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I was trying to search for an explanation why Kerry would use the KJW initials on the reports he submitted. I thought maybe the W. was his Holy Communion name. As a Roman Catholic, he would have received one when he made his First Communion.

When I was born, my parents never bothered to give me a middle name, but as a Catholic going through your First Holy Communion, you are required (at least you were back then), to pick a name. Mine was Marie. Call me stupid, but for many years, I believe that my middle name was really Marie and even used it when I applied for my original Social Security card (back in the '60's). It wasn't until several years later that I discovered I have no middle name on my birth certificate. Boy! what a let down that was. Out of the four kids, I was the only one who didn't have a middle name. I retired last year, and just recently, I went to the Social Security office and applied to get a new card with only my first and last name...no middle initial. I figured I'd better do it before I'm 62 and have all sorts of trouble processing my papers for my SS check.

Anyway, to get back to Kerry's initials on those reports. I know that the Left is trying to say that Kerry did not write his medal commendations. That may be true, but he may also have embellished the after action reports so much that the brass had no choice but recommend him for his awards. According to the Swift Vets, Kerry actually volunteered to write all the reports. For someone like Kerry, who apparently enjoyed writing enough to keep a lengthy journal of his Vietnam stay, I can certainly believe that he would jump at the chance to write these reports, especially if he could use them to his advantage.

Today I was listening to Mark Levin's radio program. Mark read comments from Kerry's 1971 Senate Testimony. Below are segments of that testimony. They are found under the Subtitle: ACCURACY OF INFORMATION THROUGH OFFICIAL MILITARY CHANNELS

Kerry is asked by Senator Symington: "Mr. Kerry, from your experience in Vietnam do you think it is possible for the President or Congress to get accurate and undistorted information through official military channels."

Kerry replies: "I had direct experience with that. Senator, I had direct experience with that and I can recall often sending in the spot reports which we made after each mission; and including the GDA, gunfire damage assessments, in which we would say, maybe 15 sampans sunk or whatever it was. And I often read about my own missions in the Stars and Stripes and the very mission we had been on had been doubled in figures and tripled in figures."

He continues on, mentioning friends of his who are intelligence officers [I didn't realize Kerry had any friends in Vietnam], and made suggestions regarding how intelligence info could be collected.

Then he says this: "I also think men in the military, sir, as do men in many other things, have a tendency to report what they want to report and see what they want to see."

In two paragraphs, John Kerry has provided us with the information that I believe proves he and no one else wrote and submitted all the after-action, damage, casualty, etc. reports from which all of his medals were derived. He even admits that ALL men, including himself, filed reports that contained information that was in all liklihood, not factual.

Great find, mass55th!!! Kerry hangs himself with those comments.

Anglian, I checked and didn't have any luck finding additional information on that. I will let you know if I come across anything.

>>In two paragraphs, John Kerry has provided us with the information that I believe proves he and no one else wrote and submitted all the after-action, damage, casualty, etc. reports from which all of his medals were derived. He even admits that ALL men, including himself, filed reports that contained information that was in all liklihood, not factual.

On one of the swiftboat threads the officers pointed out
that when multiple boats were involved in an incident,
(which was almost always)...

ONE of the officers would volunteer to write up all the paperwork,
(which was often Kerry)...

and NONE of his peer officers would EVER even ask to review it, because that
would be impuning the integrity of his fellow officer !

To Mass55th, who wrote, "When I was born, my parents never bothered to give me a middle name, but as a Catholic going through your First Holy Communion, you are required (at least you were back then), to pick a name."

I have also been Catholic all my life, I'm 70 now, however, we didn't choose a name when we made our First Communion in the second grade, we chose a saintly name when we were confirmed, I was in the seventh grade at the time. And I lived in the La Crosse diocese in Wisconsin.

I suppose different dioceses do it differently.