Kerry has many vulnerabilities. I hope he isn't the candidate. But all I've heard is questions about how serious those wounds were. They weren't serious, is the answer. Over and over again, it remains the answer. But three wounds and you can request discharge, and I'm sure he was trying not to die as his five best friends had in an assignment with a 75% death rate.
I have no doubt that Bush supporters will say he should have stayed and not gotten the early discharge. I have no doubt that they will find people to testify to anything they want. They got somebody to testify that Bush was with his NG unit, except that they got the dates wrong.
I found a quote in which someone says that none of the wounds took him off duty:
""There were an awful lot of Purple Hearts -- from shrapnel, some of those might have been M-40 grenades," said Elliott, Kerry's commanding officer. "The Purple Hearts were coming down in boxes. Kerry, he had three Purple Hearts. None of them took him off duty. Not to belittle it, that was more the rule than the exception.""
Shrapnel wounds count. When shrapnel is flying, you're not on any bar stool. Would moemac have all those purple hearts returned? Ridiculed?
They won't be able to find a single soul who can claim that Bush served more bravely than Kerry.
I see there is some info regarding the bronze star, too:
]
""The man was receiving sniper fire from both banks," according to Kerry's Bronze Star citation from that day. "Lt. Kerry directed his gunners to provide suppressing fire, while from an exposed position on the bow, his arm bleeding and in pain, with disregard for his personal safety, he pulled the man aboard. Lt. Kerry then directed his boat to return and assist the other damaged craft and towed the boat to safety. Lt. Kerry's calmness, professionalism and great personal courage under fire were in keeping with the highest traditions of the US Naval Service," Zumwalt's citation said. " |
