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Kerry's Campaign Asked A [Disabled] Veteran To Change Story - KC Meeting At Issue
New York Sun | March 22, 2004 | Thomas H. Lipscomb

Posted on 03/22/2004 8:28:31 AM PST by Hon

KERRY’S CAMPAIGN ASKED A VETERAN TO CHANGE STORY

KANSAS MEETING AT ISSUE

By THOMAS H. LIPSCOMB Special to the Sun

    A Vietnam veteran who said he remembers John Kerry participating in a 1971 Kansas City meeting at which an assassination plot was discussed says an official with the Kerry presidential campaign called him this month and pressured him to change his story.

    The veteran, John Musgrave, says he was called twice by the head of Veterans for Kerry, John Hurley, while a reporter for the Kansas City Star worked on a follow-up piece to a New York Sun article about the November 1971 meeting of Vietnam Veterans Against the
War at which a plot to kill U.S. senators was voted down. Asked by The New York Sun if he felt pressured, Mr. Musgrave said, “In the second call I did.” Mr. Musgrave said Mr. Hurley said Mr. Kerry had told him “he was definitely not in Kansas City.”

    According to Mr. Musgrave, Mr. Hurley said, “Why don’t you refresh your memory and call that reporter back?”

    A spokesman for Mr. Kerry’s presidential campaign, David Wade, last week issued a statement to the Sun, following a week of denials, that said “we accept” Mr. Kerry’s presence in Kansas City as a “historical footnote.”

    By then, the recollections of six witnesses, along with minutes and FBI records, placed Mr. Kerry at the Kansas City meeting.

    But the news of the calls from the campaign to Mr. Musgrave may move the episode from what the campaign is describing as a “historical footnote” to a matter that involves the contemporary behavior of Mr. Kerry and his campaign.

    Mr. Musgrave said he received three Purple Hearts in Vietnam. After the third Purple Heart for wounds by three 7.62 rounds, one to the jaw and two to the left chest, Mr. Musgrave refused the standard release from further service in the combat zone offered Marines with three Purple Hearts and tried to return to his unit, he said.

    But because of the extent of his injuries he was retired from the Marines with full disability and sent home, he said.

    Mr. Musgrave said, “I told Hurley it was my first meeting as a state officer of the VVAW, and I remember John being there. I remember what I remember.”

    When asked whom he is supporting in the presidential election, Mr. Musgrave replied, “I am undecided. But I am sure not voting for some guy who called me a liar.”

    Mr. Hurley did not return calls for comment for this article.

    Another related episode in which the Kerry campaign had to handle questions about Vietnam Veterans Against the War involves a statement by Mr. Kerry himself.

    At a Capitol Hill press conference on March 11, 2004, Mr. Kerry was asked by a reporter if he thought his credibility had been affected by his close association with Al Hubbard, a key VVAW colleague of Mr. Kerry’s who had appointed him to the leadership of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

    Mr. Hubbard claimed to be a wounded Air Force officer who had served at Danang during the Vietnam War. He appeared with Mr. Kerry many times, including the “Meet the Press” interview after Mr.Kerry’s Senate testimony about American “war crimes” in Vietnam.

    But Mr. Hubbard was never in Vietnam, was never wounded, and was not an officer, as subsequent research and Mr. Kerry himself have pointed out.

    Mr. Kerry answered this month that he had not spoken to Mr.Hubbard since the week of April 19, 1971.

    Yet the Kerry campaign now apparently accepts that Mr. Kerry was at the November 12 to 15, 1971,VVAW meeting. Mr. Musgrave said he remembers that at that meeting, Mr. Kerry challenged Mr. Hubbard’s continuing to maintain his false claims to being an Air Force officer wounded at Danang.

    “Hubbard sort of sat there with his eyes downcast and Mike Oliver really did all the arguing for him,” Mr. Musgrave said. “And suddenly Hubbard got up and said he was having an ulcer attack and had to get to New York immediately to see his doctor and ran out of the room.You would think we didn’t have any doctors or hospitals in Kansas City.”

    In addition, the New York Times reported on an August 29, 1971, fundraising party for the Vietnam Veterans Against the War at which “Mr. Kerry and Al Hubbard, another veteran, explained some of the aims of the organization.”


TOPICS: Breaking News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2004; darkplot; kerry; phoenixproject; thomaslipscomb; vietgate; vvaw
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To: John Thornton
"The Hubbard story is a side show. The key is the assassination plot---and his efforts to coerce witnesses into changing their story."

What kind of national organization, that tries to effect foreign policy and end a war, takes people into their fold without first checking the authenticity of their service? The members of the VVAW complained about the government duping them, and here they were duped by individuals in their own group. Not very bright on their part. It definitely took away from whatever legitimacy they thought they might have.

And, if Kerry and his aides attempted to get Musgrave to change his story, it only adds to the suspicions regarding the stories behind all of Kerry's medals. Everybody else is lying except John Kerry? I don't think so.

21 posted on 03/22/2004 8:50:09 AM PST by mass55th
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To: OXENinFLA
"Kerry voted no. "

Which time?

22 posted on 03/22/2004 8:51:31 AM PST by mass55th
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To: Hon
Thank you for posting a very important article, Hon.
23 posted on 03/22/2004 8:52:04 AM PST by syriacus (Kerry abandoned the children of Southeast Asia. HE made it seem our GIs died in vain.)
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To: mass55th
I agree with you. Hubbard is a story---but Kerry has claimed that he didn't know the guy was a fraud. And no one has any proof that Kerry did know Hubbard was a fraud. It gets down to a he said, he said battle that is not a winner politically.
24 posted on 03/22/2004 8:52:25 AM PST by John Thornton
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To: BunnySlippers
L.A. TIMES story is total crap. After speaking with an L.A. TIMES editor, that clown was assigned to do the puff piece. He sent me an email and gave me his phone number. I referred him to Tom Lipscomb to get the story. Glionna did a partisan hack piece that was total leftist crap journalism. No mention of assassination, Scott Camil, or senators. It is incredible but not surprising.
25 posted on 03/22/2004 8:52:47 AM PST by doug from upland (Don't wait until it is too late to stop Hillary -- do something today!)
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To: Hon
Pinging another great find and post by Hon!
26 posted on 03/22/2004 8:53:19 AM PST by Grampa Dave (Krazy Kaddaffi: "I will do whatever the Americans want. I saw what happened in Iraq. I was scared!)
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To: OXENinFLA; bcoffey
Kerry voted no.

And then he voted "yes."

Then his staff issued a statement whereby Kerry approved of sending the senators a message, but not a lethal one.

Then he voted against funding the VVAW for FY72. ;-)

27 posted on 03/22/2004 8:54:24 AM PST by Coop ("Hero" is the last four-letter word I'd use to describe John Kerry)
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To: bcoffey
"Makes one wonder which way Mr. Kerry voted."

It doesn't matter he was still part of a group that seriously considered assassinating senators.
28 posted on 03/22/2004 8:55:04 AM PST by cripplecreek (you tell em i'm commin.... and hells commin with me.)
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To: Hon
Senator Kerry, did any of your wounds require stitches?
29 posted on 03/22/2004 8:55:25 AM PST by There's millions of'em (Saddam's money trail will lead to the DNC...)
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To: John Thornton
"The Hubbard story is a side show. The key is the assassination plot---and his efforts to coerce witnesses into changing their story."

The Hubbard story actually bears upon the assassination plot in several ways. For instance, Nicosia claims Kerry (orally) quit the VVAW in the midst of his confrontation with Hubbard. That is to say, according to Nicosia, Kerry didn't quit because of the assassination plot, but because he was ticked off at Hubbard.
30 posted on 03/22/2004 8:55:39 AM PST by Hon
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To: mass55th
Next we will get a statement from Kerry to the tune of ...

"I actually voted yes to assassinate the Senators, before I voted no" ...
31 posted on 03/22/2004 8:56:32 AM PST by dartuser
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To: doug from upland
so give us the reporter's email... Doug... if you are so upset and indignant about this... and let us ask him how he left out the elephant in the living room.
32 posted on 03/22/2004 8:56:39 AM PST by Clodia Pulcher (There are more nuns in whorehouses than reporters with military experience)
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To: There's millions of'em
"Senator Kerry, did any of your wounds require stitches?"

As you probably know, according to the Boston Globe, Kerry's commanding officer in the field said that Kerry never lost a day of duty because of his wounds.

Musgrave almost die at least once because of his three different woundings. If I get a chance (or if someone else does) I might post the excerpts about them from Nicosia's book.

Mugrave is quite a guy. I have to say he is one of the most admirable guys I've read about in all of this VVAW stuff.
33 posted on 03/22/2004 8:58:00 AM PST by Hon
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To: Hon
Calley: Convicted war criminal and murderer.

Kerry: Admitted war criminal and probable murderer, by which and by whom the Silver Star was forever cheapened.

34 posted on 03/22/2004 8:58:10 AM PST by onedoug
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To: Hon
Musgrave got three Purple Hearts in VN. Only were serious wounds. (One left a fist-sized hole in his chest.)

Musgrave tried to stay in VN, but couldn't pass the physical--

Only a Marine.... :-)

35 posted on 03/22/2004 9:01:50 AM PST by lowbridge
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To: Clodia Pulcher
Okay. Have at him.

John.Glionna@latimes.com

415-274-9017

36 posted on 03/22/2004 9:01:59 AM PST by doug from upland (Don't wait until it is too late to stop Hillary -- do something today!)
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To: Hon
As an aside, "VVAW" is a kerning nightmare. Almost as bad as the clasic "LAWYERS." This unwelcome status also seems to have some validity outside the typesetting world.
37 posted on 03/22/2004 9:06:44 AM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: antiRepublicrat
"As an aside, "VVAW" is a kerning nightmare. Almost as bad as the clasic "LAWYERS." This unwelcome status also seems to have some validity outside the typesetting world." Heck even (now disbarred) lawyer, Bill Clinton thinks they were creeps:

Scott Camil: Clinton Ruled Members of VVAW Unpatriotic And Untrustworthy http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1101625/posts

38 posted on 03/22/2004 9:12:27 AM PST by Hon
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To: antiRepublicrat
Let me try that again, and make that link clickable:

Scott Camil: Clinton Ruled Members of VVAW Unpatriotic And Untrustworthy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1101625/posts
39 posted on 03/22/2004 9:15:02 AM PST by Hon
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To: Hon
Heck even (now disbarred) lawyer, Bill Clinton thinks they were creeps:

It's nice that even he could recognize them for what they were.

Still, try to kern VVAW and have it look good. Explorer and Mozilla can't, and I can't either. I think I'll just spell it out every time.

40 posted on 03/22/2004 9:17:44 AM PST by antiRepublicrat
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