John Edwards: Today, under George W. Bush, there are two Americas, not one:Yeah.
#1: Decent folks. CLICK:#2: Lowlifes.
Posted on 08/30/2004 5:39:36 PM PDT by Fedora
Thanks for the ping!
"Mining bronze from the mine was art."
Have you ever seen an article or book which describes some examples of how that was done? I'm thinking it might be informative to compare how that was typically done with Kerry's MO. My best reconstruction is that what Kerry did with the Bronze Star incident was take a real event (the PCF-3 mine explosion) and substitute some details which made him look heroic (describing the damage to PCF-3 as if it was his own boat that got hit by the mine, attributing his arm and buttocks injuries to the mine, then adding hostile fire to qualify for the PH and BS). How he got others to cover up for him on this is the part I'm still trying to figure out.
An excellent piece of research and writing, I commend and thank you for your efforts. Bookmarked for the ammo pile.
Thank you! I will add you to the ping list for the next part in the series.
<< I'm gonna guess all that alliteration is alluding to an Arkansas alleycat :) >>
Well, there is that.
And then there's that toying tirelessly with this typwrter's t's .....
.... helps to pass the time <];^)~<
LOL!
>> "Mining bronze from the mine was art."
> Have you ever seen an article or book which describes
> some examples of how that was done?
No, I haven't. Until the SBVFTs began asking pointed
questions, I'd never heard of a case like this (outside
fictional comedies). As an ordinary citizen, most of the
real cases I've heard about (Boorda) involve people
wearing awards not actually issued, or issued but not
authorized at the moment.
As to how it was done - this is just the military
version of embezzelment - embezzelment of honor.
Financial embezzelers seem to be drawn from the ranks
of accountants and bookkeepers, people who discover
that they're being left alone with the money, and that
no one is double checking (or checking at all, until
the accounts go empty).
Here's some pure speculation.
Kerry found himself off-script (on a "PT" boat, as
planned, but in actual combat, oops). Might as well
exploit it for all it's worth.
He took on an unpopular job (writing the reports),
and probably noticed that:
a. those above didn't verify, and
b. peers & those below never looked at the reports
Kerry then accidentally hooked up with a Decorations &
Awards guy (Rassmann), who explained the ropes of D&A.
Motive. Opportunity. Method.
My impression at present is that Kerry didn't start
out trying to get a 3*PH ticket out. He stumbled
into that near the final days. But he was collecting
medals by any necessary means (and as we see with the
"V" device, he kept it up for years afterward).
BTTT!
A spoiled husk pretending to be something he's not. Only his "hiding out" has delayed his exposure as a man "without a chest." FReegards
John Edwards: Today, under George W. Bush, there are two Americas, not one:Yeah.
#1: Decent folks. CLICK:#2: Lowlifes.
I agree with the general outlines of your scenario, except I'm wondering if Kerry was already onto the basics of collecting PH's (though perhaps not yet the full-blown scheme of manipulating after-action reports) when he arrived in Vietnam, given that he was already trying to get Letson and Hibbard to approve a PH within two weeks of arriving. In thinking about this, I've wondered if the genesis of Kerry's plan might date back to his initial attempts to avoid the draft. Antiwar groups had developed methods to aid draft dodgers. Did Kerry learn about the three-and-out rule from antiwar groups at the time when he was considering ways to avoid the draft c. 1965-1966? That's one possibility I've considered.
In relation to that, here's a piece of information I find interesting which I didn't include in the article for the sake of keeping it manageable, but I'm planning to mention it in Part 3: Judy Droz, the widow of Donald Droz, who was with Kerry during the Silver and Bronze Star incidents, was active in the antiwar movement while her husband was in Vietnam, and has mentioned that while Droz was in Vietnam he wrote her back letters about how he and Kerry were planning to protest the war when they got home. Was Kerry already in contact with the antiwar movement within the military before he left Vietnam (at this time the antiwar movement was making inroads into military bases in California, where Kerry was training in 1967-1968), and could they have helped him go three-and-out? That's another possibility I've been wondering about.
Now into that scenario, enter what you mentioned about Rassmann. . .
Ping for input on the line of thought suggested in 111 and previous posts.
bttt
All of Kerry's medals are in question.
Maybe I'll concede that instead of his Silver Star (which was basically given so that it would increase the moral of the troops), he should get a Bronze Star (without the V for Valour) for commanding a successful mission.
LOL! BTW, seems like I came across the phrase "two Americas" while I was researching the VVAW--I forget where they used it but it may have been in "New Soldier". I knew I should've written it down. . .
Ping for your thoughts on the questions posed in Post 111 and previous.
On his Silver Star, one question I have is who reportedly put in the paperwork on that recommending him for a Navy Cross?(!)--if that actually happened as Nicosia says.
Thanks! I will check that out.
I notice the formatting seems to be wrong for all the hyperlinks in my footnotes. If there's anyone computer-savvy who can tell me what I did wrong so I can avoid the error in the future, I'd appreciate it.
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