Kerry Believed Vietnam Colleagues Would Have 'Fragged' Gay Commanding Officer

The presidential debates covered many questions, but the issue of homosexuality in the military was not one of them. That is unfortunate, since voters should know where the two presidential candidates stand on this and other forms of social engineering in the military. The record of President George W. Bush is not perfect, but the doctrinaire views of his rival, Sen. John Kerry, are cause for serious concern.

In 1993, Senator John Kerry cast his vote on the losing side of a veto-proof, bipartisan (63-33) vote against President Bill Clinton's plan to accommodate homosexuals in the military. But Kerry did more than that--he was a leading advocate of the controversial view that professed homosexuals should serve in uniform.

On May 7, 1993, Sen. Kerry testified on the issue before the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by then-Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA). The official record of his statement begins with the lofty rhetoric of the civil rights, followed by elitist and sometimes disdainful attitudes toward anyone disagreeing with him. "…Now, take the issue of living in close quarters and communal showers," said the Senator. "I suspect some of the guys who most fear being approached by gay men also consider themselves irresistible to heterosexual women, and they are probably sadly mistaken on both counts, Mr. Chairman."

Maintaining that hetero- and homosexual conduct are essentially the same, Kerry said that displays of affection and social activities considered appropriate for one type of couple should be permitted for both, but not explicit and offensive sexual activity in public. Replied Chairman Nunn, "You just changed the Uniform Code of Military Justice. There is no provision in there that says anything about open and public." Kerry said he realized that, but it would not be necessary to change the UCMJ because "Senator, it is not enforced today." Senator Nunn strongly disagreed.

Warming to the subject, Kerry set a new standard for stridency in accusing anyone who disagreed with him of being motivated by "licensed hate." That insult prompted Sen. James Exon (D-NE) to bluntly ask Kerry how his own Vietnam-era colleagues might have reacted if they were asked to follow the lead of a gay commanding officer. Kerry answered, "Well, if you just plunked them down one day and said here is your new lieutenant and he is gay, I suspect they might have fragged him like they fragged a lot of other lieutenants back then."

Kerry also displayed his current tendency to set forth a doctrinaire position, followed by misleading equivocation. In a convoluted statement that seemed to equate homosexuals with disruptive atheists or "raving revolutionaries," Kerry seemed to suggest that a person whose presence disturbs others in, for example, a deployed Navy SEAL unit, could be excluded in order to protect unit cohesion. (In extreme cold and wet conditions SEALS must sometimes huddle skin-to-skin, in training as well as in combat, to maintain body heat.) But exempting Navy SEALs from Defense Department policy would be unworkable and inconsistent with Kerry's stated ideological goals.

At that point Senator Nunn and current Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-VA) asked Kerry what he would do with military personnel who were taught by their parents and ministers that "the gay lifestyle is wrong." Kerry replied that the military would have to counter such feelings--even if they are rooted in religious values learned at home--in the same way that it teaches racial and religious tolerance.

Sen. Warner disagreed with the premise, and Chairman Nunn concurred, saying: "It is not the same thing for an awful lot of people in this country, [based] on their moral beliefs and their religious beliefs." The Massachusetts Senator seemed unconcerned that the primary purpose of the military is to defend the country, not to change the moral values of men and women who volunteer to serve.

During subsequent hearings Congress considered President Clinton's "don't ask, don't tell" proposal--the idea that gays could serve in the military as long as they did not say they were homosexual. Congress rightly rejected that unworkable concept, and instead enacted a law that excludes homosexuals from the military. Specific findings listed in the statute recognize the unique hardships of military life, and acknowledge the element of "forced intimacy," which distinguishes it from most civilian occupations.

Simply stated, the law embodies respect for human feelings and the power of sexuality. It affirms that servicemen and women should not be forced to expose themselves, in quarters offering little or no privacy, to persons who might be sexually attracted to them. The statute assigns highest priority to good order and discipline, and codifies pre-Clinton policy that "homosexuality is incompatible with military service." The only compromise made was to drop "the question" about homosexuality, which used to appear on induction forms. The inquiry can and should be restored at any time.

President Clinton signed the 1993 law, but must have done so with his fingers crossed behind his back. Within weeks Clinton issued regulations to enforce his own "don't ask, don't tell" concept, holding that "homosexuality is personal and private…and not a bar to military service." The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals noted in 1996 that these regulations are inconsistent with congressional intent.

The Bush Administration has enforced the law, but also confused the issue by retaining expendable "don't ask, don't tell" enforcement regulations. That situation can be remedied, but only if the voters elect a Commander in Chief who respects the law and the principles behind it. Everyone can serve their country in some way, but not everyone is eligible to serve in the armed forces.

Vet: Kerry Pressured Me to Lie About Atrocities
Dave Eberhart, NewsMax.com
Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2004
Vietnam veteran Steve Pitkin claims that John Kerry pressured him to lie in 1971 when he claimed U.S. soldiers engaged in atrocities during the Vietnam War.

Pitkin had been a key participant in John Kerry’s infamous “Winter Soldier” hearings of the same year, which concluded that the U.S. military was allegedly engaging in war crimes against the Vietnamese.

These days, Pitkin appears in the controversial anti-Kerry documentary “Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal.” The film features a clip of Pitkin from another documentary film, "Winter Soldier." Editor's Note: Get your copy of "Stolen Honor" –

In that clip, the bearded and bandana-wearing Pitkin seems stunned and vague while being questioned by John Kerry in a preliminary interview – apparently overwhelmed over being asked to describe his combat tour.

Today, however, Pitkin discloses that his lack of candor in the 1971 film clip actually reflected his efforts to avoid giving Kerry what he so desperately wanted: war stories about how American troops in Vietnam were daily committing war crimes in a last-ditch attempt to turn the tide in that 10-year conflict.

In the end, Pitkin said, he gave in to Kerry’s pressure and made up allegations of war crimes.

"The VVAW [Vietnam Veterans Against the War] found me during a difficult time in my life, and I let them use me to advance their political agenda,” Pitkin now confesses. “They pressured me to tell their lies, but that's no excuse for what I did. I just want people to know the truth and to make amends as best I can. I'd hate to see the troops serving today have to go through what Vietnam veterans did."

During a speech at the Kerry Lied Rally on Sept. 12, 2004, Pitkin first identified himself as a vet who, with prodding from Kerry, lied about atrocities in Vietnam:

“They knew I was one of the very few real combat veterans in the room. I told them I didn’t have anything to say. Kerry said, ‘Surely you’ve seen some of the atrocities.’

“I kept saying ‘no’ and the mood turned ugly. One of the other leaders whispered to me, ‘It’s a long walk back to Baltimore.’ I’m not proud of this, but I finally agreed to speak. They told me what to talk about – American troops beating civilians and prisoners, shelling and destroying villages for no reason, and acts of racism against the Vietnamese.

“John Kerry knew that the Winter Soldier testimony was a pack of lies. I know, because I was there, and I told some of those lies.”

In “Stolen Honor,” Col. Bud Day, a Medal of Honor winner who spent 67 months as a POW, and 16 other POWs of that war lambaste Kerry for creating the myth of brutal GIs terrorizing the countryside.

“The thing about the Kerry comments in 1971 is that they were so sensational, so outrageous, that they were precisely the kind of thing that a propaganda expert and the news media were looking for ...,” Day said. “He has destroyed the good name of all Vietnam veterans. Now he wants us to forget. I can never forget.”

In “Stolen Honor,” Day and the sixteen other POWs who served years in captivity while undergoing torture claimed that Kerry’s Winter Soldier hearings gave the North Vietnamese fodder for their attacks on the POWs and their desire to continue the war.

Pitkin’s About-Face

After years of living a lie, the turnabout by Pitkin is 180 degrees.

In 1971 he introduced himself before the “Winter Soldiers” investigative panel this way:

“My name is Steve Pitkin, age 20, from Baltimore. I served with the 9th Division from May of '69 until I was air-evacuated in July of '69. I'll testify about the beating of civilians and enemy personnel, destruction of villages, indiscriminate use of artillery, the general racism and the attitude of the American GI toward the Vietnamese. I will also talk about some of the problems of the GIs toward one another and the hassle with officers.”

Now, in a sworn affidavit recently executed in Palm Beach County, Fla., he has set the record straight:

“... During my service in Vietnam, I neither witnessed nor participated in any American war crimes or atrocities against civilians, nor was I ever aware of any such actions. I did witness the results of Vietcong atrocities against Vietnamese civilians, including the murder of tribal leaders. ...

“I joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), at Catonsville Community College in Baltimore in 1970.

“In January of 1971, I rode in a van with John Kerry, a national leader of the VVAW, and others from Washington D.C. to Detroit to attend the Winter Soldier Investigation, a conference intended to publicize alleged American war crimes in Vietnam. Having no knowledge of such war crimes, I did not intend to speak at the event.

“During the Winter Soldier Investigation, John Kerry and other leaders of that event pressured me to testify about American war crimes, despite my repeated statements that I could not honestly do so. One event leader strongly implied that I would not be provided transportation back to my home in Baltimore, Maryland, if I failed to comply. Kerry and other leaders of the event instructed me to publicly state that I had witnessed incidents of rape, brutality, atrocities and racism, knowing that such statements would necessarily be untrue.”

In his affidavit, Pitkin also describes how John Kerry’s famous medal tossing in front of the U.S. Capitol was staged:

“In April 1971, I attended a VVAW protest in Washington D.C. known as ‘Dewey Canyon III.’ During this event I was present when protestors, including John Kerry, threw medals and ribbons over a fence outside the U.S. Capitol. I witnessed a man holding a bag of ribbons and medals and handing them out to other protestors. I saw that many of the ribbons and medals were not those that would be received by veterans of combat in Vietnam.”

Pitkin served with the Ninth Division of the U.S. Army beginning May 25, 1969. A mortar explosion wounded him and later the wounds became infected, resulting in his removal from the combat zone. During his tour he received the Combat Infantry Badge, Army Commendation Medal, RVN Cross of Gallantry, Air Medal and Purple Heart. He went on later in life to retire from the U.S. Coast Guard.

NewsMax spoke to Scott Swett of SwiftVets.com and Wintersoldiers.com, who gave some background as to how Steve Pitkin surfaced after three decades.

According to Swett, Pitkin placed a comment on the SwiftVets.com bulletin board about a month ago. Swett says it was he who followed up, interviewing Pitkin over the course of a couple of days.

Says Swett: “Pitkin is unique in a couple of ways. He is the only Winter Soldier investigation subject to come forward and under oath recant his testimony. Pitkin is furthermore the only investigation interviewee to return to the military. But most significantly, Pitkin was interviewed directly by Kerry himself on a segment called the ‘miscellaneous panel.’”

Editor's Note: Get your copy of "Stolen Honor" and find out why John Kerry is afraid you and millions of Americans will see it – also find out how to help "Stolen Honor" –

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