Alston and PFC94

Charlotte Observer ^ | 7/24/04 | NA

[the Real fifi]

Kerry Should Be Begging The Media To Cover Swift Boat Vet Story

"If [the Alston] story at Captain's Quarters were ever to be proven true by the mainstream media, John Kerry would likely be toast. However, if even one of the stories of those alleging Kerry lied about his Vietnam experience is shown to be a deliberate untrue smear against Kerry, his campaign would have something to point to in response to all additional allegations regarding his Vietnam service. So, instead of sending out the Lanny Davis types to shout down the allegations and denounce the alleging veterans as liars and smear artists, it would seem the Kerry camp would beg the NYT and Washington Post and television networks to take a good close look at the allegations and reveal the truth once and for all. But that would only work if the truth were on his side."

http://www.polipundit.com/

[Cboldt]

A link to that Boston Globe story, April 23, 2004.

Discrepancies noted in Kerry's record <-- Link

I know this is only tangential to the Alston question. I agree with others that Alston may have been under Kerry's command at some point, although the record does not clearly show that. We know too little to draw any conclusion, except, we do know that Kerry was not present when Alston got his head wound.

[stockpirate]

I stan dcorrected! It is down to two in the picture I mentioned. I was incorrect about the crewman not all in support.

A bit off topic but still about Kerry is the following.

Kerry Lying About Anti-War Past, Supporter Alleges
By Marc Morano
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
March 18, 2004

(CNSNews.com) - A Vietnam War historian and supporter of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has told CNSNews.com that Kerry is lying about key events related to his anti-war activities in 1971.

Kerry said he hasn't spoken to former anti-war associate Al Hubbard since the two men appeared side by side on national television in April 1971, but according to author Gerald Nicosia, that assertion is wrong. So is Kerry's insistence that he did not attend a November 1971 meeting of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), at which group members discussed the possibility of assassinating U.S. senators who were still supporting the war in Vietnam, Nicosia said.

Nicosia backed up his comments regarding Kerry's presence at the November 1971 meeting by providing CNSNews.com with the FBI's redacted files about that meeting.

[Shermy]

The Boston Herald, July 29, 2002

Kerry woos vets on campaign trail

WASHINGTON - Sen. John F. Kerry, borrowing a page from war hero and close friend Sen. John McCain's 2000 campaign playbook, is reaching out to veterans in key primary states as he preps for a likely White House run.

"Anyone who has worn the uniform will tell your that nothing keeps you grounded in the stuff of real life more than talking with our fellow veterans," said Kerry (D-Mass.), a decorated Vietnam combat veteran. "There's a bond there which is hard to explain."

McCain's status as a Vietnam War hero helped propel the Arizona Republican's insurgency in a string of early presidential primaries two years ago.

The same dynamic is boosting Kerry as he makes exploratory trips to states where he must overcome perceptions he's a Yankee liberal.

"It does open the door for Kerry," John Weaver, a senior strategist for McCain's 2000 campaign, said of Kerry's war heroics. "People who might not do so otherwise are willing to take a fuller look at the guy."

Kerry enjoys a warm friendship with McCain, whose popularity as a truth-telling maverick has endured since 2000. Speculation abounds in party circles that Kerry and McCain might even pair up as running mates on the 2004 Democratic ticket.

Both men downplay the notion, but Kerry plans to spend a weekend at McCain's Arizona ranch, probably next month during Congress' annual summer recess.

"Our friendship crosses this particularly difficult era (Vietnam)," said Kerry. "It's really one of the joys of my service in the Senate."

Kerry and the conservative McCain struck up a fast friendship after they began working together several years ago on the POW-MIA issue.

"When I came to the Senate, John Kerry and I were not friends," said McCain, appearing at a recent joint Capitol Hill event with Kerry. "But frankly, he did a job (on POW-MIAs) that amazes me to this day. John Kerry and I committed ourselves to healing the wounds of the Vietnam War."

McCain worked hard to organize veteran support as he launched his presidential bid two years ago, organizing Veterans for McCain groups in some cities down to the precinct level.

In recent visits to key presidential primary states such as New Hampshire, South Carolina and California, Kerry met with several veterans groups - laying the groundwork for a nationwide political organization.

Kerry, 58, has already won pledges of political support from former crew members of the Navy Swift boats he commanded - evoking memories of how the late John F. Kennedy's old PT-109 crewmates helped JFK on the campaign trail back in 1960.

Kerry has used his Vietnam experiences as a way to introduce himself to voters in states where he is largely unknown - states such as South Carolina where he might otherwise be dismissed as too liberal, too rich and too slick to win votes.

On the campaign trail, Kerry uses Vietnam as a rhetorical stepping off point to talk about broader issues such as character and the special "bond of service" he shares with other vets.

Kerry, who won the Silver Star, a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts, does not trumpet his own combat exploits.

But a slick 14-minute biographical campaign video that precedes his speeches features footage of his Vietnam days. He's shown as a rifle-toting naval officer on patrol in the Mekong Delta. There are also scenes of Kerry back home, leading the Vietnam Veterans Against the War protesting on Capitol Hill.

Weaver noted that McCain rarely spoke about his experiences as a POW who was tortured and beaten for refusing to cooperate with his captors.

"It's a story others ought to tell about you," Weaver said. "You never saw John McCain talking about his service record. Others did that."

As he makes his introductory moves on the national stage, Kerry has revealed a deeper, more personal side about his war experiences than most Massachusetts voters have seen.

In South Carolina a few weeks ago during a party dinner, Kerry praised the machine-gunner on his gunboat, Rev. David Alston, as one of the bravest men he's ever known.

"We were extremely exposed - always shot at first and the gunner was the first target," Kerry told the crowd of Democrats.

Nearly 100 rounds ripped into the aluminum turret where Alston, who became a preacher after Vietnam, manned twin 50-caliber guns, Kerry recalled.

"This gunman kept firing even though he was wounded - one bullet going through his helmet, grazing his head and another hitting him in the arm," said Kerry. "I had no idea there was a holy man on those guns."

Kerry used a California Democratic Convention speech earlier this year to recall the night he returned to America after serving in Vietnam - the same night in Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles in 1968.

"I was on my ship returning to Long Beach from the Gulf of Tonkin," he said. "On the first crackling of the radio we picked up the end of the Robert Kennedy victory speech - the shots fired in the kitchen - the chaos.

"It was strange, I will tell you, leaving a place of violence to return home to violence."

Kerry rarely mentioned Vietnam in his tough 1996 re-election race against former Gov. William F. Weld. But he seems more comfortable talking about the war now as he travels the country meeting voters who know little about him.

"There's a realization that every day after Vietnam is extra - and you're liberated to say the things which are important and let the chips fall where may," said the senator.

Still, at times Kerry seems torn discussing his Vietnam experience in a personal way - perhaps wary he will be seen as boastful or seeking to exploit the war for easy political gain.

"In a campaign, you take the piece of your life and you try to connect with people," he said in a recent interview. "This is a piece, and it's a nice piece, but it's not the only piece. I do the same thing with environmentalists, prosecutors, fishermen."

But Kerry's voice grows animated as he describes the extraordinary personal bonds he developed with the two crews he commanded.

"It's hard to put into words what it was like to serve with them," he said. "They're my buddies and I love to spend time with them. Standing with them after all these years is all the honor I need in my life."

[Monitor]

"Only 1 of John Kerry's 23 fellow Swift boat commanders from Coastal Division 11 supports his candidacy today."

You can move your mouse pointer over the photo and see for yourself which of his band of brothers still support Kerry's candidacy.

[Aliska]

Brinkley(Kerry's hagiographer) names the people who received a medal for that incident. Alston didn't.The Boston GLobe photo of the crew involved in the Silver Star incident does NOT include Alston. Go to the site I listed and scroll on thru..The story is total bunk.

He still could have received a medal and been unable due to recovery from his wounds to be with his crewmates.

Is there any way to put in a FOIA to see if there is paperwork for a medal for Alston? That would be separate from his military records.

The local newspapers probably had something about it at the time.

If what you say is true and he didn't receive any medal, there is a story there, that's for sure. His wound sounds worse than any of Kerry's three, and if he didn't get anything for it, why would I not be surprised?

[Monitor]

I believe he started with most of his crew members if not all, but now only two support him.

"Only 1 of John Kerry's 23 fellow Swift boat commanders from Coastal Division 11 supports his candidacy today."

[Shermy]

Alston was wounded in the head, a "graze" apparently. Also shot in the arm. No reason to douct that story.

Here's a caption I found to the pic above:

"PCF (Patrol Craft Fast) 94 crew in March 1969, from left, Gene Thorson, David Alston, Thomas Belodeau, Del Sandusky, and John Kerry."

[Monitor]

Maybe I've been concentrating too much on the Swift Boat Veterans to hear that some of Kerry's boatmates have withdrawn support. Who? What is the count now?

"Only 1 of John Kerry's 23 fellow Swift boat commanders from Coastal Division 11 supports his candidacy today."

[Aliska]

You cannot succeed with this

Au contraire. The truth will always succeed eventually.

[Bob]

No problem, things do have a way of changing. There is an updated photo of the officers around showing his one supporter. A lot of people assume that it's a picture of his crew.

[Monitor]

I stan dcorrected! It is down to two in the picture I mentioned. I was incorrect about the crewman not all in support.

"Only 1 of John Kerry's 23 fellow Swift boat commanders from Coastal Division 11 supports his candidacy today."

[kabar]

Exactly. Alston served with Kerry because he supports him. It doesn't matter if they didn't serve in the same boat. If it turns out conclusively that Alston didn't serve on Kerry's boats, then I can't wait for Lanny Davis to get on the other side of the argument.

[justshutupandtakeit]

"analytical skills" bawhahaha.

[justshutupandtakeit]

If anyone finds out that ANYTHING about John Fraud Kerry's medals is true please ping me. I doubt that I will be called.

[Jim_Curtis]

Picked up from Captain's Quarters website. This is apparently in Brinkley's book:

"In addition to Kerry's Silver Star PCF-94's performance on February 28 also earned Bronze Stars for Tommy Belodeau and Mike Medeiros and Navy Commendation Medals with Combat V Devices for Del Sandusky, Fred Short, and Gene Thorson." - Douglas Brinkley

Where is Alston's medal? Racism? Not on the boat?

[the Real fifi]

What picture are you referring to? What post?

[Swordmaker]

Interestingly, this WIA report has since been removed from Kerry's site. Wonder why?

GOOD QUESTION!!!

Here is the answer... at least as I see it.

Kerry has now relocated his recollections of "Christmas in Cambodia" into January so that he can claim that President Nixon was denying that he, or any US soldier, was in Cambodia. To do this, this "wounded in action" report for David Alsto presents a problem for Kerry. For Kerry's "new" recollection of his experience to be in January he has only an 11 day window of opportunity. That limits WHERE he could be in that time frame.

President Nixon took office on January 20, 1969... nine days later, this hostile fire occurred on January 29, 1969 QUITE A WAYS AWAY FROM CAMBODIA!!! Song Cua Lon is located at Latitude: 8° 41' 60 N, Longitude: 104° 49' 60 E.

Here is a map showing the location of Song Cua Lon:

And a map of Cambodia:

Song Cua Lon is located down almost on the Southernmost tip of the Mekong Delta in South Viet Nam. Which shows that on THAT DATE, January 29, 1969, Kerry''s PCF-94, and by implication, Kerry, was more than 120 miles away from Cambodia "as the crow flies" and a lot farther away by the twists and turns of any stream or river!

Especially streams and rivers rife with hostile fire. How long would it take Kerry and his boat to get from there to Cambodia???

That is why this report has mysteriously disappeared from Kerry's website.

[maggief]

http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/images/day5/04.htm US Senate candidate John Kerry is flanked by fellow Vietnam veterans in front of the State House on September 12, 1984, as he receives their endorsement. Speaking is Joe Bangert, US Marine Sergeant and helicopter gunner.

[Dolphy]

You cannot succeed with this. The only way to accomplish anything with this energy is to call the campaign and volunteer to give just an hour or two of your time registering voters in GOP neighborhoods

Or you can do both. The facts surrounding Kerry's medals are hidden in documents he won't release. And for now you may be right, the media will not jump on board to pressure him. But will he continue to enjoy this privilege after the Cambodia rewrite is made available and if this Alston story is true?