Another Kerry whopper?

Worldnetdaily ^ | 8/27/04 | Staff

[OPS4]

ELECTION 2004 Another Kerry whopper? Recalls hearing of '68 Martin Luther King murder while in Vietnam

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: August 27, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

WASHINGTON – Speaking at a Martin Luther King Day celebration last year, presidential candidate John F. Kerry told a Virginia audience that he remembered hearing the tragic news of the assassination while serving in Vietnam – though he did not begin his four-month tour of duty for at least seven months after the shooting.

Chicago Sun-Times from April 5, 1968

"I remember well April 1968, I was serving in Vietnam, a place of violence," Kerry told the assembled, according to a report by Fox News Channel's Brit Hume. "When the news reports brought home to me and my crewmates the violence back home and the tragic news that one of the bullets flying that terrible spring took the life of Dr. King."

The date of King's assassination was April 4, 1968. However, Kerry was not yet serving in Vietnam, but aboard the Navy frigate USS Gridley. According to Kerry's campaign website it was not until Nov. 17, 1968, that he reported for duty in Vietnam.

In March of this year, Kerry authored a column in the New York Times that alluded to his recollections of King's death.

"Nineteen-sixty-eight was a year unlike any other I have known," he wrote. "I was 24 years old, a newly minted naval officer in a convoy headed for the Gulf of Tonkin."

He mentioned learning of the death in Vietnam of a friend, the surprise election results from New Hampshire that resulted in Lyndon Johnson's decision not to seek re-election as president. He mentioned in that column that he was off the coast of Vietnam at the time.

"Weeks later we heard of the death of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated while campaigning for justice in America," he wrote. "We knew that cities across the country had exploded in riots and much of Washington itself was in flames. There was war all around us and war at home."

Kerry has often referred to his yearlong tour of duty on the USS Gridley as his first tour of Vietnam, even though the frigate only approached the coast in the Gulf of Tonkin.

[OPS4]

The man cannot tell the truth. Ops4 God Bless America!

[hflynn]

This guy must have had a heavy duty drug problem at some point in his life. I would love to see his medical records.

[Jaded]

"Weeks later we heard of the death of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated while campaigning for justice in America," he wrote. "We knew that cities across the country had exploded in riots and much of Washington itself was in flames. There was war all around us and war at home."

In all of the programs I've seen of MLK and other stuff I learned in history, I have never in my life heard this. What is this guy smokin?

[Viet-Boat-Rider]

I heard someone say "Well, Kerry was on the USS Gridley off the coast of Vietnam so Kerry was not lying">

That is bunk, Kerry said: I remember well April 1968, I was serving in Vietnam, a place of violence,"

I served both in-country and off the coast. Serving off the coast is NOT serving IN Vietnam. Kerry lied again.

[jennyjenny]

a) drugs
b) syphillis
c) pathological liar
d) all of the above

Release the records

[aShepard]

It used to take a long time for the newspapers to get all the way to Cambodia!

[RogueIsland]

Was the Gridley in the theater? If so, then I can understand Kerry saying he was in Vietnam.

[no dems]

They could have pictures of John Kerry and Al Sharpton having sex and the black community would still vote for him.

[Luke]

Nobody ever told a lie and kept it a secret... afterall a lie serves no purpose unless it becomes known.

[Bob]

At the time of King's assassination in early April, kerry was aboard USS Gridley on a WestPac cruise. There is a good probability that he was either on his way to or already on SAR duty in the Gulf of Tonkin that day. It's hard to tell which was the case.

That November date is when he reported to the Swift boat unit.

[lilylangtree]

Hallucinogenic drugs were prevalent during the time. Has the issue of Ketchupman's use ever been brought up? Sure sounds like he was on something.

[trebb]

Dishonesty and arrogance seems to be the modern-day trademark of the DimocRATic Party...

[WKB]

Didn't Bill Clinton remember black churches burning in ARK
when none were burned?
It's a democrat thing.

[serpentineshel]

Here is the full text of Kerry's speech before the crowd in Richmond VA where he recounts his finding out about King's death (he does state he was IN Vietnam):

http://www.vote-smart.org/speech_detail.php?speech_id=4724&keyword=&phrase=&contain=

Here is his website recap of his service:

http://www.johnkerry.com/about/john_kerry/service.html

So, according to his website, he was on a boat, with crewmates, BUT he was not in Vietnam. He was on the USS Gridley, somewhere in the Pacific between Australia and the US...on his way to Vietnam. He did not report to Vietnam until November 1968.

[bmwcyle]

I hear Hillary and John went to the Marine recruiter together and almost signed up for the Marines. Then they turned into frogs and ate flies all day. And then.......

[sitetest]

Dear Jaded,

That's what happened. The assassination of Dr. King set off riots in many cities. Much of Washington, DC was ruined in these riots, and in some places, such as the 14th Street corridor, it took decades to heal the physical wounds of that time.

I remember that we lived in a close-in suburb at the time, and my father bought a shotgun in case the riots spread outside the city limits.


sitetest

[jojodamofo]

Semantical differences can make or break someone's reputation. Remember serial liar Al Gore? The crazy nut who claimed he "invented the internet?" He never said it, but it stuck big time. He will be remembered for saying that long after you and I are dead and forgotten. This "whopper" has that kind of potential, and it may even anger some blacks because of the MLK connection.

[SittinYonder]

LOL!

[DallasMike]

Kerry has often referred to his yearlong tour of duty on the USS Gridley as his first tour of Vietnam, even though the frigate only approached the coast in the Gulf of Tonkin.

If the Gridley was off the coast of Vietnam then I'm willing to give this one to Kerry. If we quibble too much on technical details then we'll start to look petty. Kerry has told a lot of whoppers but this really isn't one of them.

[Blzbba]

I take this about as seriously as Bush's comment that he 'saw the first plane hit the Trade Center' on 9-11, when he actually meant that he saw the 2nd plane (since noone saw the first plane hit until the footage was released the next day from that firefighter training video).

TinHats point to this as something mysterious - I think it's just an error of speech.

Stay focused on the Swifties and other erroneous parts of Kerry's platform. No need to grasp at inanity like this.