Posted on 07/30/2004 5:37:42 PM PDT by The Bandit
BOSTON - Veterans who served as crewmates on a Vietnam War "swift boat" commanded by a young John Kerry say they are furious that opponents of his presidential campaign are questioning the validity of the medals Kerry was awarded in the war.
"I was there when Sen. Kerry got shot, and I've seen his blood on the deck of a swift boat. And I can assure you it's American red, and there's not a speck of blue in that blood," said Fred Short, 56, of Little Rock, Ark.
Short, who served as a gunner's mate under Kerry's command, said he knows how Kerry earned his three Purple Heart medals and one Silver Star in Vietnam, and he is angry that people who never served under Kerry now are questioning whether Kerry earned the medals he received.
"What boat were they on when they make these claims?" Short said. "They are just making up tales to support their view. I'm sorry George Bush does not have that record that John Kerry has. Life is full of choices. You can go, or you can stay," he said.
Conservative Web sites and the anti-Kerry organization Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, have launched a national campaign rallying Vietnam veterans opposed to Kerry's presidential bid. The opponents charge that two of the three wounds for which Kerry received a Purple Heart were self-inflicted and maintain only two of 23 swift boat commanders who served with Kerry are supporting his bid for the White House.
Jim Wasser, a 57-year-old Democratic National Convention delegate from Kankakee, Ill., who served as a radar man under Kerry in Vietnam, said the charges are outrageous and a blatant attempt to degrade a Vietnam veteran's exemplary service record.
Wasser said it's part of an effort to divert attention from the campaign's focus on the war in Iraq and a sluggish economy.
Wasser is volunteering to spearhead the counter-campaign. "We're just a band of brothers working together," he said. He said of the 12 enlisted men who worked under Kerry's command, one is actively opposed to his election as president.
John Hurley, national director of Veterans for Kerry, said no one before has ever challenged the medals the Massachusetts senator earned in Vietnam in any of his previous campaigns in the last 34 years. He found it curious the charges are emerging in the midst of a Democratic convention where the party is spotlighting Kerry's history.
Hurley said he welcomes this discussion because it contrasts for voters Kerry's war record in the Vietnam Delta with that of Bush, who joined the Army National Guard but was not sent to Vietnam. He said Kerry's military records are all posted on the Internet, while the Pentagon has been unable to unearth Bush's records or fitness reports.
"What medals does George Bush have to throw away? None," Hurley said.
After graduating from Yale, Kerry was sent to Vietnam in 1968 as commander of a flimsy 50-foot-long aluminum swift boat, which the Pentagon employed in the Mekong Delta in an aggressive military strategy to draw fire from Viet Cong guerrillas hiding on the shorelines. "SWIFT" is an acronym that stands for the Navy's "shallow water inshore fast tactical" craft.
Although he served only five months in Vietnam, Kerry received three Purple Hearts for wounds he received, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star. Later, as a leader of the Vietnam War protests, Kerry threw away medals at a demonstration on Capitol Hill but later admitted those medals were not his but those given him by another veteran.
Under Pentagon policies at the time, anyone wounded three times could be returned home, and after receiving his third Purple Heart, Kerry finished his Navy career in the United States.
Short said he vividly remembers the incident for which Kerry received the Silver Star when the swift boat came under attack from two ambushes. After a Viet Cong fighter aimed a rocket-propelled grenade at the boat, Kerry beached his boat and jumped in the water to shoot the man.
"If that RPG had hit the boat, I would not be at this convention - none of us would," said Short, who was operating the twin machine guns on the boat and had a view overlooking the firefight. The commendation given Kerry for the action credits him with "extraordinary daring and personal courage."
David Alston, 57, of Columbia, S.C., served as a gunner's mate under Kerry and also earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star in the Vietnam fighting.
Alston said he understands Kerry's reluctance over the years to talk much about his Vietnam years because he said veterans don't like to recount what they did in wars. "When you take a human life, it's not to be boasted about," he said.
Alston said it's clear Kerry earned his medals. "No one was out there saying 'shoot me here so I can get a Purple Heart,' " he said.
Well, I was there when Kerry indecently violated a German shepherd.
It's Red, for sure.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
This is like saying George Bush doesn't have any medals to wipe his butt with and degrade the rest of the soldiers in Viet Nam.
Un-friggin'-believable.
I will not disrespect the service of these men. They are however being used by Hanoi John who I don't respect and will do anything in my power (legally) to see he is not elected Commander in Chief.
Yeah, I noticed Kerry has been very reluctant to talk about his Vietnam years. That's why him commenting on Vietnam is now a national drinking game.
It's very simple, Kerry needs to explain why he stated he committed war crimes? I have heard a lot less criticism of Kerry's war record than his admitted war crimes. The truth is Kerry probably cost the lives of more soldiers with his propaganda rhetoric.
Danged Painful Drinking Game, should only be engaged in on Fri or Sat Night.
Kerry made his choice to cut and run the fourth month he was in country.
I would like this man to explain to us how he feels about Kerry's testimony to Congress, involvment with the VVAW and other post war activities.
Shot? When was Kerry shot? I know he was kinda wounded by shrapnel (possibly our own) but when was he shot?
It is interesting how they keep adding the months that Kerry was in VietNam. I first heard three months, than four months, now reading this article it states 5 months. I bet right before the election, it will be up to 12 months or more served in Viet Nam.....
To Mr. Short: It is time to put up or shut up.
I want to see Mr. Kerry's medical records. I want to know when, where and how he received his wounds.
We already know that his first request for a PH was denied by his immediate commander because it was a scratch from an M-79 grenade that
Kerry himself launched at an adjacent shoreline, and not during a combat action.
Then please explain to me how Kerry gets two more PH's, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star in a period of four weeks.
Then tell me, Mr. Short, how a man who is supposed to be in command of three SWIFTs,who after an attack from an RPG launched from shore then, contrary to Navy regulations in this type of attack then beaches his own craft, jumps out without knowing if there were snipers in the treeline,now exposing his command to the loss of its CO, follows a staggering Viet Cong to the back of a hut after the VC has been drilled by the boat's .50 cal machine gun, dispatches the VC, who at the time is a wounded POW--this equates to murder now--- and comes back in view with the RPG launcher.
Read his Silver Star commendation--after all, Kerry wrote it up himself.
Four medals in four weeks--five medals in four months and 12 days. And one day off the line.
Yeah, right.
It is time to call it for what it is--BS.
Kerry should go to Walter Reed and see the price real soldiers pay for PHs.
I'm through with honoring him for his service, because what he accomplished in a mere four plus months is suspicious, and what he did when he returned, while still a Naval Reserve Officer, was traitorous.
Your turn, Mr. Short.
So, did Lance Gay ask this veteran if he was present while Kerrry witnessed and committed the war crimes Kerrry claimed he witnesses and comitted.
The MSM is truly amazing. They've yet to run a single article reporting the claims of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group, yet they give an entire story to those who want to rebut it.
I'm becoming increasingly pessimistic about the future of this country, given the complete lock the MSM has on presenting reality to the public at large.
That's not only what Kerry's opponents "maintain," but it's the truth. Does Scripps-Howard have evidence to the contrary (especially with regard to the percentage of swift boat commanders who oppose Kerry?). That seems like a fairly provable charge - either two of 23 support him, or they don't.
Excuse me, Kerry's Vietnam heroics are all we ever hear about from the boasting blueblood. It was part of his orchestrated plan to emulate JFK in WWII and to use it for political capital.
Mr Short...again it is your turn...remember there are lots of out her that know when you are lying....proceed!!!
Good point. I will also say that making movies of your exploits and showing them to journalists doesn't show much reluctance either.
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