Kerry campaign provides military records

AP | 4/20/04 | NEDRA PICKLER

[kattracks]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid questions about his military records, John Kerry's campaign on Tuesday provided documentation of Vietnam War injuries that included shrapnel wounds to his arms, legs and buttocks that earned him three Purple Hearts.

Kerry spokesman Michael Meehan said the campaign was in the process of compiling the rest of Kerry's naval record and planned to begin posting it on Kerry's Web site by day's end. Kerry said all his military records are available to the public during an appearance Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Meehan said the Massachusetts senator and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee requested a copy of his record from the Navy last month and received roughly 150 pages last week.

Conservatives, talk radio and some newspapers editorials have questioned whether Kerry was deserving of the three Purple Hearts, fueling questions about his Navy service from 1966 to 1970 and the seriousness of his injuries.

He served two tours of duty, four months on the USS Gridley frigate off Vietnam's shore and nearly five months as a swiftboat commander in the Mekong Delta. He volunteered for the second tour and earned all his medals during the second stint.

Meehan gave The Associated Press 13 pages that included documentation for the Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. The Boston Globe obtained some of the records last year for an extensive series on Kerry.

The documents also included declassified reports that briefly explain the injuries that led to Kerry's Purple Heart awards. They show Kerry had shrapnel wounds in his left thigh after his boat came under intense fire on Feb. 20, 1969, and he suffered shrapnel wounds in his left buttock and contusions on his right forearm when a mine detonated close to his boat on March 13, 1969.

The campaign could not locate a similar report for Kerry's original Purple Heart. As evidence that Kerry was wounded, Meehan showed The Associated Press a "Sick Call Treatment Record" from Kerry's personal files that included a brief written note dated Dec. 3, 1968, and stamped from the naval support facility at Cam Ranh Bay.

"Shrapnel in left arm above elbow. Shrapnel removed and appl bacitracin dressing. Ret to Duty," it said. The note is followed by a signature that appears to say "JCCarreon" and some illegible letters that Meehan said probably designate the medical official's rank.

Meehan said the campaign would allow a reporter to see the record at the campaign's headquarters, but not take a copy. He said it would not be made available to the public because Kerry considers it a private medical record.

Documentation for the second two injuries show that Kerry was deemed to be in good condition and returned to active duty after treatment. The documentation does not describe the severity of the injuries. A third Purple Heart meant Kerry could be reassigned out of Vietnam, and a document dated March 17, 1969, said Kerry requested duty as a personal aid in Boston, New York or the Washington, D.C., area.

Meehan said although Kerry could have asked to stay in Vietnam, it was the Navy's decision to request that he be reassigned. Kerry left the country in early April 1969.

Ken Mehlman, President Bush's campaign manager, accused Kerry's campaign of waffling on the release of his military records, saying the campaign's position on Tuesday to release the records in "due diligence" is contrary to Kerry's comments on "Meet the Press" that the records would be made public immediately.

"Senator Kerry's record of nondisclosure and his flip-flop on this issue should concern voters," Mehlman said.

Meehan responded, "Senator Kerry's record on the military is one we are running on, not running from. We are happy to compare Senator Kerry's record of service to anybody in the Bush campaign who has or has not served."

Bush was in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War, but did not serve in combat. Bush released hundreds of pages of his Vietnam-era military records in February to counter Democrats' suggestions that he shirked his duty in the Texas Air National Guard.

The White House said the documents comprise his entire military record. The records did not provide evidence that Bush was in Alabama during a period when Democrats have questioned whether he reported for service.

Kerry on Friday questioned Republicans who avoided the war and now criticize him on national security, but he didn't mention Bush.

"I fought under that flag and I saw that flag draped over the coffins of friends," Kerry said. "I'm tired of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney and a bunch of people who went out of their way to avoid the chance to serve when they had the chance."

The Purple Heart is awarded to soldiers who are wounded or killed by enemy forces. The Silver Star is awarded for gallantry in action, and the Bronze Star is for heroic achievement.

Kerry received the Bronze Star for his actions after being wounded by the mine, which led to the third Purple Heart. According to his citation, one of Kerry's boatmates was thrown overboard and Kerry pulled him to safety with "his arm bleeding and in pain and with disregard for his personal safety." Kerry and the man, retired Los Angeles police officer Jim Rassmann, had an emotional public reunion in January, two days before Kerry would win the Iowa caucuses.

___

On the Net:

http://www.johnkerry.com

Facsimiles of Kerry's Purple Heart citations are available at:

http://wid.ap.org/documents/kerry/purplehearts.pdf

Facsimiles of Kerry's bronze and silver star citations are available at:

http://wid.ap.org/documents/kerry/stars.pdf

Facsimiles of reports describing Kerry's wounds are available at:

http://wid.ap.org/documents/kerry/actionreports.pdf

[There's millions of'em]

"In early March, 2004, the Washington Times revealed a statement by former assistant secretary of defense W. Scott Thompson, who recalled a conversation with former chief of naval operations Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. Zumwalt,...

Yes, quite right. But I believe that referenced conversation took place some years prior to 1996. Hence my interest in what happened to cause Adm Z to change his characterization.

[JulieRNR21]

Here's what Webster's Dictionary says:

Main Entry: con·tu·sion
Pronunciation: k&n-'tü-zh&n, -'tyü-
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English conteschown, from Middle French contusion, from Latin contusion-, contusio, from contundere to pound, bruise, from com- + tundere to beat; akin to Gothic stautan to strike, Sanskrit tudati he pushes
Date: 15th century
: injury to tissue usually without laceration : BRUISE 1a
- con·tuse /-'tüz, -'tyüz/ transitive verb

It is a BRUISE. I understood that a Purple Heart was awarded for WOUNDS that required medical treatment. No treatment is usually given for bruises!

[concerned about politics]

So far, it appears Kerry tried to dodge military service by applying for school in Paris, but was denied.
He then took the boat position because they usually don't see combat.
He must have found out quickly that 3 purple hearts would get him out early, and all it took to get one was a scratch or bruise. He then had 2 within the first 24 hours. All he needed was one more.
Who knows why it took him so long for the last. Maybe the military saw what he was up to and denied him more.
He became such a pain in the ass to his commanders, they gave him one more and sent him away to get rid of him. That's why he probably spend so little time there. Kerry was then free.
He came home claiming he was a war hero, and slammed/belittled the men left behind for left wing radical/pro-communist votes. He's been in the Senate ever since.

Did I forget anything?

[kcvl]

Doug Reese, a former Army lieutenant who had been in the February battle with Kerry.

Reese recalls the Feb. 28 battle essentially as Kerry has recounted it: a brief, fierce firefight with guerrillas protecting a munitions depot. "I remember John later expressing embarrassment" that he had received the Silver Star within a week of the action, an unusually brief interlude, Reese said.

[concerned about politics]

The SS is awarded by a certain level commander. I do not know what specific level of command was required to award the SS, but I would speculate that Adm Z had that authority.

From what I read on Vets Against Kerry, he'd need to be voted that star by quite a few of the upper commanders. They too want to know who voted and who signed off. One man couldn't do it alone. They wanted the names.

[Polybius]

As far as the Purple Heart goes, from AR 600-8-22:

I would say, based on the criteria, a bruise suffered as a direct result of enemy action, qualifies one for the Purple Heart.

Read Section b. (2) again.

"A physical lesion is not required, however, the wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by a medical officer...."

In the Navy, a "medical officer" is defined as an M.D. or a D.O. I was a Navy medical officer. My Navy Corpsmen were not "medical officers".

In other words, a Purple Heart is awarded for a wound serious enough to require treatment by a "Doctor" and is not awarded for every cut, scrape or bruise seen at Sick Call by a Navy Corpsman or an Army Medic.

The vast majority of bruises do not "require treament" by an M.D. With most children, a bruise only requires Mommy to kiss it and make it better.

[GOPJ]

Thanks for the ping.

[kcvl]

John F. Kerry (right) in central Vietnam in 1994 to observe efforts to account for US MIAs.

What an *SS!

[Brytani]

Shrapnel in his buttocks? Well that explains his brain damage.

[concerned about politics]

. "I remember John later expressing embarrassment" that he had received the Silver Star within a week of the action, an unusually brief interlude, Reese said.

Something sure smells, doesn't it? Once we get all the records, maybe we'll know the real story about our "hero."
Wait until the press picks apart what we already read. So far, FOX is discussing how people get purple hearts for a bruise, and how Kerry's injuries were minimal. It's a start!

[kcvl]

Pictures from the past

Just off the Rotunda floor of the Capitol, up a series of stairwells, is a hidden-from-the-public corridor. Behind one door is the "hideaway" of Senator John Kerry, a windowless room that is a sort of Rorschach pattern of his personality. On one wall is a huge map of Vietnam, which enables Kerry to show visitors where he fought his battles. On another are old French war posters, offset by posters of The Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen. Attached to the corner of one is a handwritten note from the lead singer of the rock band U2: "John -- I'll be back. Bono." A framed picture shows Kerry with Kennedy, whom Kerry first met when he was a protester at the Mall in 1971 and Kennedy was a senator sympathetic to the cause. Another picture shows Kerry on the cover of a windsurfing magazine.

Is this guy still acting like a teenager in love or what?

[easonc52]

Shrapnel in his buttocks? Well that explains his brain damage.

ROFLMAO!!!

[Mo1]

Off point, what in the HELL has happened to Joe Scarborough? He has a segment going with the title "?Saudis to rig U.S. Election?"

Have you noticed how he's been having Pat on a lot these days?

[Valin]

John Kerry's Purple Hearts
Purple Heart Number One:
The Boston Globe - June 6, 2003 -- Kerry experienced his first intense combat action on Dec. 2, 1968, when he "semi-volunteered for, was semi-drafted" for a risky covert mission in which he essentially was supposed to "flush out" the enemy, using a little Boston Whaler named "Batman." A larger backup craft was called "Robin."
Unfortunately, Robin had engine trouble, and Batman's exit was delayed until the boats could depart in unison. The Batman crew encountered some Viet Cong, engaged in a firefight, and Kerry was slightly wounded on his arm, earning his first Purple Heart on his first day of serious action.
"It was not a very serious wound at all," recalled William Schachte, who oversaw the mission and went on to become a rear admiral.
Purple Heart Number Two:
The Boston Globe - June 6, 2003 -- On Feb. 20, 1969, Kerry earned his second Purple Heart after sustaining a shrapnel wound in his left thigh. According to a previously unreported Navy report on the battle, a two-boat patrol spotted three men on a riverbank who were wearing black pajamas and running and engaged them in a firefight. While not criticizing this engagement, the Navy report did challenge the decision of unnamed skippers to fire at other "targets of opportunity" in the area.
"Area seemed extremely prosperous and open to psyops action, minimum number of defensive and no offensive bunkers detected," the report said. The naval official who wrote the report concluded: "Future missions in this area should be oriented toward psyops rather than destruction."
The destruction included 40 sampans, 10 hut-style hootches, three bunkers, and 5,000 pounds of rice. The crews from two swift boats had expended more than 14,000 rounds of.50-caliber ammunition. No enemy casualties were reported.
Purple Heart Number Three
The Boston Globe June 6, 2003 --. . . On March 13, 1969, a mine detonated near Kerry's boat, wounding Kerry in the right arm, according to the citation written by [Navy Admiral Elmo "Bud"] Zumwalt. Guerrillas started firing on the boats from the shoreline. Kerry then realized that he had lost overboard a Green Beret who is identified only as "Rassman."
"The man was receiving sniper fire from both banks," according to Kerry's Bronze Star citation from that day. "Lt. Kerry directed his gunners to provide suppressing fire, while from an exposed position on the bow, his arm bleeding and in pain, with disregard for his personal safety, he pulled the man aboard. Lt. Kerry then directed his boat to return and assist the other damaged craft and towed the boat to safety. Lt. Kerry's calmness, professionalism and great personal courage under fire were in keeping with the highest traditions of the US Naval Service," Zumwalt's citation said.
Home Free:
The Boston Globe June 6, 2003 -- Kerry had been wounded three times and received three Purple Hearts. Asked about the severity of the wounds, Kerry said that one of them cost him about two days of service, and that the other two did not interrupt his duty. "Walking wounded," as Kerry put it. A shrapnel wound in his left arm gave Kerry pain for years. Kerry declined a request from the Globe to sign a waiver authorizing the release of military documents that are covered under the Privacy Act and that might shed more light on the extent of the treatment Kerry needed as a result of the wounds.
"There were an awful lot of Purple Hearts -- from shrapnel, some of those might have been M-40 grenades," said [George] Elliott, Kerry's commanding officer. "The Purple Hearts were coming down in boxes. Kerry, he had three Purple Hearts. None of them took him off duty. Not to belittle it, that was more the rule than the exception."
The Boston Globe - June 6, 2003 -- . . . The National Archives provided the Globe with a Navy "instruction" document that formed the basis for Kerry's request. The instruction, titled 1300.39, says that a Naval officer who requires hospitalization on two separate occasions, or who receives three wounds "regardless of the nature of the wounds," can ask a superior officer to request a reassignment. The instruction makes clear the reassignment is not automatic. It says that the reassignment "will be determined after consideration of his physical classification for duty and on an individual basis."
Because Kerry's wounds were not considered serious, his reassignment appears to have been made on an individual basis.
Moreover, the instruction makes clear that Kerry could have asked that any reassignment be waived.
The bottom line is that Kerry could have remained but he chose to seek an early transfer . . .
http://www.usvetdsp.com/kerry_pur_hrts.htm

We had virtually to straight-jacket [Kerry] to keep him under control (Admiral Zumwalt on Kerry)
taipeitimes Feb 11, 2004 W. Scott Thompson

http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1080150/posts?page=51,96
(snip)
He now makes much of his decorations from the war in Vietnam, to appeal to centrists and conservatives, without reminding those audiences that he for long was a leader of Vietnam veterans against the war. Indeed, assiduous searchers, looking for his vulnerabilities, will find much of interest in that period of his life. For example, the fabled and distinguished chief of naval operations (CNO), Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, told me -- 30 years ago when he was still CNO -- that during his own command of US naval forces in Vietnam, just prior to his anointment as CNO, young Kerry had created great problems for him and the other top brass, by killing so many non-combatant civilians and going after other non-military targets.

"We had virtually to straight-jacket him to keep him under control," the admiral said. "Bud" Zumwalt got it right when he assessed Kerry as having large ambitions -- but promised that his career in Vietnam would haunt him if he were ever on the national stage.

[There's millions of'em]

We need his records for that.
My guess is there isn't anything there re the SS that will harm or concern JF'n.
I see his actions as a Senator re the POW issue as much more promising, perhaps that will perk to the top soon.

[nopardons]

bttt

[concerned about politics]

"We had virtually to straight-jacket him to keep him under control," the admiral said. "Bud" Zumwalt got it right when he assessed Kerry as having large ambitions -- but promised that his career in Vietnam would haunt him if he were ever on the national stage.

Hopefully, the admiral will be right. It's up to us to make sure all this gets out.

[smoothsailing]

Did I forget anything?

Nope.

FRegards...

[kcvl]

Left unanswered by the New York Times (but we know they will pursue this with the same energy they brought to the "Bush AWOL" hunt) are two questions:

(1) When will Sen. Kerry release his military records?

(2) How common was it for an officer to invoke the "Three Purple Hearts and you're out" rule? The Globe was curious, and gives us this:

...On Friday, however, the National Archives provided the Globe with a Navy "instruction" document that formed the basis for Kerry's request. The instruction, titled 1300.39, says that a Naval officer who requires hospitalization on two separate occasions, or who receives three wounds "regardless of the nature of the wounds," can ask a superior officer to request a reassignment. The instruction makes clear the reassignment is not automatic. It says that the reassignment "will be determined after consideration of his physical classification for duty and on an individual basis." Because Kerry's wounds were not considered serious, his reassignment appears to have been made on an individual basis.

Moreover, the instruction makes clear that Kerry could have asked that any reassignment be waived.

The bottom line is that Kerry could have remained but he chose to seek an early transfer. He met with Horne, who agreed to forward the request, which Horne said probably ensured final approval. The Navy could not say how many other officers or sailors got a similar early release from combat, but it was unusual for anyone to have three Purple Hearts.

Puzzling.

February 24, 2004


******


Retired Marine Major Frank Stolz of Round Rock, Texas has some deep concerns about Kerry’s “Swift Boat” exploits and his swifter tour of duty in Vietnam. “He returned to the USA after all of four months with the swift boats”, says Stolz. “He reminded his Commanding Officer that he had three Purple hearts and should be allowed to leave the combat zone. His behavior during this period was reckless and his medals are in question. There was killing of unarmed civilians and later a wounded soldier, which earned him a Silver Star. He had to do a lot of the writing for this award himself, or he talked his crew members into writing him up, as he was the only officer.”

Stolz points out an important fact that is never mentioned when Kerry campaign personnel speak of their candidate’s heroism. “Wounded enemy soldiers are brought to the rear for questioning, as required by the Geneva Conventions, UN policy and U.S. military doctrine. Only when the enemy soldier is fighting or when returning him would jeopardize your unit is it permissible to kill him. Obviously that wounded soldier could have been carried to the swift boat, taken to the medics and then to the interrogators.”

Retired Army Colonel George R. Givens of Paige, Texas also has reservations as to the propriety of Kerry’s action under fire. “As I understand it, the enemy attacked his boat and he responded by grounding the boat, leaping off, and personally pursuing a wounded enemy, which he killed.

“At the time he was Commander of his Swift Boat. Think about it. In the middle of an attack, the Captain of the Ship runs his boat aground, leaves the boat and crew of five enlisted men behind, and conducts needless, single handed pursuit of a fleeing enemy, while his boat and crew are especially vulnerable to further attack by possible hidden forces.

“Swift Boats were not heavily armored or armed. One of the few defensive weapons they had was maneuverability, including leaving the area to call in air strikes or artillery. By intentionally grounding his boat so he could get off and conduct a one man chase, he took away one of the primary defenses of his boat.”

[kcvl]

Every Tuesday night, without fail, Sen. Kerry shouts out something about how, "some of us really know something about aircraft carriers!" I assume by "some of us," he means himself, as opposed to Bush.

So here's what I want to know about Kerry's military service:

When, precisely, was he ever on a freakin' aircraft carrier?

During his first tour in Vietnam, he was a deck officer on a frigate, USS Gridley. (Source: Andrew Ferguson's recent Weekly Standard review of Douglas Brinkley's Tour of Duty.) On his second tour -- when he earned all the medals -- he commanded a Swift boat.

So, um, John . . . helluva job on the Swift boat, really, but. . . um, what do you know about aircraft carriers, exactly? And how did you learn it?

(No, John, Gridley wasn't an aircraft carrier.)


Posted by: London Derriere | February 24, 2004 10:10 PM