It's now obvious that none of this is going to go any further. But the drill down is still interesting. Kerry's "Band Of Brothers" did come "out of the woodwork."
September 21, 2004
If I Were An Aggressive Swiftee
Gary Trudeau has had some fun offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who "personally witnessed" George Bush attending National Guard drills in Alabama.
Well, fun's fun. Here is an idea that will call attention to John Kerry's non-disclosure of his military records, highlight the willingness of the press to accept the Kerry version of Vietnam events without documentation, and possibly shatter the credibility of the "Band of Brothers".
The downside - Admiral Schachte's credibility may be crushed. Although the Admiral (ret.) is not formally a Swiftee, his story is an important part of their attack on the legitimacy of Kerry's first Purple Heart.
The proposition is deceptively simple. Two of the Band of Brothers, Zaledonis and Runyon, claim they were with John Kerry on a three-man night-time mission in a "skimmer" when he won his first Purple Heart. Unfortunately, Admiral Schachte says he was there, too. The skimmer missions themselves were a bit unusual - three "volunteers" who may or may not have served with each other before or since went out on one-time only patrols. Very ad hoc.
So - let the Swiftees offer $5,000 each to Runyon and Zaledonis if they can produce any credible documentary evidence that they were with Kerry that night.
Hmm, you may be thinking - surely their presence on that boat is not in serious doubt? Well, you tell me. But before you tell me, here are a few points to ponder:
When interviewed by Brinkley in January 2003, Kerry did not remember the names of the two sailors with him that night, even though he subsequently served with Zaledonis on PCF-44. (Kerry never served with Runyon before or since).
Similarly, when interviewed by the Boston Globe in April 2003, Kerry did not remember the names of the sailor with him. However, Schachte was descibed as the officer who "oversaw" the mission. Not conclusive, since the skimmer operated in conjunction with a Swift boat. Globe reporter Michael Kranish later re-checked everything, but was inconclusive.
Douglas Brinkley did not name the sailors in his "Tour of Duty", nor did he refer to Kerry's War Notes in recounting the incident. Did Kerry write nothing about his first combat and his first Purple Heart? Or did he write something that Brinkley has decided is not appropriate to reveal just now? A scenario for the deeply paranoid - when he wrote his book, Brinkley was puzzled by this sailor named "Smith" that Kerry mentioned as involved in the incident, but he was never able to track him down. Brinkley let it slide then, and is burying it now. Who knows?
So, when did Zaledonis and Runyon emerge? When Kerry's first Purple Heart was under attack in April 2004, these two popped up to vouch for Kerry, as best I can tell - Kranish of the Globe mentions them on April 14, 2004, but Douglas Brinkley, writing for Salon on April 17, does not (Brinkley should NOT be here.). If there are earlier sightings of either of these guys, I can't find them (hint for help!).
And their proof? Nothing other than their word - Kerry did not recognize Runyon even after he met him. Not to say that their word is not good, of course, but since no mainstream reporter will take the undocumented word of a Swiftee, we are looking for a bit of symmetry here.
There's the challenge, if the Swiftees care to offer it.
HINT: Kerry's military file for his first Purple Heart ought to include some sort of eyewitness statement. Schachte says he did not write an after-acion report, but that does not mean nothing was provided in the Purple Heart application.
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