Posted on 08/07/2004 12:09:08 PM PDT by The Bandit
Sen. Kerry and His Supporting Crewmates House of Lies
Do Americans have the right to ask if Sen. Kerry's stated qualifications are truthful and trustworthy? Absolutely they do, just as any individual or business would be within their rights to verify if a potential new hiree prior experience or education is legitimate. In the coming weeks American's will be hearing revelations from Sen. Kerry's fellow officers who served along with him, or in close proximity with, during his brief four months in Vietnam as an skipper of a swift boat. Most will wonder why if everything they have to say is true - why Sen. Kerry's crewmembers continue to support him and which side is telling the truth?
To answer why they they support him would be mere speculation at this point, but the question of who is telling the truth can easily be answered by Sen. Kerry and his crewmates own pattern of deception. Kerry and a handful of his former crewmembers have a habitual tendency to fabricate and present to the public bogus accounts of Sen. Kerry's Vietnam service. They have little regard for accuracy or the truth when they recount Kerry's service over and over again, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
This was was very apparent during the recent Democratic National Convention when fellow crewmember, Fred Short, whom was on stage with Sen. Kerry along with other crewmembers said, "I was there when Sen. Kerry got shot, and I've seen his blood on the deck of a swift boat." [1]
Problem with this assertion is that Fred Short was only present with Sen. Kerry on one mission, and that mission was on February 28, 1969 when he served as a replacement for David Alston. Kerry was never shot nor wounded on February 28, 1969. In fact, Kerry was never 'shot' during his entire four months in Vietnam. If someone was not familiar with Kerry's history they would walk away with a false impression.
Fred Short is not the only crewmember who likes to falsely assert Sen. Kerry was shot. Former crewmember, Del Sandusky, said on CNN's NewsNight that: "John, shot and bleeding, laid down and pulled up Rassmann by his belt." [2]
This is clearly another outright falsehood because Sen. Kerry was never shot or bleeding on March 13, 1969 when the incident with Jim Rassmann occurred.
The Rev. David Alston, another former crewmember recalling Sen. Kerry's exploits in Vietnam recalled the events of February 28, 1969 this way: "I know when John Kerry told Del to beach that damn boat, this was a brand-new ball game. We wasn't running. We took it to Charlie." [3]
Only problem with this horribly misleading statement is that David Alston was not on Sen. Kerry's boat on that eventful date to know that Kerry told Del to beach the boat. Fred Short had replaced him as the boats 'tub gunner' that day.
Michael Medeiros, indicated during a 1996 press conference with Senator Kerry (by telephone) that he was chasing after Senator Kerry and the fleeing VC soldier and stated at the time that he did not see Sen. Kerry kill him, but had no doubt that the senator did so. "The only one that was there was Senator Kerry," Medeiros said. [4]
Sounds good, but what came afterwards during the same press conference was a totally unexpected remark by Sen. Kerry, "I was never out of sight of Tom Belodeau or Mike Medeiros," Kerry said. "I went straight out from the boat to the path so I had a line of fire. I never went behind the hootch, and this is the first time in 30 years that anybody has suggested otherwise."
Perhaps Sen. Kerry wasn't paying attention when Michael Medeiros had stated the only one who was there was Sen. Kerry and that he did not see what Kerry wants to insist Medeiros saw.
Sen. Kerry Knows it is not a good idea not to have any talk about bona fide war heroes shooting wounded kids in the back as the heroism that earns them a medal. Sen. Kerry may have made a slip by telling the Boston Globe, "He [wounded VC soldier] was running away with a live B-40, and, I thought, poised to turn around and fire it." [10] So now Kerry and his "Band of Brothers" have a new task on their hands: turn the wounded VC soldier around so he is pointing his B-40 rocket launcher at Kerry's swift boat before Kerry shot him. That way it doesn't look like Kerry shot him in the back.
Mike Medeiros changed his story to better cast Kerry as a war hero by making it clear to Douglas Brinkley, in his book, "Tour of Duty," that he saw the VC guerilla standing on both feet ready to fire a rocket at Kerry's boat, and that he fell over dead after being shot by Sen. Kerry. Kerry's other crewmembers who ertr crew members with him responded with the same storyline, such as:
"The guy was getting ready to stand up with a rocket on his shoulder, coming up. And Mr. Kerry took him out -- he would have been about a 30-yard shot. Which, we were dead in the water up on the bank, point blank. If he missed us, he would have to, you know -- there's no way he could miss us. He could've thrown a rock and taken me out." [3]
Or how about, "Bullets were flying everywhere," Short he said. "It was total chaos. Mr. Kerry went up to the top of the embankment and saw the guy preparing to fire his grenade launcher, so he took him out. I have no doubt that if he had not done so, I would not be talking to you today." [8]
Sen. Kerry went from shooting a wounded kid in the back to war hero who had saved his entire crew's life from instant death.
Even more bizarre during Kerry's 1996 press conference was his remark saying he never went behind the hootch, and that no one had suggested otherwise in 30 years. This makes one wonder if he had ever read his very own Silver Star citation, which clearly states for all to see -- that someone has indeed been suggesting for the last 30 years what Sen. Kerry is attempting to deny by this simple 30 year old sentence:
". . . Without hesitation Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry leaped ashore, pursued the man behind a hootch, and killed him, capturing a B-40 rocket launcher with a round in the chamber."
The only one who would have the first hand knowledge of such an event (behind the hooch) to had suggested it so it could been included in his Silver Star citation was Sen. Kerry himself.
Another famous event which Kerry and his supporters have turned upside down over the years for maximum political mileage by throwing out the truth and replacing it with rhetoric and outright lies in the events that lead to Sen.Kerry pulling Jim Rassmann from a river. To really understand Sen. Kerry's character and deceit we should first read a eulogy given by Mr. Kerry:
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed
in the Record the text of the eulogy I gave for my friend, Thomas
M. Belodeau, on November 10, 1997.
There was the time we were carrying Special Forces
up a river and a mine exploded under our boat sending it 2
feet into the air. We were receiving incoming rocket and small
arms fire and Tommy was returning fire with his M-60 machine gun
when it literally broke apart in his hands. He was left holding
the pieces unable to fire back while one of the Green Berets
walked along the edge of the boat to get Tommy another M-60. As he
was doing so, the boat made a high speed turn to starboard and the
Green Beret kept going--straight into the river. The entire time
while the boat went back to get the Green Beret, Tommy was without
a machine gun or a weapon of any kind, but all the time he was
hurling the greatest single string of Lowell-Chelmsford curses
ever heard at the Viet Cong. He literally had swear words with
tracers on them! [5]
First of all, it is truly remarkable that Sen. Kerry cannot even tell the truth while giving a eulogy for a fallen brother-in-arms.
Secondly, wonder who that Green Beret could have been Sen. Kerry is referring to? In a 2004 interview with Jim Rassmann may have answered this question. Rassmann was talking along the same lines as in Kerry's above eulogy when he recalled to a reporter of sidling along the deck next to the pilot house, a rifle in each hand, intending to give one to the bow gunner, when a second mine detonated, launching him into the water. [6]
Tom Belodeau would have been that bow gunner Rassmann was referring to. Sen. Kerry's account in Douglas Brinkley's "Tour of Duty," places Jim Rassmann on the PCF-3 and not his PCF-94 boat. But Jim Rassmann does not want to be on another boat, but wants to be known for having rode on Kerry's boat for an entire month leading up to his dramatic rescue by Sen. Kerry.[7] This of course is a false assertion in that the only time he was ever on a boat skippered by Kerry was when Kerry helped him up out of the water.
Aside from the above eulogy, neither Sen. Kerry nor his crewmembers have ever claimed their boat, the PCF-94, had ever struck a mine and blown out of the water. The only boat that hit a mine and was lifted 2-3 feet out of the water was the PCF-3 on March 13, 1969. Sen. Kerry's PCF-94 had to tow the PCF-3 after it had hit the mine because it was so badly damaged from the explosion. Why in the world Sen. Kerry would falsely claim the events that struck the PCF-3 as his own is mind boggling.
Could memory be playing tricks with Sen. Kerry? No because if you were ever on a boat that hit a mine powerful enough to lift your boat 2-3 feet out of the water you would not have any confusion of whether or not you were ever on such a boat.
It is no wonder that Jim Rassmann has gone silent on the finer details surrounding his March 13, 1969 rescue since neither him, Sen. Kerry or his supporting crew can seem to tell a consistent story. IF Rassmann claims he was riding on Kerry's boat; Kerry places him on another boat. All Jim Rassmann will say today is Sen. Kerry saved his life by pulling him from a river after being knocked off a swift boat (take your pick which one.)
How can anyone be sure they are being told an honest and truthful story of Sen. Kerry's Vietnam service? They cannot because Kerry's campaign will not allow it. Take for example when questions were raised whether Sen. Kerry had attended a Kansas City meeting of Vietnam Veterans Against the War where the assassination of senators was discussed. Immediately the Kerry campaign denied he was there.
John Musgrave, a disabled ex-marine from Baldwin City, Kan., who told The Kansas City Star that Mr. Kerry was at the meeting, said he got a call from John Hurley, the Kerry campaign's veterans coordinator.
"He said, `I'd like you to refresh your memory,' "Mr. Musgrave, 55, recounted in an interview, confirming an account he had given to The New York Sun. "He said it twice. `And call that reporter back and say you were mistaken about John Kerry being there." [11]
The Kerry campaign no longer denies Sen. Kerry having attended the Kansas City meeting of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and the only reason they no longer deny it is because of FBI evidence that placed him there. It is obvious with the ease and lengths Kerry & Co. will go to discard the truth to project their falsehoods to support a bogus image of Kerry is a shocking sign of his unfitness to be President. Perhaps now that more evidence is coming forward from sources other then Sen. Kerry's tight knitted inner circle of former crewmembers will it finally lead to an truthful account of Sen. Kerry's real Vietnam record, and maybe allow us to get closer to determining just what he is all about.
-------------
References
1. Veteran Supporters Rebut Criticism of Kerry, by Lance Gay,
Scripps Howard News Service, July 29, 2004
2. CNN NEWSNIGHT w/ AARON BROWN, Aired May 31, 2004
3. ABC News NightLine, June 24, 2004
4. Associated Press article by Glen Johnson, October 28, 1996
5. Congressional Record: January 28, 1998 (Senate) Page S186-S187
6. One Kerry Supporter Owes Life to Candidate by Jeff Barnard,
Associated Press Jan. 24, 2004
7. Vietnam lessons shape Kerry as a leader by Andrea Stone, USA TODAY,
4/12/2004
8. Cox News Service Article by Mike William, April 18, 2004
9. COPLEY NEWS SERVICE Article By Otto Kreisher, July 21, 2004
10. Heroism, and growing concern about war By Michael Kranish, Boston
Globe, 6/16/2003
11. John Kerry's Role as a Vietnam Anti-War Activist Poses Challenges
to His Campaign by David Halbfinger, New york Times, April 24, 2004
12. Kerry campaign struggles to make military records public by Jill
Zuckman and Jeff Zeleny, Chicago Tribune April 21, 2004
13. The Oregonian, May 02, 2004
"My name is Steve Gardner. I served in 1966 and 1967 on my first tour of duty in Vietnam on Swift boats, and I did my second tour in '68 and '69, involved with John Kerry in the last 2 1/2 months of my tour. The John Kerry that I know is not the John Kerry that everybody else is portraying. I served alongside him and behind him, five feet away from him in a gun tub, and watched as he made indecisive moves with our boat, put our boats in jeopardy, put our crews in jeopardy... if a man like that can't handle that 6-man crew boat, how can you expect him to be our Commander-in-Chief?"
-- Steven Gardner
The above quote was from a press conference given at the National Press Club in Washington on May 4, 2004. You may view Steven’s comments at the following web site. Just scroll down to Steven’s picture and click on it.
http://swift1.he.net/~swiftvet/index.php?topic=SwiftVetQuotes
Searching through that web site, you will find 250 men who served on Swift boats, including the entire chain of command above Lt. Kerry, agree with Steven Gardner that Kerry is not fit to be Commander-in-Chief. That compares to the 13 crew members who support his candidacy.
Bookmarked, and sent out to all the "Paul Revere's I know.
Thanks for the post.
You just put every major "investigative reporter" in America to shame.
Excellent post!
ping/house of lies
Sen. Kerry and His Supporting Crewmates House of Lies
Do Americans have the right to ask if Sen. Kerry's stated qualifications are truthful and trustworthy? Absolutely they do, just as any individual or business would be within their rights to verify if a potential new hiree prior experience or education is legitimate. In the coming weeks American's will be hearing revelations from Sen. Kerry's fellow officers who served along with him, or in close proximity with, during his brief four months in Vietnam as an skipper of a swift boat. Most will wonder why if everything they have to say is true - why Sen. Kerry's crewmembers continue to support him and which side is telling the truth?
To answer why they they support him would be mere speculation at this point, but the question of who is telling the truth can easily be answered by Sen. Kerry and his crewmates own pattern of deception. Kerry and a handful of his former crewmembers have a habitual tendency to fabricate and present to the public bogus accounts of Sen. Kerry's Vietnam service. They have little regard for accuracy or the truth when they recount Kerry's service over and over again, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
This was was very apparent during the recent Democratic National Convention when fellow crewmember, Fred Short, whom was on stage with Sen. Kerry along with other crewmembers said, "I was there when Sen. Kerry got shot, and I've seen his blood on the deck of a swift boat." [1]
Problem with this assertion is that Fred Short was only present with Sen. Kerry on one mission, and that mission was on February 28, 1969 when he served as a replacement for David Alston. Kerry was never shot nor wounded on February 28, 1969. In fact, Kerry was never 'shot' during his entire four months in Vietnam. If someone was not familiar with Kerry's history they would walk away with a false impression.
Fred Short is not the only crewmember who likes to falsely assert Sen. Kerry was shot. Former crewmember, Del Sandusky, said on CNN's NewsNight that: "John, shot and bleeding, laid down and pulled up Rassmann by his belt." [2]
This is clearly another outright falsehood because Sen. Kerry was never shot or bleeding on March 13, 1969 when the incident with Jim Rassmann occurred. The Rev. David Alston, another former crewmember recalling Sen. Kerry's exploits in Vietnam recalled the events of February 28, 1969 this way: "I know when John Kerry told Del to beach that damn boat, this was a brand-new ball game. We wasn't running. We took it to Charlie." [3]
Only problem with this horribly misleading statement is that David Alston was not on Sen. Kerry's boat on that eventful date to know that Kerry told Del to beach the boat. Fred Short had replaced him as the boats 'tub gunner' that day.
Michael Medeiros, indicated during a 1996 press conference with Senator Kerry (by telephone) that he was chasing after Senator Kerry and the fleeing VC soldier and stated at the time that he did not see Sen. Kerry kill him, but had no doubt that the senator did so. "The only one that was there was Senator Kerry," Medeiros said. [4]
Sounds good, but what came afterwards during the same press conference was a totally unexpected remark by Sen. Kerry, "I was never out of sight of Tom Belodeau or Mike Medeiros," Kerry said. "I went straight out from the boat to the path so I had a line of fire. I never went behind the hootch, and this is the first time in 30 years that anybody has suggested otherwise." Perhaps Sen. Kerry wasn't paying attention when Michael Medeiros had stated the only one who was there was Sen. Kerry and that he did not see what Kerry wants to insist Medeiros saw.
Sen. Kerry Knows it is not a good idea not to have any talk about bona fide war heroes shooting wounded kids in the back as the heroism that earns them a medal. Sen. Kerry may have made a slip by telling the Boston Globe, "He [wounded VC soldier] was running away with a live B-40, and, I thought, poised to turn around and fire it." [10] So now Kerry and his "Band of Brothers" have a new task on their hands: turn the wounded VC soldier around so he is pointing his B-40 rocket launcher at Kerry's swift boat before Kerry shot him. That way it doesn't look like Kerry shot him in the back.
Mike Medeiros changed his story to better cast Kerry as a war hero by making it clear to Douglas Brinkley, in his book, "Tour of Duty," that he saw the VC guerilla standing on both feet ready to fire a rocket at Kerry's boat, and that he fell over dead after being shot by Sen. Kerry. Kerry's other crew members who were with him responded with the same storyline, such as:
"The guy was getting ready to stand up with a rocket on his shoulder, coming up. And Mr. Kerry took him out -- he would have been about a 30-yard shot. Which, we were dead in the water up on the bank, point blank. If he missed us, he would have to, you know -- there's no way he could miss us. He could've thrown a rock and taken me out." [3]
Or how about, "Bullets were flying everywhere," Short he said. "It was total chaos. Mr. Kerry went up to the top of the embankment and saw the guy preparing to fire his grenade launcher, so he took him out. I have no doubt that if he had not done so, I would not be talking to you today." [8]
Sen. Kerry went from shooting a wounded kid in the back to war hero who had saved his entire crew's life from instant death.
Even more bizarre during Kerry's 1996 press conference was his remark saying he never went behind the hootch, and that no one had suggested otherwise in 30 years. This makes one wonder if he had ever read his very own Silver Star citation, which clearly states for all to see -- that someone has indeed been suggesting for the last 30 years what Sen. Kerry is attempting to deny this simple 30 year old sentence:
". . . Without hesitation Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry leaped ashore, pursued the man behind a hootch, and killed him, capturing a B-40 rocket launcher with a round in the chamber."
The only one who would have the first hand knowledge of such an event (behind the hooch) to had suggested it so it could been included in his Silver Star citation was Sen. Kerry himself.
Another famous event which Kerry and his supporters have turned upside down over the years for maximum political mileage by throwing out the truth and replacing it with rhetoric and outright lies in the events that lead to Sen.Kerry pulling Jim Rassmann from a river. To really understand Sen. Kerry's character and deceit we should first read a eulogy given by Mr. Kerry:
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed
in the Record the text of the eulogy I gave for my friend, Thomas
M. Belodeau, on November 10, 1997.
There was the time we were carrying Special Forces
up a river and a mine exploded under our boat sending it 2
feet into the air. We were receiving incoming rocket and small
arms fire and Tommy was returning fire with his M-60 machine gun
when it literally broke apart in his hands. He was left holding
the pieces unable to fire back while one of the Green Berets
walked along the edge of the boat to get Tommy another M-60. As he
was doing so, the boat made a high speed turn to starboard and the
Green Beret kept going--straight into the river. The entire time
while the boat went back to get the Green Beret, Tommy was without
a machine gun or a weapon of any kind, but all the time he was
hurling the greatest single string of Lowell-Chelmsford curses
ever heard at the Viet Cong. He literally had swear words with
tracers on them! [5]
First of all, it is truly remarkable that Sen. Kerry cannot even tell the truth while giving a eulogy for a fallen brother-in-arms.
Secondly, wonder who that Green Beret could have been Sen. Kerry is referring to? In a 2004 interview with Jim Rassmann may have answered this question. Rassmann was talking along the same lines as in Kerry's above eulogy when he recalled to a reporter of sidling along the deck next to the pilot house, a rifle in each hand, intending to give one to the bow gunner, when a second mine detonated, launching him into the water. [6]
Tom Belodeau would have been that bow gunner Rassmann was referring to. Sen. Kerry's account in Douglas Brinkley's "Tour of Duty," places Jim Rassmann on the PCF-3 and not his PCF-94 boat. But Jim Rassmann does not want to be on another boat, but wants to be known for having rode on Kerry's boat for an entire month leading up to his dramatic rescue by Sen. Kerry.[7] This of course is a false assertion in that the only time he was ever on a boat skippered by Kerry was when Kerry helped him up out of the water.
Aside from the above eulogy, neither Sen. Kerry nor his crewmembers have ever claimed their boat, the PCF-94, had ever struck a mine and blown out of the water. The only boat that hit a mine and was lifted 2-3 feet out of the water was the PCF-3 on March 13, 1969. Sen. Kerry's PCF-94 had to tow the PCF-3 after it had hit the mine because it was so badly damaged from the explosion. Why in the world Sen. Kerry would falsely claim the events that struck the PCF-3 as his own is mind boggling.
Could memory be playing tricks with Sen. Kerry? No because if you were ever on a boat that hit a mine powerful enough to lift your boat 2-3 feet out of the water you would not have any confusion of whether or not you were ever on such a boat.
It is no wonder that Jim Rassmann has gone silent on the finer details surrounding his March 13, 1969 rescue since neither him, Sen. Kerry or his supporting crew can seem to tell a consistent story. IF Rassmann claims he was riding on Kerry's boat; Kerry places him on another boat. All Jim Rassmann will say today is Sen. Kerry saved his life by pulling him from a river after being knocked off a swift boat (take your pick which one.)
How can anyone be sure they are being told an honest and truthful story of Sen. Kerry's Vietnam service? They cannot because Kerry's campaign will not allow it. Take for example when questions were raised whether Sen. Kerry had attended a Kansas City meeting of Vietnam Veterans Against the War where the assassination of senators was discussed. Immediately the Kerry campaign denied he was there.
John Musgrave, a disabled ex-marine from Baldwin City, Kan., who told The Kansas City Star that Mr. Kerry was at the meeting, said he got a call from John Hurley, the Kerry campaign's veterans coordinator.
"He said, `I'd like you to refresh your memory,' "Mr. Musgrave, 55, recounted in an interview, confirming an account he had given to The New York Sun. "He said it twice. `And call that reporter back and say you were mistaken about John Kerry being there." [11]
The Kerry campaign no longer denies Sen. Kerry having attended the Kansas City meeting of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and the only reason they no longer deny it is because of FBI evidence that placed him there. It is obvious with the ease and lengths Kerry & Co. will go to discard the truth to project their falsehoods to support a bogus image of Kerry is a shocking sign of his unfitness to be President. Perhaps now that more evidence is coming forward from sources other then Sen. Kerry's tight knitted inner circle of former crewmembers will it finally lead to an truthful account of Sen. Kerry's real Vietnam record, and maybe allow us to get closer to determining just what he is all about.
-------------
References
1. Veteran Supporters Rebut Criticism of Kerry, by Lance Gay,
Scripps Howard News Service, July 29, 2004
2. CNN NEWSNIGHT w/ AARON BROWN, Aired May 31, 2004
3. ABC News NightLine, June 24, 2004
4. Associated Press article by Glen Johnson, October 28, 1996
5. Congressional Record: January 28, 1998 (Senate) Page S186-S187
6. One Kerry Supporter Owes Life to Candidate by Jeff Barnard,
Associated Press Jan. 24, 2004
7. Vietnam lessons shape Kerry as a leader by Andrea Stone, USA TODAY,
4/12/2004
8. Cox News Service Article by Mike William, April 18, 2004
9. COPLEY NEWS SERVICE Article By Otto Kreisher, July 21, 2004
10. Heroism, and growing concern about war By Michael Kranish, Boston
Globe, 6/16/2003
11. John Kerry's Role as a Vietnam Anti-War Activist Poses Challenges
to His Campaign by David Halbfinger, New york Times, April 24, 2004
12. Kerry campaign struggles to make military records public by Jill
Zuckman and Jeff Zeleny, Chicago Tribune April 21, 2004
13. The Oregonian, May 02, 2004
Excellent article!
About Kerry's history as an anti war protestor: He was against the war when he was facing the draft as spoke out at Yale. Rather than serve in the Army or Marines during the time of a ground war he somehow got into the Navy. I suspect that he had some pull from some powerful pol--perhaps the records will show that if they are ever released. In the Navy he avoided combat at least until after the swift boats were moved (by Zumwalt) to patroling the Mekong instead of patroling offshore.
I suspect that the Navy helped Kerry fudge the 3 purple hearts to get rid of him without clashing with whomever helped Kerry get in to the USN.
When Kerry got back to the States he tried to run for office as a war hero. He was defeated in the primaary by Father Drinan who was running strongly anti-war, and only then did Kerry go back to being anti-war--after losing that is.
Pure opportunist. No core beliefs. If he is elected we have no idea which part of the electorate he will betray. The hollywood idiots and the college intellectuals believe he will betray the "lower order that he needs votes from" before he would betray them. He may well betray his country.
...and spoke out at Yale.
I remember how hard it was to get into the Navy in the 60's. A lot of my classmates tried and failed. (born in 1945)
I would appreciate any information that anyone has about Kerry's first try at election. I have a couple of Boston Globe articles and the recollections of my sister who lived in Mass at the time, but the facts and memories of this time are smeary with age.
...during the recent Democratic National Convention when fellow crewmember, Fred Short, whom was on stage with Sen. Kerry along with other crewmembers said, "I was there when Sen. Kerry got shot, and I've seen his blood on the deck of a swift boat." [1]
Problem with this assertion is that Fred Short was only present with Sen. Kerry on one mission, and that mission was on February 28, 1969 when he served as a replacement for David Alston. Kerry was never shot nor wounded on February 28, 1969. In fact, Kerry was never 'shot' during his entire four months in Vietnam
The show put on by the DNC presented outright lies! not 30 years ago ... but in the past couple weeks!
Bravo. Very very well done.
9:00 pm Performance by Carole King
Andre Heinz
Vanessa Kerry
Alexandra Kerry
John Kerry Biographical Film
John Kerry's Vietnam Swiftboat Crewmates
Jim Rassmann of Florence, Oregon will speak
The Reverend David Alston, Columbia, South Carolina
Skip Barker, Selma, Alabama
Steve Hatch, Niagra Falls, New York
Jim McDevitt, Wrenthem, Massachusetts
Mike Medeiros, San Leandros, California
Pat Runyon, Eaton, Ohio
Wade Sanders, San Diego, California
Del Sandusky, Dunedin, Florida
Fred Short, North Little Rock, Arkansas
Gene Thorson, Ames, Iowa
Jim Wasser, St. Anne, Illinois
Drew Whitlow, Huntsville, Arkansas
Bill Zaladonis, Sanford, Florida
The Honorable Max Cleland Former United States Senator, Georgia
John Kerry
Finale
Sen. Kerry Reunites With Vietnam Crewman
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Painful memories of three North Vietnamese ambushes became a matter of joyous pride for Fred Short as he was reunited with the Navy patrol boat commander who he said saved the whole crew by charging into the teeth of the enemy attack.
It had been 34 years to the day since Short of North Little Rock last saw that lieutenant: current Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry.
...
Short recalled the third of three ambushes on their group of boats on March 4, 1969, when his twin 50-caliber machine guns couldn't tilt low enough to shoot a Viet Cong soldier lying in a ditch, aiming a rocket launcher at their boat.
"We were in a small canal and normally we would have tried to exit, but Mr. Kerry ordered us to charge," Short said. "While I shot high, he and Tommy Bellodeau charged under me, right at the guy, and we routed them. That's why Mr. Kerry won the Silver Star."
Short said the crew avoided any casualties, even though 800 of 900 American troops caught in that zone died that day. He said it was a few weeks later, April 28, 1969, that he finished his tour and last saluted Kerry.
Which of the crewmates worked john f'n's movie camera for him? Did that crewman get an unwarranted promotion or an extra R&R for being the cameraman?????
bump
for lurkers/posters, check out comments on the "Kerry-in-Cambodia-on-Christmas-Eve-1968".
Go to
http://www.hughhewitt.com
and either scroll down (about one page length) or use page search for "Cambodia"
...
"I was there when Sen. Kerry got shot, and I've seen his blood on the deck of a swift boat. And I can assure you it's American red, and there's not a speck of blue in that blood," said Fred Short, 56, of Little Rock, Ark.
Short, who served as a gunner's mate under Kerry's command, said he knows how Kerry earned his three Purple Heart medals and one Silver Star in Vietnam, and he is angry that people who never served under Kerry now are questioning whether Kerry earned the medals he received.
"What boat were they on when they make these claims?" Short said. "They are just making up tales to support their view. I'm sorry George Bush does not have that record that John Kerry has. Life is full of choices. You can go, or you can stay," he said.
...
Short said he vividly remembers the incident for which Kerry received the Silver Star when the swift boat came under attack from two ambushes. After a Viet Cong fighter aimed a rocket-propelled grenade at the boat, Kerry beached his boat and jumped in the water to shoot the man.
"If that RPG had hit the boat, I would not be at this convention - none of us would," said Short, who was operating the twin machine guns on the boat and had a view overlooking the firefight. The commendation given Kerry for the action credits him with "extraordinary daring and personal courage."
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