Posted on 08/19/2004 3:07:21 AM PDT by Jay Howard Smith
Uneven military service records have proved toxic to John Kerry's campaign for president, prompting him to post his full military record on his Web site (www.johnkerry.com) for critics to peruse.
But one sharp-eyed Washington Times reader -- a former B-52 pilot and U.S. Air Force colonel -- isn't buying Mr. Kerry's pre-emptive strike.
(Excerpt) Read more at insider.washingtontimes.com ...
Jay, when you except -- if you exceprt -- could you do us all the favor of summarizing the key points and facts in the article? It would be a great boon to us all!
This is the rest of it:
"I looked at that Web site and the first thing I looked at was Kerry's Silver Star citation. Guess what? It is for an action that took place in 1969, but it is signed by Secretary of the Navy John Lehman. Strangely, Lehman was secretary of the Navy from 1981 to 1987," he noted.
"How could Kerry have received a citation from an official that would not be in office for 12 years? This was NOT just a case of providing a new copy of a citation for the office to replace one that was lost (destroyed/thrown over a wall). This effort by Lehman & Kerry actually changed Kerry's official Navy record, sometime in the 80s," he continued.
"What other portions of his record did Kerry have Lehman sanitize or spiffy up? Evidently, Kerry did not think his original Silver Star made him look 'heroic' enough, so he provided 'suggested' words for a new certificate. This certainly calls Kerry's entire Navy record into question."
"How could Kerry have received a citation from an official that would not be in office for 12 years? This was NOT just a case of providing a new copy of a citation for the office to replace one that was lost (destroyed/thrown over a wall). This effort by Lehman & Kerry actually changed Kerry's official Navy record, sometime in the 80s," he continued.
"What other portions of his record did Kerry have Lehman sanitize or spiffy up? Evidently, Kerry did not think his original Silver Star made him look 'heroic' enough, so he provided 'suggested' words for a new certificate. This certainly calls Kerry's entire Navy record into question."
............
This is pretty damning.
Two great minds!!!!
You're a peach, Peach!
Uneven military service records have proved toxic to John Kerry's campaign for president, prompting him to post his full military record on his Web site (www.johnkerry.com) for critics to peruse.
But one sharp-eyed Washington Times reader -- a former B-52 pilot and U.S. Air Force colonel -- isn't buying Mr. Kerry's pre-emptive strike.
"I looked at that Web site and the first thing I looked at was Kerry's Silver Star citation. Guess what? It is for an action that took place in 1969, but it is signed by Secretary of the Navy John Lehman. Strangely, Lehman was secretary of the Navy from 1981 to 1987," he noted.
"How could Kerry have received a citation from an official that would not be in office for 12 years? This was NOT just a case of providing a new copy of a citation for the office to replace one that was lost (destroyed/thrown over a wall). This effort by Lehman & Kerry actually changed Kerry's official Navy record, sometime in the 80s," he continued.
"What other portions of his record did Kerry have Lehman sanitize or spiffy up? Evidently, Kerry did not think his original Silver Star made him look 'heroic' enough, so he provided 'suggested' words for a new certificate. This certainly calls Kerry's entire Navy record into question."
LOL
Anything to help the cause.
1981-1987 was during the Reagan Administration, so one would assume Lehman was/is a Republican. Wouldn't it be nice to hear the story behind this change?
He was, according to MSNBC, Bush's top choice to run CIA as late as July 6, 2004.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5380703
And then Bush looked into Lehman's background and didn't like what he found. Happens all the time.
Nice job but was it really supposed to go undetected?
"I looked at that Web site and the first thing I looked at was Kerry's Silver Star citation. Guess what? It is for an action that took place in 1969, but it is signed by Secretary of the Navy John Lehman. Strangely, Lehman was secretary of the Navy from 1981 to 1987," he noted. "How could Kerry have received a citation from an official that would not be in office for 12 years? This was NOT just a case of providing a new copy of a citation for the office to replace one that was lost (destroyed/thrown over a wall). This effort by Lehman & Kerry actually changed Kerry's official Navy record, sometime in the 80s," he continued.
"What other portions of his record did Kerry have Lehman sanitize or spiffy up? Evidently, Kerry did not think his original Silver Star made him look 'heroic' enough, so he provided 'suggested' words for a new certificate. This certainly calls Kerry's entire Navy record into question."
3 posted on 08/19/2004 3:17:15 AM PDT by Peach
Good morning.
What I did was quote from the paper and the vet who looked at Kerry's records. Wish I was such a good researcher I'd have noticed that Lehman signed that order!
You should have mentioned that Lehman is a member of the 9/11 Commission.
I guess it is one of those "TIMING" things, we keep hearing the liberals talk about.
The more I learn about some of these who climbed the ranks of power the more I question their character.
That's what I was wondering- partial records are all I've seen. If correct, it would be a welcome improvement.
When asked here, previously, some tried to defend Kerry by saying it was no big deal, that this was always done, that Kerry was 'updating' his records, etc.
Well, the discrepancies are a problem. The very existence of the Lehman citations are a problem. This is just not anything that people seem to have wondered about - except for myself and a few others.
Well, now maybe we know why it took a while. Like a film that gets bad reviews at test screenings, it was going through last minute revisions before being presented to the public.
That's what I was wondering- partial records are all I've seen. If correct, it would be a welcome improvement.
Did he or didn't he? After reviewing Kerry's service records, as released by him, I find it hard to believe the media have not picked up on the John Lehman connection. It should set off all kinds of alarm bells, especially considering the recent flap over whether he threw his medals away or not.
A very curious question arises over Kerry's multiple Silver (3) and Bronze (2) star citations. Two of the five were signed by John Lehman who was Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan Administration 5 Feb 1981 - 10 Apr 1987. There are three Silver Star citations supplied by Kerry. One was signed by ADM Zumwalt, one by ADM Hyland, and one by Secretary Lehman. The Bronze Star citations were signed by Zumwalt and Lehman. Specifically,
Zumwalt: ADM Zumwalt served as Commander, US Naval Forces Vietnam from Sep 1968-May 1970. The Silver Star citation is more than likely the original citation taken from the award submission. Normally, as part of the nomination form, the nominator must provide a synopsis of the award (citation) that can fit on a single page suitable for framing with the certificate. Zumwalt's citation covered two pages. I suspect that Zumwalt forwarded the award to CINCPAC, ADM Hyland, for the final signature, including the citation. It is worth noting that the requirement to go to CINCPAC applied only to the Silver Star, hence only the Zumwalt and Lehman citations for the Bronze Star, i.e., Zumwalt as the final approving authority and Lehman for the replacement/reissue.
Hyland: CINCPAC probably edited the Zumwalt Silver Star citation to make it fit on to one page and to clean it up a bit to fit the existing format. ADM Hyland was CINCPAC 30 Nov 1967 - 05 Dec 1970
Lehman: Except for the last sentence, the Silver Star citation is the same as Hyland's. What makes this curious is that Secretary Lehman signed the citation at least over 12 and up to 18 years after the events occurred. Kerry served in Vietnam from November 1968 to April 1969. I doubt, in any event, that the final approval authority for Silver Stars had to go to SECNAV for approval. We also have photographic evidence that Kerry had the Silver Star medal pinned on in 1969. Kerry also acknowledges that he received them. My take is that Kerry requested replacement medals and due to the fact that Kerry was no longer an active duty service member, administrative requirements mandated that SECNAV's office had to approve the issue of the replacements once it was verified from official records that Kerry had actually earned them.
The bottom line is that Kerry probably did throw away his medals and then requested replacements in the 1980s. Someone needs to raise this issue with Kerry, i.e., why did Secretary Lehman sign duplicate Bronze and Silver Star citations at least 12 years after you left Vietnam? Kerry needs to release all of his military records including the nomination forms, which will give us the chronology and the approval chain of command.
Kerry's reaction on Good Morning America fits his MO. He wants it both ways. When he discovered that throwing away your medals was politically a negative, he came up with the story about his ribbons and someone else's medals. Kerry realized that he couldn't walk away from the story entirely, especially since he has the medals displayed prominently in his office. However, the fly in the ointment is that we now have the citations, released by him, signed by Lehman. If he indeed requested replacement medals, he has a real problem, i.e., he was telling the truth initially, lied in the 80s, and is lying now.
I recognize that confronting Kerry on his military service is fraught with problems politically, but I believe there are plenty of inconsistencies that need to be made public. His antiwar activities and associations (Fonda, Ramsey Clark, the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, et. al) also need to be exposed fully. The fact that Kerry was a member of the inactive Naval Reserves (1970-2) subject to involuntary recall and could meet with the Communist Vietnamese in Paris (per his sworn Congressional testimony) while our forces were engaged in hostilities is disgraceful. In fact it has recently been learned that Kerry met twice with the Communists in Paris.
Kerry is frozen in a time warp when it comes to his service in Vietnam. His preoccupation with his medals borders on being an obsession. If you check Kerry's released military records, you will notice that Kerry amended his DD214 with a DD215. Among other things, Kerry burnishes his Vietnam Service medal by adding four bronze service stars to reflect various campaigns. This was done in March 2001!!! Why anyone would go through that effort to make some meaningless changes is beyond me. Hundreds of thousands of veterans, including myself, could do it, but beyond self-gratification and ego, what is the point?
Thanks for all your attention and work on this. It's too bad the media is so AWOL on questioning Democrats.
I have a question: When Kerry ran for Senator in Massachusetts all those times -- did he cite his war record and mention those medals before Lehman signed the orders? (Hope that makes sense)
This came up before too. Lehman gave sKerry the silver medal he has now. Speculation back then, from posts I'd read (I wish I could find them), was that perhaps sKerry's big political friends (Kennedy) got the medal re-instated because... sKerry really DID throw his medals over the wall in the famous protest outside the Whitehouse, and in the early 80s needed to be a hero in order to further his political career. Wouldn't THAT be a hoot if true!
John Kerry really should have tapped Bob Kerrey for his Vice President running mate. Then there would be none of this snow job.
If you can't convince them, confuse them.
"Hundreds of thousands of veterans, including myself, could do it, but beyond self-gratification and ego, what is the point?"
Yes, but you folks aren't running for President.
You are right though, the guy seems truly obsessed with Vietnam, and with having it both ways in Vietnam, he wants to be both the war hero and the anti-war hero.
Also, I think you will find that Adm John J. Hyland was commander of the 7th Fleet from 13 Dec. 1965 - 06 November 19697. He was not the fleet commander at the time Kerry received his silver star citation.
I doubt that he would have qualified for 4 bronze campaign stars for a mere four months in country.
Admiral Mike Boorda committed suicide over a dispute about one of his medals having a "V" included. As I recall, was it David H. Hackworth that hounded him about that small lapse? Where is Hackworth on Kerry?
Then too, it is entirely possible that Adm. Boorda did NOT commit suicide. But the incident was never fully explained.
It is too bad that the main stream media is not so dilligent.
Also, I think you will find that Adm John J. Hyland was commander of the 7th Fleet from 13 Dec. 1965 - 06 November 1967. He was not the fleet commander at the time Kerry received his silver star citation.
Hackworth has his lips firmly implanted in Kerry's Backside and is mumbling something about Vets attacking other Vets.
Fantastic find.
They only care when it's a Republican in their sights and no one else. They haven't any objectivity, real or pretend. They haven't any desire to *investigate* on iota.
The fourth estate is really a fifth column.
The real information would be contained in the Personnel Files and you can be sure that file will never ever be made public.
Several people I know, including my dad, have been granted medals long after. In this case WWII.
Lehmann served under Reagan. And while it may be bogus, its also possible Kerry submitted an enhanced version of the same story, and Lehmann accepted it as a replacement.
Let me guess: Kerry was on Senate Military committee of some sort.
This is probably legitimate. Kerry served on the USS Gridley, which based on the dates, would qualify him for two. His tour in Vietnam, November 8, 1968 to March 26, 1969, would garner another two.
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/reference/vncmp.htm
The media has to raise the question with Kerry and Lehman. I don't know if a FOIA request could do it, but if the WP could get Thurlow's info, perhaps they can get the same for Kerry. The bottom line is that this question has to be made public so it can be researched. Even a best case scenario for Kerry, i.e., he wanted medal citations signed by the Secretary of the Navy for display purposes, it portrays someone who is obsessed about Vietnam and his medals. Who else would have PH3 on his license plates?
Our very own kabar has been discussing the Lehman discrepancy for months.
No. Kerry had his medal awarded to him. We have photographic evidence of that. There was no need to have his medals "re-instated." Replacements yes.
Here's what I think happened, Kerry was written up for a Silver Star (and a Bronzed One too Lehman's siganture is on that one as well) The Admiral who he became an aide for decided to award those to him before they were approved by the Secretary of The Navy,(Admirals {and Generals too} like their aides BeMedaled,It says I got Heros working for me)
Kerry goes to the inactive reserves and starts his Campaign against the war, The then serving Secretary of the Navy DISAPPROVES HIS MEDALS and more or less roundfiles them after Kerry tosses his over the fence.(One is legal one is not)
Later Kerry finds out his medals were never approved,and were actuall DISAPPROVED and carrying the Citation he recieved from the admiral he worked for he get Lehman to sign off on them and purge his records of the original DISAPPROVAL for a vote or two to be named later.
Yowza.
I certainly applaud the effort that is being put into this examination of the official records. However, it seems to me that NOTHING will convince almost 50% of the voters from casting their vote for Kerry. The ONLY thing that would change their votes would be Kerry suddenly morphed in George Bush! They don't care anything about Kerry other than the fact that he's not George Bush. Sad but true!
Two medals: Navy Commendation Medal and Navy Achievement Medal. You recall incorrectly. Boorda had removed the Combat V, which he was not and still is not entitled to wear despite the Clinton/Dalton/Zumwalt/Boorda family spin to the contrary, from both medals a year prior to his committing suicide. Hackworth is certainly a puke but he did not hound Boorda. Boorda was exposed, along with several other flag officers by Lt. Col. Roger Charles USMC Ret. who simply filed FOIA requests to learn of said descrepencies which are not considered a "small lapse."
The only person responsible for the suicide of Admiral Boorda is Jeremy Michael Boorda.
But, instead of going through FOIA to obtain Rambeaux's records, I'm sure the media will be beating the Larry Thurlow story to death, a la Abu Ghraib or the Air National Guard "controversy".
Thanks for the Peach ping!
Pisshead3? ;o)
Anything John F'n Kerry does is a non-issue to the media. He could be caught in bed with a dead goat, Michael Jackson and two kids, and still be worhipped by the media and Dims.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.