Alan Colmes is saying Kerry did two tours in Viet Nam. I don't think that is correct. Four months does not two tours make. Anyone else hear this?
IIRC (and I saw it on FR), Kerry's first "tour" was on some kind of ship patrolling the waters -- strictly no action. The second tour (of four months) was actually in country.
Kerry did 2 tours. The first was on a Navy ship in blue water - he spent around 6 months (I believe) on a ship supporting the war effort. Believe he was the Public Affairs officer, but not sure.
He is wrong. Based on his official fitness reports released by Kerry, he served in Vietnam from Nov 8, 1968 to March 26, 1969, which works out to a little more than 4 1/2 months. Kerry also served on the USS Gridley for a little over a year (June 8, 1967 to July 20, 1968). During his tour of duty on the Gridley, the ship went on a WESTPAC cruise. The ship served in the Gulf of Tonkin on plane guard duty for a total of 82 days or a little less than 3 months.
Kerry did only one tour in Vietnam (4 1/2 months) and was in the combat zone afloat offshore (82 days), which is not considered a tour of duty in Vietnam. You could say that he was in a hostile fire area for about 7+ months. The Dems are just playing word games with the word tour. You don't "volunteer" for Vietnam and then be assigned to a ship. I noticed in the Kerry film that they did not mention his assignment to the USS Gridley as an electrical officer.
Probably referring to when he came back and fought for the VC.
That's why John Kerry is a perfect war hero for liberals. They are in territory they don't understand, and have not been in before.
I met some old acquaintances for lunch yesterday, and one of the comments that came up was, "What's more ironic? The Democrats trying to ride Vietnam into the White House, or the German police trying to rescue Israeli athletes at the 1972 summer Olympics?"
Kerry then sought swift boat duty which was considered safe. After his switch, the boats missions were changed and he was put in danger. This was not something he sought intentionally.
He actually did do two tours, neither one a complete tour. Kerry was originally assigned to a ship and never went ashore, and never really did anything notable, so he had nothing to show for the experience. So, he volunteered for swift boat duty, was returned to the states for training, and reassigned to swift boat duty that he filmed.