Posted on 08/26/2004 12:56:10 AM PDT by The Bandit
Something started bothering me tonight about Kerry's action reports -- MINES. Only in action's involving LTJG Kerry do we find reports of mines detonating without contact near Kerry's boat.How is it LTJG Kerry is the only skipper of a swift boat who encounters mines that mysteriously detonate before a boat actually runs over it? There is one exception of course, and that is PCF-3 which all documentation makes clear that a mine had detonated under it after running over it. Going over the entire chronology of COSDIV 11 you won't find anyone reporting mines detonating near a swift boat without any boat contact, except for LTJG Kerry.
On February 18, 1969 report states two mines had exploded as PCF-94 and PCF-71 went up a river. Yet no damage to any of the boats.
On a March 12, 1969 involving LTJG Kerry there is mention of "units mined resulting in 2 USN WIA and minor damage to PCFs." What does that mean? They either hit a mine or they did not. Hitting a mine and it going off under your bout is a very traumatic experience that is sure to cause more then minor damage.
And of course on March 13, 1969 LTJG Kerry claims another magical mine had detonated close to his boat after the PCF-3 had run over one, causing it to be lifted 2-3 feet out of the water.
These are very magical mines that only LTJG Kerry seems to encounter and report. All this begs the question of what mines exploded without ever coming into contact by any boat and why is it these magical mines are only reported by LTJG Kerry?
Which is why we need to look at Kerry's records. If he's really telling the truth, they should back up his story. Since he's stonewalling on the request to see them, you have wonder what he's hiding.
...because he had good drugs and didn't share them?
Not only did a mine go off...it blew his dog out of the boat and it miraculously landed in another Swifty boat. LOL Heard that one on Fox News. Really. I think it was on Fox and Friends. Anyway, he supposedly told that story somewhere on the campaign trail.
Let's not forget the rice grains in his "magic butt".
Precisely... An examination of his records as a whole, coupled with the records of the other vets should show if Kerry systematically exaggerated enemy threats, danger, his personal heroics.
LMAO!
Good pickup. Kerry is a serial liar.
Why you dummy !! Guess you don't know that John F. Kerry was the ONLY hero in Vietnam. All the rest were either liars or committed atrocities. I'm a Nam vet, bur nor sure which category I'm included in.
It's a conspiracy! You're all in it together!
Are you questioning his patriotism/service to the USA/manhood/veracity/taste in women/alpha dorkiness/ etc.?
funny stuff, but don't bank on this argument too much. The Kerry folks have been calling them "command detonated mines" for some time. I think they saw the same hole that you did and started using that phrase as a preemptive correction to fix sKerry's story before it blew up in their face, so to speak.
He probably won the CMoH several times, what with his jaunts to Khe Sahn, Hue City, Con Thien, Da Nang, Dong Ha, DMZ, Bong Sa, Cu Lai, etc, etc fighting off the forces of evil. That's A LOT of combat time crammed into four months. I wonder how he did it?
In the airplane business we called anyone who consistently got shot at more than anyone else did "Magnet Ass". I guess Kerry was the Navy's answer to that play on words or could he be lying??? How can you tell when John Kerry is lying? Answer: His lips are moving.
Let’s define terms.
A “Mine” in Vietnam covered many different items. Everything from replaced US mines to improvised explosives. The ones that scared us the most were the command detonated mine. They were something like our claymore - it went off when you sent the electrical pulse down the wire. The claymore could also function as a classical mine with trip wires, etc, providing the initial firing pulse.
The Swift Boat PATROL (as in many boats operating in extremely close proximity to each other) may have encountered a command detonated explosive charge (aka a mine).
I am making this point to clarify what has been floating around. I also clearly make the point that this was a PATROL action involving several boats for self-support. What happened to the # 3 boat shows why Swift Boats never went out alone.
No flames please, I don’t like smoking any more.
You should revisit your article and conclusions with that fact in mind.
If a mine is manually detonated from a distance than it isn't a mine. The VC planted thousands of mines in the water ways south of saigon, and would take a stretch of the imagination to believe many of these mines were manually detonated by a person. Think about it, how would someone be able to trigger a mine right under a boat so it could do damage from a distince with the mine hidden and the boat moving 20-30 knots? It's just a myth.
Suit yourself. I believe the Swiftees who describe it as a command detonated mine. They were there, they know. These boats were, at the time the mine detonated, navigating around either end of a fishing net that had been strung between the time they went up river and returned. The person pulling the line that fires the mine could have been quite close to the riverbank, and the Swiftboats were probably not "speeding" due to proximity to shore.
That's just the way I see it, but I'm sure some people will enjoy following your line of reasoning.
Mine Squadron 11, Detachment Alpha at Nha Be.
How could anyone from a swift boat tell if the mine was a contact mine or a command mine? Why is it only KERRY reports command mines and no one else in all of 1969 at COSDIV 11?
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