In a telephone interview Tuesday evening after he attended a Swift Boat Veterans strategy session in an Arlington hotel, Thurlow said he lost his Bronze Star citation more than 20 years ago. He said he was unwilling to authorize release of his military records because he feared attempts by the Kerry campaign to discredit him and other anti-Kerry veterans.
The Post filed an independent request for the documents with the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, which is the central repository for veterans' records. The documents were faxed to The Post by officials at the records center yesterday.
Thurlow and other anti-Kerry veterans have repeatedly alleged that Kerry was the author of an after-action report that described how his boat came under enemy fire. Kerry campaign researchers dispute that assertion, and there is no convincing documentary evidence to settle the argument. As the senior skipper in the flotilla, Thurlow might have been expected to write the after-action report for March 13, but he said that Kerry routinely "duked the system" to present his version of events.
For much of the episode, Kerry was not in a position to know firsthand what was happening on Thurlow's boat, as Kerry's boat had sped down the river after the mine exploded under another boat. He later returned to provide assistance to the stricken boat.
Ok, if they can get this guys records without his permission, why can't they get Kerry's? And I wouldn't be too surprised if Kerry was involved in getting the 'under small arms fire' added to the report.
This statement also supports what the Swifties have been saying: Kerry fled the scene only to return later to pick up Rassmann. He wasn't around when the other boats came to the aid of the mined boat.
This is getting to be fun.. so Kerry did indeed speed away - and was it his acceleration that caused Rasmussen to fall overboard as some have said ?