Friday, August 13, 2004


BLIND EYE (s)


August 06, 2004
Turning A Blind Eye... And Then Closing The Other

Edward L. Daley

(…)I don't know about you, but I find it extremely unlikely that each one of these individuals is a Republican, or that all of them are such staunch admirers of George W. Bush, who is not a war veteran, that they would all conspire to spread false allegations about someone who is. It seems to me that any reasonable person has to consider that at least a few of these brave men have a little honor left in them after having put their lives on the line for this country. Certainly SOME of them have damned good reasons, other than the political kind, for believing that John Kerry is unfit to be our Commander in Chief.


Daley lists the names of the signers:
*****“Among those "fanatics" that leftists have derided, and who's scandalous assertions about John Kerry they've dismissed out of hand, are the following Vietnam veterans: Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann (commander of Kerry's task force in Vietnam), Grant Hibbard (Kerry's former commanding officer), George Elliot (another of Kerry's former commanding officers), John O'Neill (the commander who replaced Kerry on his swift boat), Roy Alexander, Kenneth Andrews, Dan Armstrong, Ray Ballew, Ross Barker, Alexander Bass, George Bates, Richard Beers, Paul Bennett, Edward Bergin, Henry Berman, Barry Bogart, Bob Bolger, M.T. Boone, David Borden, Vern Boyd, David Bradley, Richard Brant, Robert Brant, Kenneth Briggs, Carlyle J. Brown, Kenneth Buckholz, Michael C. Burton, Joe Cahill, Joe Cantrell, Jack Carlson, Billy Carwile, Jack Chenoweth, Allan Clapp, George Clatterbuck, William Colgan, Bill Collins, Daniel Corbett, James M. Corrigan, Terry Cosstello, John H. Davis, William Daybert, James Deal, Tony DeLuna, David Desiderio, Verne DeWitt, John Dooley, Dale Duffield, Robert G. Elder, William Ferris, Jim Fitzgerald, Wallace Foreman, William Franke, Robert Franson, Alfred French, Paul Fulcomer, Ray Fuller, Steve Fulton, Mike Gann, Steve Gardner, Bill Garlow, Les Garrett, Tony Gisclair, Monte Gluck, Robert Gnau, Donald Goldberg, Morton Golde, Kenneth Golden, Gerald Good, John Graves, Charles Green, Dennis Green, H.C. Griffin, Jr., Boyd Groves Jr., Charles Grutzius, Bill Halpin, Don Hammer, Rock Harmon, Keith Harris, Stirlin Harris, Stewart Harris, Gene Hart, Bob Hastings, Curt Hatler, John Hecker, Chuck Herman, Raul Herrera, Tom Herritage, Don Higgins, Rocky Hildreth, Larry Hobson, William Holden, Wayland Holloway, Robert Hooke, Alvin Horne, Andy Horne, John Howell. Warren Hudson, Charles Hunt, Robert Hunt, Robert Johnson, Gail Ikerd, John Jones, Tom Jones, Walter Jones, Eddie Kajioka, John Kipp, Thomas Klemash, Kenneth Knipple, Robert Koger, Mike Kovanen, Bob Kreyer, Jack Lane, William Langham, William Lannom, Joseph Lavoie, Louis Letson, Adrian Lonsdale, Jim Madden, William S. Mann, David Marion, Jim Marohn, Douglas Martin, Tom Mason, Donald Matras, Thomas Mason, Louis Masterson, Richard McFarland, Kenneth McGhee, James McNeal, Larry Meyer, Jack Merkley, James Miller, Martin Miller, Marc Milligan, Benjamin Montoya, Bub Morgan, Edgar Morrill, Tom Morrill, Wayne H. Moser, Kurt Moss, Frank Mueller, Marc Mulligan, Ed Mundy, Richard Olsen, Benny O'Brien, Richard O'Meara, Albert Owens, Tedd Peck, Robert Phalen, Joseph Ponder, Charles Plumley, Chuck Rabel, Rex Rectanus, Skip Ridley, Bill Rogers, Jennings Rogerson II, Patrick Sage, Gary Sallee, Joe Sandoval, Jimmy Sanford, Robert Sattergood, Jim Schneider, Clair Schrodt, Jack Shamley, Patrick Sheedy, Paul Shepherd, Robert B. Shirley, William Shumadine, Stanley Simonson, Darryl Skuce, John Skura, John Slagle, Gerald H. Smith, Roy Smith, Tony Snesko, Mike Solhaug, Jack Spratt, Patrick Stevenson, Fred Stith, David Stefferud, James Steffes, Lawrence Stoneberg, Weymouth Symmes, W.P. Taylor, James Thomas, Eldon Thompson, Emmett Tidd, Charles Tinstman, Gary Townsend, William Trainer, Michael Turley, ChrisVedborg, Jeffrey Wainscott, David Wallace, Greg Ward, Larry Wasikowski, Pete Webster, Steve Watts, Robert Wedge, Steven Weekley, George White II, Shelton White, Gary Whittington, James Wiggins, Dennis Willess, Thomas Withey, Barnard Wolff, Thomas Wright, Raymond Wroten, John Wyatt, and John Yeoman.”*****

(…)How anyone could just disregard the claims of these people, and the many thousands of other Vietnam vets who feel the same way they do, is dumbfounding to me. To write their accusals off as merely the machinations of a bunch of extremists involved in some vast right-wing conspiracy to ruin Kerry's sparkling clean reputation, is more than just an act of the naive, the ill-informed or the politically partisan. Something is seriously wrong with John F. Kerry's nebulous accounts of what took place during his brief tour in Vietnam, and during the years immediately following his early release from military service in that war. His recollections of the 22 years he has spent in politics since then are equally as questionable, and one would have to be literally blind not to see that.(…)


[COMMENT: The above material reflects some of my thinking on the Swift Boat Controversy. The media will drift off to something more spectacular (and they say we have short attention spans) but many of us will continue to look at the controversy. Use the above link to read the full article.

Since I seem to be collecting names and attempting to find quotes and information for reference, I’ll be concentrating on the ones with a close connection, or an observation which helps to clarify the issues. Also, there was a site which listed the casualties. In checking those names, there were none listed from PCF #44, or PCF #94, for 1967, ‘68, ‘69, and ‘70 (IIRC). If I bookmarked it, that may not be helpful; bookmarking must be my favorite thing to do—I could use two computers just to keep track of bookmarks.]

Thursday, August 12, 2004


SWIFT SMOLDERING

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Kerry's SWIFT meltdown

Posted: August 11, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

At this writing, the Kerry campaign has not yet responded to the media meltdown that is occurring around John Kerry's four decades of stories built on his secret, illegal missions into Cambodia during the four months he skippered a SWIFT boat.
It is impossible to stonewall a story that broke out of the blogosphere and into the major media on Monday night and Tuesday morning, so eventually John Kerry is going to have to stand by his wildly implausible tales of cross-border excellent adventures, or he's going to have to apologize for inventing personal history


[COMMENT: The spokespeople for Kerry are softening the wording, it was actually ***near*** Cambodia. We’ve been through what the meaning of “is” . . . is.
Now we have to wade through what the meaning of ***”in”*** . . .is.]


SWIFT SILENCE

.
At a time when Kerry folk are trying to silence the Swift Boats, the PC GESTOPO have struck AMTRAK:

Train Conductor Suspended for Kerry Quip


Wed Aug 11, 5:50 PM ET


(…)Farr told The Associated Press that he used the train's public address system to tell passengers they would be delayed because of Kerry's train and then quipped that they should vote accordingly in November.(…)

(…)Conductor Leslie Farr, who is also a Republican congressional candidate, was on a Kansas City-to-St. Louis train that was delayed to allow Kerry's campaign train to leave St. Louis and head to a Jefferson City rally.


Farr was suspended.

THANKS TO: INSTAPUNDIT

Wednesday, August 11, 2004


SWIFTEES SETTING STRAIGHT

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Letter to TV Station Managers Regarding Captain Elliott
Friday, August 06 2004 @ 03:32 PM PDT
CLEMENTS, O'NEILL, PIERCE, WILSON & FULKERSONA Registered Limited Liability PartnershipATTORNEYS AT LAWWELLS FARGO PLAZA1000 LOUISIANA STREET, SUITE 1800HOUSTON, TEXAS 77002-5009
______________________
(713) 654-7600
Facsimile (713) 654-7690
www.copwf.com
JOHN E. O'NEILLPartner(713) 654-7604oneilljohn@copwf.com
August 6, 2004

Re: Swift Boat Veterans For Truth

Dear Station Manager:

The Kerry Campaign has continued its effort to prevent our voice from being heard. You were presented with an article from Kerry's hometown newspaper, The Boston Globe, written by Michael Kranish, Kerry's biographer, claiming that Captain Elliott had withdrawn his affidavit and disavowed the ad. This is totally false.

Enclosed is Captain Elliott's affidavit executed this morning after the false Globe story.
Captain Elliott affirms his original affidavit; affirms his ad statement; and adds additional detail. In the ad, Captain Elliott says that Kerry was not honest about his service in Vietnam. This is indisputably true.

The use of a surprise false article to strike pending ads represents a new low in ambush journalism.

Very truly yours,
John E. O'Neill
JEO/cas
Enclosure



O’Neill’s Letter


Elliott’s Affidavit

[Everything compacted. For exact copy, click on O'Neill's Letter]

Thanks to: Captain's Quarters



THE BOAT BOYS

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STEVEN GARDNER


QUOTE #1: "My name is Steve Gardner. I served in 1966 and 1967 on my first tour of duty in Vietnam on Swift boats, and I did my second tour in '68 and '69, involved with John Kerry in the last 2 1/2 months of my tour. The John Kerry that I know is not the John Kerry that everybody else is portraying. I served alongside him and behind him, five feet away from him in a gun tub, and watched as he made indecisive moves with our boat, put our boats in jeopardy, put our crews in jeopardy... if a man like that can't handle that 6-man crew boat, how can you expect him to be our Commander-in-Chief?"
-- Steven Gardner (Swift Boat Site)

QUOTE #2: "It was physically, totally, categorically, across-the-board impossible to get into the canal that went to Cambodia with a swift boat," says Gardner. "There were concrete pilings that were put in the water...plus, the Navy kept patrol boats there to make sure nobody went in. When I was on the 44 boat, it was a physical impossibility to take a swift boat into Cambodian waters." Byron York on Cambodia




#94

JANUARY , 1969 - (48 days) MARCH , 1969

JOHN KERRY

EUGENE THORSON

DAVID ALSTON

DELBERT SANDUSKY

MICHAEL MEDERIOROS

TOM BELODEAU d.1997 (TOTAL 6)

FREDERIC SHORT (replacement)

CHARLES GIBSON (1 wk indoctrination)



Tuesday, August 10, 2004

WAKE UP CALL

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By Brian C. Mooney, Globe Staff, 6/19/2003

Kerry's stay in the lieutenant governor's office would be brief.
On Jan. 12, 1984, a year into his four-year term, Kerry was in Germany's Black Forest on an acid rain fact-finding trip when he received stunning news of an announcement that would be made later that day back in Boston -- illness was forcing Paul E. Tsongas to give up his seat in the US Senate.

"I was woken up at 3 in the morning and told Paul Tsongas was not running," Kerry remembers.

An incredible opportunity was at hand. "But it was tricky," said Kerry.
As a candidate, he had said he was not seeking the lieutenant governor's job as a political stepping-stone. "I was concerned that it would be viewed as not having learned the lessons [of 1972] and that it was premature," he said.

"One year into the lieutenant governor's office, to stand up and say `Hey, I think I should be senator,' " Kerry said. "You know, it was ballsy.

"But it was the right place for me in terms of the things that were my passions," he recalled. "The issue of war and peace was on the table again."

Two weeks later, Kerry jumped into the race.

ASKED TO LEAVE!

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MCCULLOUGH: "Vietnam Kerry" was asked to leave
Monday, August 09, 2004

Wright interview

(…)Naval Officer Thomas Wright served our nation for 21 years. He also served as one of Kerry's superiors in the tough assignment of Swift Boat patrols on the southern tip of Vietnam. Lt. Wright frequently experienced trouble with Kerry.

According to Wright, Kerry frequently broke the protocol of engagement according to the swift boat commanders.

"When you're in a group [of boats on patrol], you don't open fire unless the person in charge tells you to or unless you are defending yourself from an immediate attack," said Wright. "I'd have problems because we'd be running on a river and Kerry would see something off in the distance, and he'd take a pot-shot at it, to see what happened. And that wasn't the way we were trying to run the patrols.

"We were trying to get in and find out what was going on and hopefully make contact and begin to work with some of the people that lived there," said Wright. "And you don't get to go shake their hands when you're shooting at them."

I asked Wright how Kerry would respond to the necessary correction that would follow such unilateral actions.

"Well during the mission - you just continue to issue the orders that you expect people to follow," said Wright, "and if they don't do them, you would continue to press until you got the results that you need.

"After a mission, is generally when you work out the more difficult problems. And those are done in private.

"I'd go talk to John Kerry and I'd tell him that I was unhappy with his opening fire, or pulling out of a column when he wasn't supposed to, or failing to communicate when he needed to," Wright continued. "And I'd always get an excuse. I wouldn't get a direct answer. I'd get 'I didn't hear that', or 'we thought we saw something' or 'my radio was on the other side of the boat' or 'I didn't have time.' It was always an excuse. After three of four times... I went to the division commander, told him about the problems I have been having and told him [the commander] that he needed to take steps to correct it."

That brought me to the shocker of the interview. To hear John Kerry speak about his time in Vietnam is to hear a self-personified story of heroics. Lt Wright remembers what happened after Kerry's third purple heart quite differently.

"When he got his third purple heart, that evening, and we didn't particularly care what it was for, we knew that he had three. That evening, I and two other people went in and told him that we felt that he should go home. It was something that he could do... He told us that he didn't want that, that it was his intention to serve his country, and the next morning he was gone. And we were happy and didn't worry about it."(…)


Monday, August 09, 2004

more SWIFT BOAT

.
AT INSTAPUNDIT:

posted at 09:29 AM by Glenn Reynolds

Links to more information on the Swift Boat Controversy:

2003 Boston Globe story
Ed Morrisey notes the inconsistencies
Who journalists should be interviewing
Questions that aren’t being asked or answered
More thoughts
N.Z. Bear’s thoughts

SWIFT BOAT FIRES BACK

.

Thanks to captainsquarterblog.com for this big find


Dear Station Manager:

The purpose of this letter is to present some of the factual support for the advertisement "Any Questions?" produced and used by Swift Boat Veterans For Truth ("Swiftvets"), an organization properly registered under Internal Revenue Code § 527, and which has filed all required reports. Swiftvets is an organization led by Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann, USN (retired), Commander of all Swift boats in Vietnam during the period of John Kerry's four-month abbreviated tour in Swift boats between late November 1968 and mid-March 1969. A list of the 254 members may be found on www.swiftvets.com. A large majority of those who served with John Kerry in Swift boats in Vietnam and whose location is known have joined the organization. Thus, for example, sixteen of the twenty-three surviving officers who served in Coastal Division 11 with Kerry (the place where Kerry spent most of his time) have joined the organization, together with most of Kerry's Vietnam commanders and 254 sailors from Coastal Squadron One, ranging from Vice-Admirals to Seamen.

The purpose of Swiftvets is to present the truth about John Kerry's post-Vietnam charges of war crimes and John Kerry's own Vietnam record. Swiftvets is uniquely positioned to do so since it includes most of the locatable sailors and officers who served with John Kerry in Vietnam.

John Kerry has made his Vietnam record the central focus of his presidential candidacy, depicting purported Vietnam events in nearly $100 million in advertising. Copies of ads such as "Lifetime" and "No Man Left Behind" may be found on Kerry's website. Kerry's authorized campaign biography, Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War, by Douglas Brinkley (New York: HarperCollins, 2004) ("Tour"), centers on his short Vietnam tour and contains Kerry's account of these events. Additional accounts by Kerry of his Vietnam experience may be found on his website.

The Advertisement

A true and correct transcript of the advertisement entitled "Any Questions?" is attached as Exhibit 1. Affidavits are attached (as Exhibits 2 through 14) from each participant in the advertisement, except from John Edwards, the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee, whose often-repeated invitation to learn about John Kerry by speaking to the men who served with him begins the advertisement. The filmed comment of Senator Edwards has been made so many times as to be general knowledge.

As described in the attached affidavits, Al French (Exhibit 2), Bob Elder (Exhibit 3), Jack Chenoweth (Exhibit 7), Larry Thurlow (Exhibit 10), and Bob Hildreth (Exhibit 14) were all officers in charge of Swift boats in Vietnam in Coastal Division 11 with John Kerry. Coastal Division 11 was a small naval unit with about one hundred sailors and fifteen or sixteen boats which operated in groups of two to six boats. Each of these boat officers operated directly with John Kerry on numerous occasions. Van Odell (Exhibit 6) is a retired Navy enlisted man who also served in Coastal Division 11 on the Chenoweth boat, a few yards from John Kerry during Kerry's March 13, 1969 Bronze Star action.

Captain George Elliott, USN (retired), (Exhibit 4) was John Kerry's direct commander in Coastal Division 11, while Captain Adrian Lonsdale, USCG (retired), (Exhibit 9) was Kerry's administrative commander. Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann, USN (retired), (Exhibit 8) commanded all Swift boats (including Kerry's) in Vietnam. Each of these commanders interacted on numerous occasions with Kerry and, for example, are discussed for many pages in Kerry's own authorized book, Tour.

Dr. Louis Letson (Exhibit 5) was the doctor in Cam Rahn Bay who treated Kerry's first Purple Heart "wound," while Commander Grant Hibbard (Exhibit 11) was John Kerry's commander at Coastal Division 14 where Kerry claimed to have suffered the wound. Finally, Joe Ponder (Exhibit 13) and Shelton White (Exhibit 12) are veterans of Coastal Division 11 who were badly wounded near the Song Bo De River where Kerry served most of his short tour.

The Kerry campaign has utilized a revolving group of eight veterans from Coastal Division 11 (none of whom served with Kerry as much as two months). In stark contrast to this small stable of supporters, the veterans on "Any Questions?" have intimate knowledge of John Kerry or (in the case of Ponder and White) of the falsehood and injury of his false war crimes charges. Although many more of the over 250 signers of the Swiftvets' letter served directly with John Kerry, it would be hard to locate people with more detailed and first-hand knowledge of John Kerry's short Vietnam stay than those in the advertisement. They are well-suited to respond with first-hand knowledge to Edward's invitation. Their sworn affidavits are attached (in order of appearance in the advertisement) as Exhibits 2 through 14.

Kerry's obtaining of three Purple Hearts permitted him to leave Vietnam some 243 days short of the normal one-year tour. See Exhibit 20, Thrice Wounded Reassignment. Whether or not he fraudulently obtained these awards (the Purple Heart being among the most sacred of all awards) is critical to his true Vietnam story.

A. March 13, 1969: "No Man Left Behind" Incident

Attached as Exhibit 15 is Kerry's account of "no man left behind" where, in Tour of Duty, Kerry repeats his now-familiar story of returning, wounded by an underwater mine, to recover a Special Forces soldier, Jim Rassman, in a hail of fire pulling Rassman from the water with his bleeding arm. Tour, at 313-17. The story of Kerry's return to save Rassman, under fire and wounded from the mine, has been told in many millions of dollars of Kerry advertising. See Kerry website; see also, e.g., Kerry's full-page advertisement in The New York Times, which is attached as Exhibit 16.

Kerry's after-action report for that day is featured on his website. See Exhibit 17. KJW identifies the report as Kerry's. Likewise, Kerry reported his shrapnel wounds to the Navy in an injury report:

"LTJG Kerry suffered shrapnel wounds in his left buttocks and contusions on his right forearm when a mine detonated close aboard PCF-94."

Exhibit 18. Exhibit 17 likewise identifies Kerry's "injuries" as contusion right forearm (minor) (i.e., a small bruise) and a shrapnel wound left buttocks.

The regulations for the Purple Heart are attached as Exhibit 19 and, of course, exclude accidental injury and self-inflicted wounds (except non-negligent wounds in the heat of battle). Although Kerry's "minor" bruise could never entitle him to a Purple Heart, Kerry's reported shrapnel wound to his "buttocks" (although minor according to the treating physician) from an enemy mine would have entitled him to such an award (had he not been lying about its origin). Receiving the third Purple Heart, within three days Kerry had requested reassignment from Vietnam on the basis of three Purple Hearts -- some 243 days early. See Exhibit 20.

(i)The Purple Heart Lie

Kerry's third Purple Heart was his ticket home. It also was much of the basis of his Bronze Star, repeating "his bleeding arm" and shrapnel wound from the mine story. The problem is that his operating report was a total lie since Kerry's shrapnel wound "in the buttocks" came not from a mine at all as he falsely reported, but at his own hand. Larry Thurlow, an officer on shore with Kerry that day, recounts that Kerry's shrapnel wound came not from any mine, but from a self-inflicted wound when Kerry (with no enemy to be seen) threw a concussion grenade into a rice pile and stayed too close. See Exhibit 10, ¶3. This "brown rice" incident with rice/shrapnel lodged in Kerry from his own grenade is also recounted by James Rassman, a Kerry supporter and "the no man left behind" on page 105 of John F. Kerry: The Complete Biography By The Boston Globe Reporters Who Know Him Best, by Michael Kranish, Brian C. Mooney, and Nina J. Easton (New York: Public Affairs, 2004) (the "Kranish book"). See Exhibit 21.

Most surprisingly, John Kerry himself (while falsely reporting to the Navy and public that he suffered a shrapnel wound from a mine explosion so as to get a third Purple Heart and go home) reflected in his own journal that his buttocks' wound came, not from any mine but, rather, from a grenade tossed into a rice cache by himself or friendly troops (in the absence of any enemy fire). "I got a piece of small grenade in my ass from one of the rice bin explosions." Exhibit 15, Tour, at 313; see also Exhibit 15, Tour, at 317. "Kerry . . . also had the bits of shrapnel and rice extracted from his backside." See also the sworn statement of participants that there was no hostile fire (Exhibits 6, 7, and 10). It also should be noted that the rice extracted from Kerry's backside could hardly be the result of an underwater mine, as Kerry claimed in his operating report.

The conclusion is inescapable: that Kerry lied by reporting to the Navy that he had been wounded by shrapnel in his backside from an enemy mine when in reality he negligently wounded himself and then lied about the wound in order to secure a third Purple Heart and a quick trip home.

(ii) The Bronze Star Lie

As recounted in the attached affidavits of three on-scene participants (and verified by many others present) Kerry's operating report, Bronze Star story, and subsequent "no man left behind" story are a total hoax on the Navy and the nation. As recounted in the affidavits of Van Odell (Exhibit 6), Jack Chenoweth (Exhibit 7), and Larry Thurlow (Exhibit 10) (and verified by every other officer present and many others), a mine went off under PCF 3 -- some yards from Kerry's boat. The force of the explosion disabled PCF 3 and knocked several sailors, dazed, into the water. All boats, except one, closed to rescue the sailors and defend the disabled boat. That boat -- Kerry's boat -- fled the scene. After a short period, it was evident to all on the scene that there was no additional hostile fire. Thurlow began the daring rescue of disabled PCF 3, while Chenoweth began to pluck dazed survivors of PCF 3 from the water. Midway through the process, after it was apparent that there was no hostile fire, Kerry finally returned, picking up Rassman who was only a few yards from Chenoweth's boat which was also going to pick Rassman up. Each of the affiants (and many other Swiftees on the scene that day) are certain that Kerry has wholly lied about the incident. Consider this: How could the disabled PCF abandon the scene of the mine? Why did Kerry have to "return" to the scene?

Kerry's account of this action, which was used to secure the Bronze Star and a third Purple Heart, is an extraordinary example of fraud. Kerry describes "boats rcd heavy A/W and S/A from both banks. Fire continued for about 5000 meters." Exhibit 17. In other words, the boats went through a double gauntlet at about 50 yards distance that was 3.2 miles long (comparable to Seminary Ridge at Gettysburg on two sides), and yet none of the other boats within feet of Kerry's boat heard a shot or suffered an injury after the PCF 3 mine explosion, except for John Kerry's buttocks rice wound of earlier origin.

Clearly, Van Odell is right when he says, "John Kerry lied to get his Bronze Star . . . I know. I was there. I saw what happened." As Jack Chenoweth swore, "his account of what happened and what actually happened are the difference between night and day." Most poignantly, Larry Thurlow, whose brave actions saved the PCF 3 boat that day after Kerry fled, has the right to say, "When the chips were down, you could not count on John Kerry."

B. December 2, 1968 Purple Heart

On February 28, 1969, John Kerry received his first Purple Heart for an incident three months earlier, on or about December 2, 1968. Kerry's account of the incident is contained in Tour of Duty, pages 147 and 148 (Exhibit 23). Kerry claims to have been with two crewmen, Zaldonis and Runyon. See Exhibit 23. Neither Kerry, Zaldonis, nor Runyon claim to have seen any hostile fire. See Exhibit 24 (Kranish book, pp. 72-73). A Purple Heart cannot be given for a self-inflicted wound under the attached regulations.

Unmentioned in Kerry's Tour Of Duty version are the actual surrounding facts. Kerry, Lieutenant William Schachte, USN, and an enlisted man were on the whaler. Seeing movement from an unknown source, the sailors opened fire on the movement. There was no hostile fire. When Kerry's rifle jammed, he picked up an M-79 grenade launcher and fired a grenade at a nearby object. This sprayed the boat with shrapnel from Kerry's own grenade, a tiny piece of which embedded in Kerry's arm.

Kerry managed to keep the tiny fragment embedded until he saw Dr. Louis Letson. Dr. Letson's affidavit is attached as Exhibit 5. When Letson inquired why Kerry was there, Kerry said that he had been wounded by hostile fire. The accompanying crewmen indicated that Kerry was the new "JFK" and that he had actually wounded himself with an M-79. Letson removed the tiny fragment with tweezers and placed a band aid over the tiny scratch. The tiny fragment removed by Letson appeared to be an M-79 fragment, as described by the personnel accompanying Kerry.

The next morning Kerry showed up at Division Commander Grant Hibbard's office. Hibbard had already spoken to Schachte and conducted an investigation. Hibbard's affidavit is attached as Exhibit 11. Hibbard's investigation revealed that Kerry's "rose thorn" scratch had been self-inflicted in the absence of hostile fire. Hibbard, therefore, booted Kerry out of his office and denied the Purple Heart.

Some three months later, cf. Exhibit 22, after all personnel actually familiar with the events of December 2, 1969 had left Vietnam, Kerry somehow managed to obtain a Purple Heart for the December 2, 1968 event from an officer with no connection to Coastal Division 14 or knowledge of the December 2, 1968 event or of Commander Hibbard's prior turn down of the Purple Heart request. All normal documentation supporting a Purple Heart is missing. There is absolutely no casualty report (i.e., spot report) or hostile fire report or after-action report in the Navy's files to support this "Purple Heart" because there was no casualty, hostile fire, or action on which to report. The sole document relied upon by Kerry is a record showing the band aid and tweezers treatment by Dr. Letson recorded by deceased corpsman, Jess Carreon.

There are no witnesses who claim to have seen hostile fire -- necessary for a Purple Heart (even a rose thorn Purple Heart) -- that day. At least three witnesses, Dr. Letson (who spoke to the participants and removed the M-79 fragment), Lt. Bill Schachte (on the boat), and Cmdr. Grant Hibbard (whose investigation revealed Kerry's application for a Purple Heart to be fraudulent), are able to testify directly or based upon contemporaneous investigation that Kerry's first Purple Heart was a fraud. Thus, Lewis Letson's statement that "I know John Kerry is lying about a first Purple Heart" is conclusively established by the evidence. Like the third Purple Heart, Kerry's first Purple Heart was essential to his quick trip home.

C. Christmas In Cambodia

If there is a consistent[1] repeated story by John Kerry about his Vietnam experience, it is his story about how he and his boat spent Christmas Eve and Christmas of 1968 illegally present in Cambodia and, listening to President Nixon's contrary assurances, developed "a deep mistrust of U.S. government pronouncements." See Exhibit 24, Kranish book, p. 84. The point of his story was that his government and his commanders were lying about Kerry's presence in Cambodia on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. During a critical debate on the floor of the United States Senate on March 27, 1986, Senator John Kerry said:

Mr. President, I remember Christmas of 1968 sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia. I remember what it was like to be shot at by Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and have the President of the United States telling the American people that I was not there; the troops were not in Cambodia.

I have that memory which is seared -- seared -- in me . . . .


Exhibit 25, Congressional Record - Senate of March 27, 1986, page 3594.

By way of further example, Kerry wrote an article for the Boston Herald on October 14, 1979:

"I remember spending Christmas Eve of 1968 five miles across the Cambodian border being shot at by our South Vietnamese allies who were drunk and celebrating Christmas. The absurdity of almost killed by our own allies in a country in which President Nixon claimed there were no American troops was very real."


See Exhibit 26.

The Christmas in Cambodia story of John Kerry was repeated as recently as July 7, 2004 by Michael Kranish, a principal biographer of Kerry from The Boston Globe. On the Hannity & Colmes television show, Kranish indicated that Kerry's Christmas in Cambodia was a critical turning point in Kerry's life.

The story is a total preposterous fabrication by Kerry. Exhibit 8 is an affidavit by the Commander of the Swift boats in Vietnam, Admiral Roy Hoffmann, stating that Kerry's claim to be in Cambodia for Christmas Eve and Christmas of 1968 is a total lie. If necessary, similar affidavits are available from the entire chain of command. In reality, Kerry was at Sa Dec -- easily locatable on any map more than fifty miles from Cambodia. Kerry himself inadvertently admits that he was in Sa Dec for Christmas Eve and Christmas and not in Cambodia, as he had stated for so many years on the Senate Floor, in the newspapers, and elsewhere. Exhibit 27, Tour, pp. 213-219. Sa Dec is hardly "close" to the Cambodian border. In reality, far from being ordered secretly to Cambodia, Kerry spent a pleasant night at Sa Dec with "visions of sugar plums" dancing in his head. Exhibit 27, p. 219. At Sa Dec where the Swift boat patrol area ended, there were many miles of other boats (PBR's) leading to the Cambodian border. There were also gunboats on the border to prevent any crossing. If Kerry tried to get through, he would have been arrested. Obviously, Kerry has hardly been honest about his service in Vietnam.

D. War Crimes

Returning to the United States, Kerry made speeches charging that U.S. forces in Vietnam were "like the army of Genghis Khan," that "crimes were committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of all levels of command," and that our officers in Coastal Division were like Lieutenant Calley. Kerry met on least two occasions with the North Vietnamese in Paris and is, in fact, honored as a hero in the war museum in Ho Chi Minh City. See pictures on WinterSoldier.com and SwiftVets.com. Joe Ponder is a widely quoted disabled vet from Coastal Division 11 who saw no war crimes but knows that Kerry dishonored our unit. Exhibit 13. Shelton White, a badly wounded Coastal Division 11 veteran, likewise saw no war crimes and remembers Kerry's betrayal. Exhibit 12.

Conclusion
As set forth at length, there is not only a reasonable factual basis for the statements in the ad; they are virtually conclusively established by the documentation.Thank you for your kind consideration. Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions.

Very truly yours,
Original signed by John E. O'Neill


SWIFT BOAT AD WORDS

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(via Salon.com)



Any Questions?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John Edwards: "If you have any question about what John Kerry is made of, just spend 3 minutes with the men who served with him."

Al French: "I served with John Kerry."

Bob Elder: "I served with John Kerry."

George Elliott: "John Kerry has not been honest about what happened in Vietnam."

Al French: "He is lying about his record."

Louis Letson: "I know John Kerry is lying about his first Purple Heart because I treated him for that injury."

Van O'Dell: "John Kerry lied to get his bronze star ... I know, I was there, I saw what happened."

Jack Chenoweth: "His account of what happened and what actually happened are the difference between night and day."

Admiral Hoffman: "John Kerry has not been honest."

Adrian Lonsdale: "And he lacks the capacity to lead."

Larry Thurlow: "When the chips were down, you could not count on John Kerry."

Bob Elder: "John Kerry is no war hero."

Grant Hibbard: "He betrayed all his shipmates ... he lied before the Senate."

Shelton White: "John Kerry betrayed the men and women he served with in Vietnam."

Joe Ponder: "He dishonored his country ... he most certainly did."

Bob Hildreth: "I served with John Kerry ...

Bob Hildreth (off-camera): John Kerry cannot be trusted."

Announcer: "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is responsible for the content of this advertisement."

[COMMENT: No one claimed to be in the boat with Kerry.]

A KERRY CHRISTMAS

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December, 1968:

Drudge mentions Kerry on the Senate floor in 1986 and quotes from O'Neill's book (which apparently contains Kerry's words):

"I remember Christmas of 1968 sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia. I remember what it was like to be shot at by the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and have the president of the United States telling the American people that I was not there; the troops were not in Cambodia. I have that memory which is seared--seared--in me."


freep quotes the Boston Herald coverage:

"I remember spending Christmas Eve of 1968 five miles across the Cambodian border being shot at by our South Vietnamese allies who were drunk and celebrating Christmas. The absurdity of almost being killed by our own allies in a country in which President Nixon claimed there were no American troops was very real."


O'Neill's book refutes this with:

Nixon wasn't in office.

Kerry ". . .was more than fifty miles away from Cambodia. Kerry was never ordered into Cambodia by anyone and would have been court-martialed had he gone there."



Free Republic says:
The authors say the Cambodia incursion story is not included in Douglas Brinkley's "Tour of Duty." Instead, Kerry told of a mortar attack on Christmas Eve 1968 "near the Cambodia border" in Sa Dec.


World Net Daily says:

"On the floor of the U.S. Senate, March 27, 1986, for example, Kerry attacked President Reagan's actions in Central America, charging they were leading the United States into another Vietnam. He claimed he could recognize the adminstration's errors because he had firsthand knowledge that the Nixon administration lied about American incursions into Cambodia."


And so, the arguments continue.

[Note: Nixon was elected in 1968, sworn 1969. Did President-Elect Nixon make a speech? If so, did he mention Cambodia?]

[ADDITIONAL, 8/26/04]

Diary refutes Kerry claim

By Stephen Dinan and Charles Hurt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published August 25, 2004

(…)A journal entry Mr. Kerry wrote Dec. 11, however, raises questions about what really happened nine days earlier.

"A cocky feeling of invincibility accompanied us up the Long Tau shipping channel because we hadn't been shot at yet, and Americans at war who haven't been shot at are allowed to be cocky," wrote Mr. Kerry, according the book "Tour of Duty" by friendly biographer Douglas Brinkley.

(…)A Kerry campaign official, speaking on background, told The Washington Times yesterday that the "we" in the passage from Mr. Kerry's journal refers to "the crew on Kerry's first swift boat, operating as a crew" rather than Mr. Kerry himself.

"John Kerry didn't yet have his own boat or crew on December 2," according to the aide. "Other members of the crew had been in Vietnam for some time and had been shot at and Kerry knew that at the time. However, the crew had not yet been fired on while they served together on PCF 44 under Lieutenant Kerry."

[NOW TITLED: CHRISTMAS IN CAMBODIA, and taken forward]




Sunday, August 08, 2004

UPDATED SWIFT BOAT

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.
See SWIFT BOATS (right side link) or Silhouettes w/names

REVISED and UPDATED:

In the depiction of the original photo, names were placed on corresponding silhouettes with their individual (apparent) positions regarding support for Kerry.



no = no support Yes = support N/A = not applicable, not interested



William Houle no



Michael Bernique N/A

Michael Bernique, who served with Kerry as a swift-boat skipper, reportedly said, "I think there was a point in time when John was making it up fast and quick. I think he was saying whatever he needed to say."
Boston Globe



Robert Hildreth no (was in Ad)

Bob Hildreth: "I served with John Kerry ... (Ad)

Bob Hildreth (off-camera): John Kerry cannot be trusted." (Ad)




George Elliott, one of Kerry's Commanding Officers.** yes no N/A ?? (was in Ad)


[**George Elliott had supported Kerry; also appeared in the Ad; apparently told media it was a mistake, didn’t have first-hand knowledge. Unclear position.]

QUOTE #1: "I served with these guys. I went on missions with them, and these men served honorably. Up and down the chain of command there was no acquiescence to atrocities. It was not condoned, it did not happen, and it was not reported to me verbally or in writing by any of these men including Lt.(jg) Kerry.


In 1971, '72, for almost 18 months, he stood before the television audiences and claimed that the 500,000 men and women in Vietnam, and in combat, were all villains -- there were no heroes. In 2004, one hero from the Vietnam War has appeared, running for President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief. It just galls one to think about it."
-- Captain George Elliott, USN (retired) [Swift Boat Site]



QUOTE #2: The crewman with the best view of the action was Frederic Short, the man in the tub operating the twin guns.


When Kerry returned to his base, his commanding officer, George Elliott, raised an issue with Kerry: the fine line between whether the action merited a medal or a court-martial.


I said, `John, I don't know whether you should be court-martialed or given a medal, court-martialed for leaving your ship, your post,"' Elliott recalled in an interview.


[ELLIOT WROTE UP RECOMMENDATION FOR SILVER STAR.]


Elliott stressed that he never questioned Kerry's decision to kill the Viet Cong, and he appeared in Boston at Kerry's side during the 1996 Senate race to back up that aspect of Kerry's action.


Boston Globe



QUOTE #3: George Elliott: “John Kerry has not been honest about what happened in Vietnam.” (Ad)

QUOTE #4: Elliott is quoted as saying that Kerry ''lied about what occurred in Vietnam . . . for example, in connection with his Silver Star, I was never informed that he had simply shot a wounded, fleeing Viet Cong in the back."

QUOTE #5: ''I still don't think he shot the guy in the back," Elliott said. ''It was a terrible mistake probably for me to sign the affidavit with those words. I'm the one in trouble here."

QUOTE #6: Elliott then described how Kerry ''managed to pull Lt. Rassman aboard despite the painful wound in his right arm." Elliott concluded that Kerry had been ''calm, professional, and highly courageous in the face of enemy fire."

QUOTE #7: Elliott said he was no under personal or political pressure to sign the statement, but he did feel ''time pressure" from those involved in the book. ''That's no excuse," Elliott said. ''I knew it was wrong . . . In a hurry I signed it and faxed it back. That was a mistake."

QUOTE #8: But he said: ''I simply have no reason for these guys to be lying, and if they are lying in concert, it is one hell of a conspiracy. So, on the basis of all of the information that has come out, I have chosen to believe the other men. I absolutely do not know first hand."

boston.com








Al French no (was in Ad)

Al French: "I served with John Kerry." (Ad)

Al French: "He is lying about his record." (Ad)






Robert Elder no (was in Ad)


I signed that letter because I, too felt a deep sense of betrayal that someone who took the same oath of loyalty as I did as an officer in the United States Navy would abandon his group here (points to group photo) to join this group here (points to VVAW protest photo), and come home and attempt to rally the American public against the effort that this group was so valiantly pursuing.


It is a fact that in the entire Vietnam War we did not lose one major battle. We lost the war at home... and at home, John Kerry was the Field General."
-- Robert Elder [Swift Boat Site]

Bob Elder: "I served with John Kerry." (Ad)

Bob Elder: "John Kerry is no war hero." (Ad)




Larry Thurlow no (was in Ad)

Larry Thurlow: "When the chips were down, you could not count on John Kerry." (Ad)




Robert Crosby “deceased” ---------------------------



Rich MaCann N/A



JOHN KERRY

JK: (p179) “I am not here as John Kerry. I am here as one member of the group of 1,000, which is a small representation of a very much larger group of veterans in this country, and were it possible for all of them to sit at this table they would be here and have the same kind of testimony.”

Transcript April, 1971 (Fulbright, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations)




Thomas Heritage no



George Bates no



James Galvin no



Terrance Costello no



William Imbrie N/A



Skip Barker -----yes Campaign supporter



Rich Baker N/A



William Shumadine no


"I was in An Thoi from June of '68 to June of '69, covering the whole period that John Kerry was there. I operated in every river, in every canal, and every off-shore patrol area in the 4th Corps area, from Cambodia all the way around to the Bo De River. I never saw, even heard of all of these so-called atrocities and things that we were supposed to have done.


This is not true. We're not standing for it. We want to set the record straight."
-- William Shumadine [Swift Boat Site]








Ralph Dobson yes



Frank Gilbert “deceased”--------------






[Hopefully, more information can be added to the above]