Kerry's War Wound Called 'Fingernail Scrape'

NewsMax.com ^ | 4/14/04 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[kattracks]

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry insisted on being awarded his first Purple Heart in Vietnam even though his injury amounted to no more than a "fingernail scrape," his commanding officer at the time now says.

Retired Lt. Cmdr. Grant Hibbard tells the Boston Globe that he can still recall Kerry's wound, and that "it resembled a scrape from a fingernail," the paper said.

"I've had thorns from a rose that were worse," Hibbard insists.

Still, the former Navy man remembered that Kerry insisted on receiving a Purple Heart for the wound he said was incurred during a Dec. 3, 1968 skirmish with Viet Cong near Cam Ranh Bay.

"He had a little scratch on his forearm, and he was holding a piece of shrapnel," Hibbard told the Globe. "People in the office were saying, 'I don't think we got any fire,' and there is a guy holding a little piece of shrapnel in his palm."

Much to Hibbard's chagrin, Kerry persisted in his quest for a war decoration for the scratch.

"I finally said, 'OK, if that's what happened ... do whatever you want,'" Hibbard said. "After that, I don't know what happened. Obviously, he got it, I don't know how."

Kerry's campaign refused to say whether he remains certain that his skimmer boat had come under fire or whether he recalls his superior officer raising doubts about whether he was entitled to the Purple Heart.

While a Kerry aide provided a copy of a medical report showing treatment for the wound in question, The Naval Historical Center "could not locate a copy of the original card for the incident," the Globe said.

Kerry was awarded two additional Purple Hearts for subsequent wounds that have also been described as minor. He then invoked a little-used regulation that entitled a triple Purple Heart winner to return to the United States.

Former Sen. Max Cleland, a Kerry supporter who lost three limbs in Vietnam, was never awarded a Purple Heart.

[alisasny]

Whenever I call him Senator Paper Cut to liberals they get so outraged. I see I am not far off : )

[JeeperFreeper]

This says much about Kerry's character. Here I use the term
loosely.

[Keith in Iowa]

The bloom on Kerry's rose is starting to take on the fragrance of fertilizer...

[onedoug]

From my own year in Vietnam combat, Kerry's medals make me proud I didn't get any.

[DannyTN]

The cowardly lion got brave when he was awarded a medal.

Sen. Kerry got medals so he could be cowardly.

[EQAndyBuzz]

Raging case of hemmoroids I heard.

[lilylangtree]

Sure explains why Ketchupman refuses to open his military record for public scrutiny even though his many mouthpieces of dogs cried loud and hard at the prez to open his.

[mountaineer]

Former Sen. Max Cleland, a Kerry supporter who lost three limbs in Vietnam, was never awarded a Purple Heart.

His wounds had nothing to do with combat, from all accounts. My late father had both wrists crushed and injured his back aboard ship in the South Pacific in WWII in the midst of a battle, causing a permanent partial disability, but wasn't awarded the PH, either, because his ship wasn't directly involved in the fight. That Kerry claimed three PHs for his scratches makes me sick.

[BCR #226]

Reminds me of the episode of MASH where Frank Burns applied for a purple heart for getting shell fragments in his eye... egg shell fragments that is.

Mike

[Lee Heggy]

If Kerry had been a real war hero he'd be in Arlington where most of them are.

[Zeppo]

Retired Lt. Cmdr. Grant Hibbard tells the Boston Globe that he can still recall Kerry's wound, and that "it resembled a scrape from a fingernail," the paper said.

When I go to Boston.com and perform a search on "Grant Hibbard", I get:

Your search for ( ( "Grant Hibbard" ) ) returned 00 article(s) matching your terms. To purchase the full-text of an article, follow the link that says "Click for complete article."

If I only search on "Hibbard" I get 22 hits, but none of them looks like the right article. Does anybody have a link to the article that contains that Hibbard quote?

[Bob]

Former Sen. Max Cleland, a Kerry supporter who lost three limbs in Vietnam, was never awarded a Purple Heart.

Cleland didn't get one awarded because he lost those limbs in a non-combat accident that happened in Vietnam. An injury has to have been the result of enemy action to qualify for the Purple Heart.

[aomagrat]

Reminds me of the time Frank Burns got the Purple Heart for getting an egg shell fragment in his eye.

[Fierce Allegiance]

My uncle made it back, with PH and then some, but he is still a hero.

Kerry is not, but one would need not be dead to be a hero.

[ride the whirlwind]

"I've had thorns from a rose that were worse," Hibbard insists.

I'm sure this revelation will cause the Kerry campaign to finally open his military records to the public./sarcasm

[Ciexyz]

Every time I hear the news media call him a "thrice decorated Vietnam Vet", it makes me ill.

[Lee Heggy]

I said 'most of them'. My father and yours are in that very lucky group.

[kellynla]

"Former Sen. Max Cleland, a Kerry supporter who lost three limbs in Vietnam, was never awarded a Purple Heart."

Cleland did not receive a PH because the moron picked up a grenade that had fallen to the ground which blew up!

The armed forces does not give PH's for stupidity!

As for the Ketchup boy, anyone who believes Kerry received 3 PH's legitimately in less than four months in country without spending one night in a hospital; I have some swamp land in Florida I would like to sell you.

Semper Fi,
Kelly

Viet Nam Veterans Against John Kerry
http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnkerry.com

[KevinDavis]

Maybe we should start calling Kerry's purple heart the Frank Burns Purple Heart.

[Gippers Brigade]

This thread is really quite sad. The fact remains that Kerry was shot at on several occassions. While he's not my favorite guy, he has been in battle. I've never been in battle or shot at, however, I'm fairly sure it's not a pleasant experience, let alone something I'd volunteer for.

[Aquinasfan]

But even fingernail scratches can become infected...

[Williams]

republicans constantly permit democrats to foster myths, rather than exposing the truth. It seems clear that Kerry demanded Purple Hearts 3 times for extremely minor wounds, then used a rule to get out of combat after just 4 months based on the Purple Hearts. For an officer to immediately ask out of combat on a technicality is hardly the stuff of legend, heroics, or even strong leadership. Yet republicans will allow Kerry to parade himself as a war hero without asking whether this record really supports someone using it to become president.

Best recent analogy is allowing Al Gore to be treated as a brainiac, when he failed out of both seminary and law schools. And permitting the intelligence of Bush, a Harvard/ Yale graduate, to be questioned.

[DonaldDuke]

Soooo..... How big would be the chance that his cut was self-inflicted, along with the two next ones? And that he had this "little-known" regulation in mind all the time?

[N. Theknow]

Cleland didn't get one awarded because he lost those limbs in a non-combat accident that happened in Vietnam. An injury has to have been the result of enemy action to qualify for the Purple Heart.

Cleland was wounded injured when a grenade he was handling went off.

Seems he forgot the age old axion: "When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend."

[mystery-ak]

I pretty much figured this was the case...pathetic!

[forYourChildrenVote4Bush]

This is not the time to have wobbly knees America.


http://www.gop.com/kerryvskerry/

BTW, I am not American. Do you want to see things to come if you choose weakness...look what happened to Israel when they chose weakness...

[BonnieJ]

My husband has a well-deserved Purple Heart from Vietnam and he's still very much alive! My uncle has a Silver Star from W.W.II and his helmet is in the Smithsonian, he's alive at 80. My father was a hero in the Pearl Harbor attack and died just 3 years ago. My cousin is in Baghdad now, injured and then returned to duty. There are lots of living war heroes, and we owe them ALL (including ones buried and lost the world over) every ounce of gratitude we have.
Kerry is a joke and a disgrace to them all.

[maryz]

Kerry faces questions over Purple Heart

[Aquinasfan]

The fact remains that Kerry was shot at on several occassions.

I respect anyone who served in the military and behaved honorably. However, I'm suspicious of a soldier who received three purple hearts which earned him an early discharge from combat duty, and who doesn't bear any scars.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Two boo-boos and an owie and you're out.

[finnman69]

OMG I love 'Senator Paper Cut'!

[gemoftheocean]

Kerry is such a piece of work. One of my uncle's to this day has a piece of shrapnel the size of a knuckle STILL in his hand. They were so busy fighting a zillion Chinese at the Choisin Reservoir that there wasn't time to dig it out. His flesh healed all around it. THAT's a "war wound." Kerry's papercuts are enough to make a cat laugh.

[nicko]

drop the pin, throw the grenade...

[cynicom]

Sad????? I lost my brother, I arrived home with my carcass intact. Please do not tell me what is sad....

[Lee Heggy]

"we owe them ALL (including ones buried and lost the world over) every ounce of gratitude we have."

Amen to that Bonnie. I have a nephew in Baghdad and he was injured and returned to duty as well. I pray for them all.

[auboy]

Kerry was awarded two additional Purple Hearts for subsequent wounds that have also been described as minor. He then invoked a little-used regulation that entitled a triple Purple Heart winner to return to the United States.

Sounds like Kerry had a "plan" before he ever set foot in Vietnam. IIRC, as early as his teens, he had his eye on the Presidency.

[Arizona]

I loved President Bush's remarks last night regarding his pinning Purple Hearts on some patients at a Ft. Hood Hospital. ~ ~ ~ zinger ! ~ ~ ~

az :)

[bootyist-monk]

It's not sad when you consider that this is the extent of the Kerry Campaign. All he has is Vietnam and his Band of Brothers BS.

Fact, Kerry served four months in Vietnam. Fact, he received three Purple Hearts for dubious wounds. Fact, he executed a wounded VC soldier by exiting his boat and shooting the man in the back. Fact, he later lied about his activities in Vietnam, leading other brave men still in combat to suffer for his stupidity. Fact, he threw someone elses medals over the fence to protest. Fact, he has not yet released his military record to the public (though Dubya was forced to do so under pressure from the press). Fact, he met secretly with the North Vietnamese in Paris and negociated with them in direct violation of the laws of the US and the Code of Military Justice (he was still in the military at the time - although he was acting as a private citizen and protesting the war). Fact, his main partner in the VVAW was Al Hubbard, who it was later proved was a liar and never served in Vietnam. It was his and Kerry's testomony that painted honorable soldiers as war criminals, baby killers, rapists, ear thiefs and more. The crazed vet stereotype can be traced right back to their time in the media. Fact, Kerry's former commander in Vietnam said that Kerry was a loose-cannon that he wanted to "straight-jacket" because he indescriminately fired at targets, leading to many civilian casualties.

The only thing sad is how this scum ever rose to the top of the pond.

[nicko]

the folks I know, and the ones I served with would tell you that they would never willingly petition for a MOPH...it was bad karma in the theater to get one and still be walking around...if you're hit, and get pinned, then hoo ahh, but you would never ask for it...I remember once getting coffee grounds in my eye by taking cover in a coffee can...got an MOF for that...Medal of the Folgers...

[JaguarXKE]

You know, I spent 24 years in the military and all that time, I thought medals and awards, such as the Purple Heart, were supposed to be worn on the chest. Now, thanks to John Kerry, I learn that I've been wrong all these years. Medals are apparently supposed to be worn on the sleeve.

Jag!

[Williams]

you see, this is how you fall for the democrats' nonsense. Yes, John Kerry was in combat for a short time and that is acknowledged. But when someone wants to use their minimal combat experience to become Commander in Chief, they deserve scrutiny of their record. Why should we allow someone to boast that their military record qualifies them to be president, without examining what their record says about them?

The facts include that Kerry was in combat an embarrassingly short time. It appears he never tried to get into combat, and he got out ASAP. This behavior is even more subject to scrutiny because he was an officer, not just an enlisted man. He demanded purple hearts for "wounds" that weren't worth mentioning. In this way he collected enough to get out of combat. Does any of that indicate a level of valor that recommends him as a presidential candidate? Most important point: HE insists it does.

Do you recall that the NYT tried to make George Bush Sr. out to be a WWII war criminal!!?? And he was an out and out decorated hero. IF GWB had Kerry's record, the press would be humiliating him for bragging about combat when he tried to avoid it, and then using technicalities to get out of combat and into a cushy job in an admiral's office.

[Houstonia]

Does anyone have a link to this article, please?

[RetiredArmy]

I've said it here before and this just proves it. I said he got wind of this go home with three Purple Hearts and reported every little scratch. My question is, how did he have the piece of shrapnel that hit him if it on nicked him. Wouldn't it have kept going or did Iron Man John get hit solid and it bounced off and fell on the ground causing this minor scratch? He made them up to get out of Nam and get out of the Navy. He is a coward. He is not any kind of a hero. He is a proven COWARD!

[Check_Your_Premises]

So he didn't get hurt enough?! Because he didn't get hurt more, he is somehow less? He still put his ass out there to get shot at.

If his wound qualified him for a purple heart, what was he supposed to do? Refuse it?

There are enough legitimate and fair criticisms of Kerry. I don't think we need to resort to cheap shots. Let's debate a more mature level than the lefties.

[Mr. K]

SENATOR PAPER-CUT -- I LOVE IT!!!!!


I have been wondering why no one in the presstitute corps has questioned how he managed to get 3 purple hearts and two medals in ONLY FOUR MONTHS in viet nam!