Bill Rood Speaks Out on Sen. Kerry's Behalf (Editorial)
The Bandit
Joined: 15 Aug 2004
Posts: 67
Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 12:45 am Post subject: Bill Rood Speaks Out on Sen. Kerry's Behalf (Editorial)
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Former swift boat officer, William Rood, has broke 35 years of silence about the Feb. 28, 1969 mission that he, as skipper of the PCF-23, had participated alongside Sen. Kerry's swift boat (PCF-94) that had lead to Kerry receiving a Silver Star by killing an enemy soldier while preparing to fire a B-40 rocket at their beached swift boat. <font size=4>The reason Rood, 61, has broken his 35 years of silence is because Kerry had personally contacted him and other crew members in recent days asking that they go public with their accounts of what happened on that day he said. Just how Kerry was able to convince Rood to suddenly go public after 35 years is unknown at this time.
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Rood has called allegations that Kerry's accomplishments were "overblown" untrue.
"The critics have taken pains to say they're not trying to cast doubts on the merit of what others did, but their version of events has splashed doubt on all of us. It's gotten harder and harder for those of us who were there to listen to accounts we know to be untrue, especially when they come from people who were not there," Rood said in a 1,700-word first-person account published in Sunday's Tribune.
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As pointed out above, Sen. Kerry received a Silver Star for running after a fleeing wounded young enemy soldier with a B-40 rocket, who by revised accounts over the years from Sen. Kerry's crew who were there -- was standing and prepared to fire the rocket just before Kerry killed him. Bill Rood did not witness this, nor anyone from Rood's boat had witnessed this event because the PCF-23 had beached and unloaded its troops some distance from Kerry's boat.
Interesting enough, one of Kerry's crewmembers who was there with Kerry on that Feb. 28th day, Del Sandusky, told the Los Angeles Times on August 8, that no one clearly saw Sen. Kerry kill the wounded soldier. This supports early accounts by another witness who had followed Kerry off the boat, Michael Medeiros, who had said no one saw Kerry kill the fleeing VC. A Army advisor who was on Rood's swift boat that day, Doug Reese, was the first man from Rood's boat on the scene, some 10 minutes after the VC soldier was allegedly killed by Kerry. Doug Reese has said he could observed no other wounds on the VC soldier other than the leg wound inflicted by Kerry's forward M-60 gunner.
In his eyewitness account, Rood describes coming under rocket and automatic weapons fire from Viet Cong on the riverbank during two separate ambushes of his boat and Kerry's boat.
Bill Rood goes on to say <font color=blue>"What we did on Feb. 28, 1969, was well in line with the tone set by our top commanders."<font color=black> Perhaps Bill Rood would be kind enough to provide evidence that he and Kerry's standing order's were changed from DO NOT EVER BEACH OR LEAVE YOUR BOAT DURING AN AMBUSH, to <font color=blue>'it's fine to beach in front of an enemy ambush if you think it might be a great idea.'<font color=green>
As Bill Rood is well aware of, ambushes most always occurred from both sides of a river or canal simultaneously. To beach your boat on one side of a canal leaves you open to counter attack from the opposite side, and to make matters worst, your forward gun's are rendered useless for defense. The canal Rood and Kerry were on that Feb. 28th day, the Dong Cung, which was no more wider than a four lane highway. If there had been intense fire as Rood suggests, then both boats would have been heavily damaged with many wounded or killed from taking fire from both sides of the shore as he suggests happened while both his and Kerry's boats were defenseless aground.
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Bill Rood's description of how both swift boats came under intense enemy fire that day is very suspect. There is no tall tale signs that either Rood or Kerry came under heavy, intense enemy fire that day. Both boats were loaded with at least 15 VN troops and yet no injuries from such close range of contact in such a narrow canal. Furthermore, both boat's (Rood's PCF-23 and Kerry's PCF-94) was back on patrol the very next day, which strongly suggests there was never any intense enemy fire or both boats would have suffered multiple holes in the hull that would have required repairs and delay of patrol.
Bill Rood in his attempts to aid Sen. Kerry in the name of speaking up for the other's who was there, ends up tripping all over himself in his awkward attempt to defend the indefensible. Perhaps next time Mr. Rood speaks out he will add something new to the debate that can at least be supported by evidence. |
