Posted on 8/22/2004, 2:19:23 AM by Carl/NewsMax
In a development that the establishment press is treating like bombshell news, former Swiftboat commander William B. Rood has stepped forward to defend John Kerry against the charge that he exaggerated his valor during the Vietnam War in descriptions of a foiled Feb. 1969 ambush on his boat.
But unmentioned in coverage of Rood's story so far is one salient fact: His account is sharply contradicted by one of Kerry's own crewmates, who complained eight years ago that Kerry took credit for bravery he didn't deserve - in an action that earned him the Silver Star.
In Sunday editions of the Chicago Tribune, Rood backs Kerry's claim that he singlehandedly took out a Viet Cong attacker who planned to ambush his Swiftboat with a grenade launcher along the Bay Hap River. Recalling what he saw from a different Swiftboat, Rood writes:
"Kerry, followed by one member of his crew, jumped ashore and chased a VC behind a hooch -- a thatched hut -- maybe 15 yards inland from the ambush site.
"Some who were there that day recall the man being wounded as he ran. Neither I nor Jerry Leeds, our boat's leading petty officer with whom I've checked my recollection of all these events, recalls that, which is no surprise. Recollections of those who go through experiences like that frequently differ."
They sure do.
Unmentioned by Rood in his Chicago Tribine report is the account of Tom Bellodeau, who, unlike Rood, was actually aboard Kerry's boat when the VC in question leveled his grenade launcher at them.
"You know, I shot that guy," Bellodeau told the Boston Globe during a 1996 interview, correcting an earlier Globe report that echoed Kerry's claim that he alone had neutralized the enemy ambusher.
"He jumped up, he looked right at me, I looked at him," Bellodeau continued. "You could tell he was trying to decide whether to shoot or not. I expected the guy on Kerry's boat with the twin 50s to blast him, but he couldn't depress the guns far enough. We were up on the bank."
Only after the enemy soldier was wounded, said Bellodeau, did Kerry leap from the boat onto the beach and pursue him around the back of a nearby hut, where the would-be president finished him off.
Echoing ex-Commander Rood's version, Kerry's Silver Star citation credits him alone for taking down the Viet Cong soldier, making no mention whatsoever of Bellodeau, who has died in the intervening years.
"An enemy soldier sprang up from his position not 10 feet from Swift Boat 94 and fled," the combat award reads. "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."
And even though Kerry spoke at Bellodeau's funeral, he has done nothing to incorporate his crewmate's role in subsequent accounts of the encounter with the enemy fighter.
In a 1996 interview, Kerry made no mention of the first shot whatsoever.
"It was either going to be him or it was going to be us. It was that simple. I don't know why it wasn't us - I mean, to this day. He had a rocket pointed right at our boat. He stood up out of a hole, and none of us saw him until he was standing in front of us, aiming a rocket right at us, and, for whatever reason, he didn't pull the trigger - he turned and ran."
When pressed for more details, the top Democrat said: "I just won't talk about all of it. I don't and can't. The things that really turned me I've never told anybody. Nobody would understand."
Within hours of the Chicago Tribune's Saturday afternoon announcement that William Rood had decided to go public with his Kerry defense, more than 1,500 news outlets were touting the story on their web sites, with the Associated Press offering no fewer than 10 updates.
None of them mentioned Kerry's crewmate Tom Bellodeau.
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Thank you for this one. Good research.
I donated a few hours ago. I am still smiling about it.
That was quick.
Nice work.
I get it now. My exwife is involved. We exchanged letters through attorneys that sounded a lot like these reports.
But the guy who refutes the collaborators story WAS on Kerry's boat.
Did I read that right?
Repost of information so we can see it again!
Kerry is caught lying again.
Great!
Then the "would-be President" went and scammed a Silver Star.
Kerry is indeed, unfit for command.
Thanks for the great ping!
Let's bump this one for a few days.
Yes, Rood did not serve with Kerry.
Hey, I'm just using the standard Kerry's team is using.
Precisely. The guy on Kerry's boat popped the VC dude and Charlie ran away wounded. Kerry went on shore iced the guy and claim the Silver Star. Rood boy was on the other boat.
Precisely. The guy on Kerry's boat popped the VC dude and Charlie ran away wounded. Kerry went on shore iced the guy and claim the Silver Star. Rood boy was on the other boat.
Recalling what he saw from a different Swiftboat, Rood writes:
Well, there flew out the window the defense that anyone not on the same boat didn't actually 'serve with' kerry!
Bet the msm and the rats will gloss that one over!
Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall at the Kerry campaign? Every time the plug a hole in their not-so-swift boat another two holes appear. The Swifties have been waiting decades to nail Kerry and they will dog him until the election and hopefully beyond. Sent them my donation today to keep them afloat. Where is the so-called premiere investigative new magazine, 60 minutes? Why aren' they looking into the Swifties' charges. What happened to their curiosity and thirst to expose the truth?
Time for us to ping.
Carl, I'm confused!
The Swift Vets are not qualified to speak about Kerry because they weren't on his boat, but this guy wasn't on his boat and the media is calling it a "bombshell"????
I think they've inadvertently slit their own throats with this!
That very legitimate hero is dead and has no voice in this controversy now. We need to be his voice and get that story out. Thank you, Mr. Limbacher.
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