There were no other witnesses except those in the boat who could comment with honesty about what went on. Both say that Kerry was wounded during a firefight. Here is what Runyon had to say:
"Lt. Kerry said, 'I'm going to pop a flare, and when I do, I want that engine started,' " Runyon said. But the outboard would not crank. Meanwhile, the sampan's crew steered it to the riverbank, and people started running on the shore. Runyon said shooting broke out.
Somehow, Kerry's weapon stopped firing. Runyon thinks he ran out of ammunition. He said Kerry bent down to pick up another gun and got hit in the arm.
"It wasn't a serious wound," Runyon said, and Kerry was able to start shooting again. When the firefight was over, Runyon said Kerry told him all he felt was a "burning sensation."
Runyon said he remembers the incident clearly because it was the first time he had been in combat. "I hadn't seen any kind of action or anything," he said.
He said Kerry, Zaledonis and himself were the only men aboard.
Pretty darn unambiguous. Kerry was wounded in a firefight, stayed calm, and got his men out. He received a minor wound in the fight, and like many other Swifties, got a Purple Heart for it.
Case closed. Except to those who prefer innuendo, whispers, and uncorroborated rumors to the facts of an eye witness.
How could Schachte say for certain that Kerry's wound was self inflicted, or that there was no enemy fire. Was he there? |
