Chicago Tribune now joins in on Swiftvets vs Kerry Frey
Vietnam vets question Kerry's fitness for commander in chief
Dennis Byrne, a Chicago-area writer and public affairs consultant
Published August 9, 2004
Whatever reason John Kerry volunteered to go to war--whether he was whacked out on patriotism or from his cravings for the presidency--the fact that he put his life on the line cannot be denied. Even if he was willing to get killed because he was consumed by an irrational desire to be president, it shouldn't matter. Anyone who gets shot at in the service of our country deserves the nation's gratitude. Period.
So, the increasingly contentious debate over Kerry's Vietnam War record could have ended there.
But Kerry decided otherwise.
The honor guard of his Vietnam buddies at the Democratic National Convention, his repeated and tiresome self-praise about his combat record, the TV ads and the parade of medals--they all put Kerry's war and anti-war records into play. In pushing his war record as a reason for electing him president, Kerry himself has decided to touch a third rail, and is getting the jolt he deserves.
Namely, a blunt TV ad featuring Vietnam veterans who knew him in combat, but whom Kerry did not trot out at the convention. They say he lied about his injuries, the "atrocities" he says he saw, his "valor," his medals and that he bugged out on his shipmates at the first opportunity. Sponsored by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, it tells voters in battleground states that Kerry's war record proves that he is not qualified to be commander in chief.
Kerry cites that record as evidence that he has the courage, strength, trustworthiness, loyalty and military savvy to be commander in chief. The ad and the group's Web site (www.swiftvets.com) directly attacks those assertions, describing Kerry as dishonest, reckless, unreliable, indecisive and prone to jeopardizing his crew.
To be fair, only one of his former crewmembers, Steven Gardner, has gone public against Kerry. Gardner, who did two tours in Vietnam (compared to Kerry's four months), said, "I served alongside 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 the six-man crew boat, how can you expect him to be our commander in chief?"
Kerry's campaign says to ignore these Vietnam vets, because none, but one, actually rode with him in his boats. But anyone who has served in the military knows that fellow swift boat skippers are well qualified to judge him.
Consider: Kerry's campaign repeatedly uses a photo of him and 19 fellow swift boat skippers in campaign ads. But they don't say what these comrades in arms think of Kerry.
A survey by the swift boat veterans group found out that 12, with another four not shown, believe Kerry is unfit to serve as commander in chief. Four others are neutral and two have died. That leaves only one of a jury of Kerry's 23 peers who supports his candidacy, according to the group.
The view of Kerry from some officers up the chain of command above him is no better--they're convinced that he is unqualified. Cmdr. Adrian Lonsdale said, "[Kerry] lacks the capacity to lead." Lt. Cmdr. Louis Letson: "I know John Kerry is lying about his first Purple Heart because I treated him for that injury." Cmdr. Grant Hibbard, his direct superior, was particularly unimpressed when Kerry "informed me of a wound--he showed me a scratch on his arm and a piece of shrapnel in his hand that appeared to be from one of our own [weapons]."
These officers and men have every right to go public with their views. Despite the hissing from the Kerry political apparatus that the group is a bunch of GOP-connected liars, and condemnation of the ad from former POW Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), this is but another side of a story that Kerry himself brought up. They have as much of a right to be heard as voters have the right to hear, so they can judge who is lying. Especially since they believe he lied not just about his record, but theirs.
As the group's Web site says: "For more than 30 years, most Vietnam veterans kept silent as we were maligned as misfits, addicts and baby killers. Now that a key creator of that poisonous image is seeking the presidency, we have resolved to end our silence."
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E-mail: dbyrne1942@earthlink.net
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