Kerry citation a 'total mystery' to ex-Navy chief
Former Navy Secretary John Lehman has no idea where a Silver Star citation displayed on Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's campaign Web site came from, he said Friday. The citation appears over Lehman's signature. "It is a total mystery to me. I never saw it. I never signed it. I never approved it. And the additional language it contains was not written by me," he said.
So Secretary Lehman says he had nothing to do with Kerry's 1980's citation for the Silver Star. Yes, I said that correctly, Senator John F. Kerry received a Citation for the Silver Star, during the 1980's.
Here is the story, and the full list of questions Kerry needs to answer about this fraud:
Here is the DD214 document Kerry has posted on his web site, which shows Kerry having been awarded the Silver Star, but also with the very mysterious "Combat V," which is simply never awarded with the Silver Star, because it would be redundant, for "Valor." The medals are listed in the middle of page 2:
johnkerry.com.
Let's cut right to the chase on this, the questions Kerry needs to answer about this:
For an excellent analysis of these altered citations, visit
kerry-04.org
and read the report by Henry Mark Holzer, Professor Emeritus at Brooklyn Law School, and Erika Holzer, a lawyer and co-author, with Professor Holzer, of Fake Warriors: Identifying, Exposing and Punishing Those Who Falsify Their Military Service.
Questions for John Kerry
John Kerry is a lawyer, so he should be familiar with an important and useful discovery tool: written interrogatories. Here are some for him:
Why are there THREE Citations, which is virtually unheard of, for a single Silver Star incident?
The presence of the combat "V" with Kerry's Silver Star on his DD 214 raises two extremely disquieting questions. How did the unauthorized "V" get there, and why has Kerry allowed it to remain?
Citation 1
[written soon after Feb. 28, 1969 incident,
contains phrase "pursued the man behind a hootch and killed him",
signed by E.R. ZUMWALT, Jr., 3 Star Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy, now well known as a Swift Boat Vet for Truth]
Who was asked to prepare the "Personal Award Recommendation," who prepared it, when was it prepared, to whom and when was it submitted, and will candidate Kerry either make the document available or authorize its release?
Who was asked to prepare the citation, who prepared it, when was it prepared, and to whom and when was it submitted? Is the version reproduced above the only version? If not, provide all details of prior versions. Will candidate Kerry either make all versions of Citation 1, and its accompanying orders, available, or authorize their release?
Citation 2
[written after Kerry left Navy, but before December 5, 1970,
revision omits reference to chasing and killing VC,
signed by JOHN J. HYLAND (deceased), 4 Star Admiral, U.S. Navy,
when Kerry was close friends with Senator Ted Kennedy
vietnamwar.com.
]
Was there contact between Kennedy (or members of his staff, or others) with Admiral Hyland (or members of his staff, or others) concerning the citation prior to the latter's issuance of it? If there was, provide details of all such contacts.
Who was asked to prepare the citation, who prepared it, when was it prepared, and to whom and when was it submitted? Is the version reproduced above the only version? If not, provide all details of prior versions. Will candidate Kerry either make all versions of Citation 2, and its accompanying orders, available, or authorize their release?
When Kerry applied for the corrected citation, what error or errors did he claim existed in Citation 1, and what injustice did he cite?
Citation 3
[written February 1981 to April 1987,
nearly identical text to Citation 2,
signed by John Lehman, Secretary of the Navy]
Was there contact between Kerry (or members of his staff, or others) with then-Secretary of the Navy John Lehman (or members of his staff, or others) concerning the citation prior to the latter's issuance of it? If there was, provide details of all such contacts.
Was there contact between Kennedy (or members of his staff, or others) with then-Secretary of the Navy John Lehman (or members of his staff, or others) concerning the citation prior to the latter's issuance of it? If there was, provide details of all such contacts.
Who was asked to prepare the citation, who prepared it, when was it prepared, and to whom and when was it submitted? Is the version reproduced above the only version? If not, provide all details of prior versions. Will candidate Kerry either make all versions of Citation 3, and its accompanying orders, available, or authorize their release?
When Kerry applied for the corrected citation, what error or errors did he claim existed in Citation 3 and what injustice did he cite?
When Kerry applied for the corrected citation, in order to surmount the three-year statute of limitations, what evidence did he produce to prove correction was in the interest of justice?
Did Lehman sign Citation 3 himself, or does the document contain a machine signature?
Miscellaneous
Did any other crewmen on Kerry's boat at the time of the Silver Star incident receive any award(s) for that engagement? If any did, set forth the recipient's name(s), the award(s), the conduct justifying the award(s), who was asked to prepare the "Personal Award Recommendation(s)," who prepared it, when was it prepared, to whom and when was it submitted, and will such recipient(s) either make the document(s) available or authorize its release?
If any other crewmen on Kerry's boat at the time of the Silver Star incident received any award(s) for that engagement, who was asked to prepare the citation(s), who prepared it, when was it prepared, and to whom and when was it submitted? Will such recipient(s) either make the document(s) available or authorize its release?
Will Kerry request Tommy Belodeau, Mike Medeiros, Del Sandusky, Fred Short and Gene Thorson to reveal, regarding their own awards for the Silver Star incident, the conduct justifying the award(s), who was asked to prepare the "Personal Award Recommendation(s)," who prepared it, when was it prepared, to whom and when was it submitted, and ask such recipient(s) either to make the document(s) available or authorize its release?
Will Kerry request Tommy Belodeau, Mike Medeiros, Del Sandusky, Fred Short and Gene Thorson to reveal, regarding their own awards for the Silver Star incident, who was asked to prepare the citation(s), who prepared it, when was it prepared, and to whom and when was it submitted, and ask such recipient(s) either to make the document(s) available or authorize its release? Will Kerry authorize former Navy Secretary John Lehman to disclose fully the facts and circumstances surrounding his participation in the granting of Citation 3?
In obtaining Citations 2 and 3, did Kerry in any manner utilize Department of the Navy procedures for the correction of records? If so, provide all details and copies of all documents submitted. As to the documents, set forth who prepared them, when they were prepared, and when and to whom they were submitted.
Not one of these questions is beyond the ability of John Kerry to answer. But their existence places him on the horns of a dilemma. If he stalls, or obfuscates, or refuses to answer, continuing a pattern he has employed about some of his more important records, the only reasonable conclusion is that he has something to hide. If he does answer, it is difficult to believe, given what is already known, that he will answer fully and truthfully.
Either way, John Kerry may soon learn that three citations for a single Silver Star is two too many. |
