkley for Tour of Duty, John Kerry and the Vietnam War, his recent book on the senator's Vietnam-era activities. "You might say I was on...

Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley hinted Monday that more photos of Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry protesting the Vietnam War with "Hanoi" Jane Fonda may yet emerge. Asked if there were "photos" of Kerry and Fonda protesting together, Brinkley answered in the plural, telling "Radio Factor" host Bill O'Reilly, "I think there are. They probably will come out this year." While researching his recent book on Kerry's war years, "Tour of Duty," Brinkley said he came across several references to the Kerry-Fonda alliance. "I've seen their names in a University of Wisconsin archive on [Kerry's group, the Vietnam Veterans Against the...

David Thorne, ex-brother-in-law to Sen. John Kerry, strongly denied late Monday that the Democratic presidential front-runner had any ties to anti-American actress "Hanoi" Jane Fonda, who adopted Kerry's group, the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, as her pet cause in 1971. Asked if Kerry had any relationship whatsoever with Fonda, David Thorne told Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes," "No." But he immediately qualified the unequivocal denial, telling Alan Colmes that Kerry and "Hanoi" Jane had "met each other, they knew each other a little bit." Still, Thorne insisted, "John was never part of what Jane Fonda did." Mr. Thorne,...

A look at the senator's 1971 antiwar opus, "The New Soldier." HOW CONVENIENT that Douglas Brinkley's hagiographic "Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War" should be hitting bookstores just as Kerry's star ascends in the Democratic primaries. Less convenient, perhaps, is the fact that another Kerry book is getting hot right now: "The New Soldier," published in 1971, for which Kerry shares authorial credit with the organization Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Hot not in sales--only a tiny number of copies seem to be around--but in price. A signed first edition in mint condition is being offered on...

Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said Thursday that reports indicating that John Kerry's first marriage to heiress Julia Thorne had collapsed amidst allegations of infidelity should not become an issue in this year's presidential campaign. "After his separation and before his marriage [to heiress Teresa Heinz], he was single, so stories might emerge from that era, but I don't think that will cause him any trouble," Brinkley told radio host Don Imus. Brinkley's recent book "Tour of Duty" offers what critics say is a whitewash of Kerry's exploits with the controversial group Vietnam Veterans Against the War after Kerry left the...

Senator John F. Kerry often cites his service in Vietnam as a formative element of his character. A new account of his time there—based on interviews with those who knew him well, and on his never-before-published letters home and his voluminous "war notes"—offers the first intimate look at a traumatic and life-altering experience.As he campaigns for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, Senator John F. Kerry often cites his experience as a U.S. Navy patrol-boat skipper in Vietnam as a formative element of his character. Next month the historian Douglas Brinkley will publish the first full-scale, intimate account of Kerry's Navy...