Looks as though Kerry attempted to find an exemption from Vietnam service. After he applied for Swift Boat duty, their method of use was radically changed. All 3 wounds were superficial. He's a supremely lucky opportunist, but that will run out this Nov:
>>Military service
Medals awarded to Lt. Kerry include the Silver Star,
Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts.
First tour of duty
After an application for a twelve month deferment to study in Paris was denied, Kerry enlisted in the United States Navy on February 18, 1966. He was ordered into active duty on October 19, and received his Navy commission on December 16. After completing a year of training, in December of 1967 he began his first tour of duty, serving as a lieutenant in the electrical department on the guided-missile frigate USS Gridley (DLG-21). In February 1968, the Gridley sailed into war to support aircraft carriers in the Tonkin Gulf, but was far removed from combat. Kerry had no contact with the enemy during that time. According to Kerry's profile in the Boston Globe Kerry recalled: "I didn't have any real feel for what the heck was going on [in the war]," His ship returned to port in Long Beach, California, on June 6, 1968.
Second tour of duty
Initially, according to the Boston Globe profile, Kerry had hoped to keep a relatively safe distance from most of the fighting by obtaining an assignment as commander of a Swift Boat:
"I didn't really want to get involved in the war," Kerry said in a little-noticed contribution to a book of Vietnam reminiscences published in 1986. "When I signed up for the swift boats, they had very little to do with the war. They were engaged in coastal patrolling and that's what I thought I was going to be doing."
But two weeks after he arrived in Vietnam, the swift boat mission changed -- and Kerry went from having one of the safest assignments in the escalating conflict to one of the most dangerous. Under the newly launched Operation SEALORD, swift boats were charged with patrolling the narrow waterways of the Mekong Delta to draw fire and smoke out the enemy. Cruising inlets and coves and canals, swift boats were especially vulnerable targets.
Combat wounds
Kerry's arm was wounded during his first combat experience (on December 2, 1968) and he was awarded a Purple Heart. On February 20, 1969, he earned a second Purple Heart when his left thigh was hit with shrapnel. Eight days later, on February 28, 1969, Kerry's boat, in enemy territory, was hit by a B-40 rocket. After beaching his boat, Kerry chased down and killed a wounded Viet Cong, who had been shot in the leg by a crew-mate and was fleeing with another B-40 rocket. Kerry came back to the boat with the rocket and launcher. He was awarded the Silver Star medal for his actions. On March 13, 1969, Kerry's boat detonated a mine (as his position took heavy fire) and his arm was wounded. For his injury and rescuing U.S. Army Green Beret James Rassmann on the same occasion, Kerry was awarded a third Purple Heart and the Bronze Star with Combat V.
Return from Vietnam
On March 17, 1969, Commodore Charles Horne, an administrative official and commander of the coastal squadron in which Kerry served, filled out a document that said Kerry "has been thrice wounded in action while on duty incountry Vietnam. Reassignment is requested as a personal aide in Boston, New York, or Washington, D.C. area." There has been some debate about whether Kerry asked Horne to write the letter, or if Horne did so on his own. Transfer was subject to approval by the Bureau of Naval Personnel, which granted the request under then-existing naval instructions which said those who are wounded "three times, regardless of the nature of the wound or treatment required ... will not be ordered to serve in Vietnam and contiguous waters or to duty with ships or units which have been alerted for movement to that area."<< |
