Free Republic

In an interview with WorldNetDaily, "Band of Brothers" member James Wasser flatly denied he told a former swiftboat crew mate that he had always despised their skipper John Kerry but "came around" after a persuasive, private meeting with the senator at the beginning of the presidential campaign. Gunnersmate Steve Gardner, featured in the latest Swift Boat Veterans for Truth television ad challenging Kerry's war record, has been claiming on numerous TV and radio talk shows in the past month that Wasser made that statement to him in a telephone conversation in early March.

I've been putting together a timeline of the end of Kerry's short tour in Vietnam, and I think the sequence highlights two events that have not been focused upon together and should be emphasized: (a) Kerry abandoned the other boats and fled from what he thought was a battle, and (b) he abandoned his own boat and rode home with the wounded. 13 Mar 1969 - Five Swift Boats are sent to raid a Vietcong village: Kerry PCF-94, Droz PCF-43, Pees PCF-3, Chenoweth PCF-23, and Thurlow PCF-51. Special Forces Lieutenant Rassman goes along for the ride on Kerry's boat. They...

Kerry’s March 13, 1969, “Medals” According to the records, Kerry claimed in the casualty report he prepared on March 13, 1969, that he was wounded as a result of a mine explosion. Within a short period, he presented his request to go home on the basis of three Purple Hearts. By March 17, 1969, Kerry’s short career in Vietnam was over. Regarding the action on March 13.1969, Kerry’s medals were once again a complete fraud. Notwithstanding the fake submission for his Bronze Star, Kerry was never wounded or bleeding from his arm. All reports, including the medical reports, make clear...

Sen. Kerry has an established a track record for playing fast and lose with the facts, such as claiming he commanded the PCF-94 during January of 1969; that it was his boat that hit a mine and lifted 2-3 feet out of the water (See Congressional Record: January 28, 1998 (Senate) Page S186-S187); claiming the Rev. David Alston was a member of his crew; Christmas in Cambodia, and well you get the idea. Sen. Kerry released a document for the March 13, 1969 incident that details his swift boat's (PCF-94) damage for the March 13th incident that had earned him...

IowaPresidentialWatch.com            Aug. 8, 2004 This week the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group (a 527 PAC) launched a 30-second anti-Kerry television ad aimed at Kerry's Vietnam record. The 'Swifties' claim Kerry is lying and distorting the truth about the medals he received during his 4 months operating a Swift Boat during the Vietnam War. The Kerry campaign retaliated through lawyers, sending a threatening letter to the television stations about the ad. Controversy further swirled around a Boston Globe article and reporter Michael Kranish as to the accuracy of comments supposedly said by Commander George Elliott, one of the Swifties....

The events of February 28, 1969 that lead to Senator John F. Kerry being awarded the Silver Star is analyzed. Action by Lt.(jg) Kerry on the 28th of February can be broken into two distinct combat engagements, which I will refer to as events A and B.Event A consisted of a three swift boats whose mission was to insert some 70 VN Marines (Kerry tells of 70 VN's, while Zumwalt mentions 30 VN troops per boat in the first Silver Star citation) for the purpose of sweeping an area where small arms fire were encountered by the same three...