Actually you are a liar. Read this and apologize if you have a shred of moral decency.
By Joseph Boudreau
Oct. 7, 2004
As a commissioned Naval Officer I spent six months as an Investigating Officer. I did investigations for Non-Judicial Punishments, Courts-Martial, and JAG Manual investigations. Later I served on Administrative DISCHARGE Boards, and was assigned to the Courts-Martial Board. Although I was a Surface Warfare line officer, I was able to do these tasks due to training each officer received on military justice. From this perspective I have been studying the Swift Vets For Truth statements and the service of John KERRY. The liberal media stated the Swift Vets For Truth accusations were thoroughly discredited. The veracity of that statement is voided by the actions of KERRY's own campaign.
John KERRY supporters have criticized his accusors for trying to besmirch his service record, saying it is a mean-spirited thing to do. They portray him as a hero being pilloried for partisan reasons. John KERRY set himself up for this scrutiny when he took the stance at the Democratic National Convention of a warrior with his "band of brothers", saying, "As a young man I fought for this country, and I will continue to do so". The more I look into his record the more questionable things I find.
John F. KERRY, the man who would be king, is not the leader looking out for the working class. The F. stands for Forbes. KERRY's mother is a minor heir of the Forbes fortune. John KERRY was born to the manor, and from what research I've done, I don't think he's ever held a blue-collar job in his entire life. His current wife, Theresa Heinz KERRY, has an estimated wealth exceeding $500 million dollars. I find it hard to believe people with that amount of wealth can relate to the common working family.
The political spin is that KERRY, out of patriotism, decided to serve his country in the military. In 1965/1966 KERRY was delivering anti- war speeches while a student at Yale University. Upon graduation, he was about to be drafted. Our patriotic young man went to the draft board and sought permission to study in Paris for a year. Permission was denied, so KERRY enlisted in the Naval Reserve. He attended Officer Candidate School, was commissioned an Ensign, and went on to attend some duty related schools. KERRY was then assigned to the USS Gridley. A first sea tour is usually about 30 months.
After a year on the Gridley KERRY volunteered for duty aboard a Swift boat in Vietnam. Despite later claims of patriotism motivating him, listen to KERRY's words from 1986, recorded in, The Vietnam Experience: A War Remembered, by Stephen Weiss et al. "I didn't really want to get involved in the war.... 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". Why bother volunteering for service with the Brown Water Navy in Vietnam if you didn't want anything to do with the war? KERRY's unspoken motive was his desire to pursue a career in politics. He wanted to follow in John F. Kennedy's footprints, whom he had known personally. KERRY wanted the aura of a combat hero, wanted to showcase medals.
The eligibility requirements for a Purple Heart stipulate, "the wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by a medical officer". Purple Hearts are not to be awarded for "accidents not related to or caused by enemy action" or for "self-inflicted wounds.... involving gross negligence". With that in mind, let's look at KERRY's awards.
On Dec. 1, 1968, John KERRY reported for duty at Coastal Squadron 1 of Coastal Division 14, at Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam. Cam Ranh Bay was a major port used by U.S. shipping. It was considered the safest assignment in Vietnam. KERRY assumed command of PCF-44, a Swift boat operating in the Mekong Delta. [PCF stands for Patrol Craft Fast, the official Swift boat designation].
KERRY's first Purple Heart was awarded for an incident that occurred on Dec. 2, 1968. Notice it is KERRY's 2nd day of duty. KERRY was on a training mission in a Boston whaleboat. The Officer-in-Charge was Lieutenant William Schacte, who would go on to become a Rear Admiral (2- stars). Also in the boat was an enlisted man, whom I assume was the coxswain. During the patrol KERRY fired a grenade launcher at the shore. They were too close to safely use the weapon, and KERRY received a sliver of shrapnel in his arm. After the patrol KERRY went to a doctor. The doctor removed the sliver with a pair of forceps, and applied a bandaid. No stitches were necessary. The doctor's report describes the size and depth of the sliver. I have received similar injuries using pneumatic wire brushes and grinders from flying debris while doing routine ship maintenance as an enlisted man. Not once did I go to sickbay for treatment. You pulled the sliver out and kept on working. KERRY applied for a Purple Heart. Schacte told him forget it. He considered the incident so minor he did not even submit an after-action report. KERRY later bypassed the chain-of-command and resubmitted his citation, resulting in his first Purple Heart. The incident did not meet the stipulated requirements for the award, since it was self- inflicted. KERRY's own journal, cited in his official biography, Tour Of Duty, states in an entry for Dec. 11, 1968, that he and his crew "hadn't been shot at yet". His own journal contradicts his award citation. In 2004, after the Swift Vets For Truth accusations became public, the KERRY campaign announced, it is possible that KERRY's first Purple Heart was awarded for unintentionally self-inflicted wounds.
KERRY was transferred to Coastal Division 11, based at An Thoi on Phu Quoc Island, on Dec. 6, 1968. It was an isolated base near an enemy position, and was a more dangerous assignment. KERRY was opposed to this assignment. Witnesses Tedd Peck and William Francke state that KERRY complained he had not volunteered for this type of risky assignment, and demanded he be transferred back to safer coastal patrol duty. KERRY's superiors decided the best way to deal with KERRY was to get rid of him. A week later, on Dec. 13, 1968, KERRY transferred to Coastal Division 13, in Cat Lo. That area had wider, less dangerous rivers. The unit supported Operation Sealord, which was designed to prevent the enemy from using the area for waterborne supply transfers.
KERRY claimed that on Dec. 24, 1968 his Swift boat was engaged in combat in waters off Cambodia. He said he ordered his crew to open fire, silencing the machine gun barrage aimed at them. On Mar. 27, 1986, KERRY delivered a speech to the Senate accusing President Ronald Reagan of leading the United States into another Vietnam in Central America. He proceeded to state that he was on Navy duty in Cambodia when President Nixon lied to the public and said there were no U.S. forces in that country. His words were: "I remember Christmas of 1968 sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia during Christmas. I remember what it was like to be shot at by Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and have the president of the United States telling the American people that I was not there, the troops were not in Cambodia. I have that memory which is seared -- seared -- in me". That is really a stupid statement to be made by a Senator. First, in Christmas of 1968 Lyndon Johnson was president. Second, the Khmer Rouge did not crop up until the mid-70s. In addition to the stupidity of the statement, it was a lie. According to KERRY's own biography, again taken from his personal journal, he was at Cat Lo during that Christmas, which, if I recall correctly, was 60 miles away from Cambodia. Crew members from KERRY's boat have stated they were never in Cambodia. When the Swift Vets For Truth made their accusations public the KERRY campaign first tried to stop their ads, then tried to discredit them. Then they did their damage control. The memory that was seared -- seared -- in KERRY's mind was changed from being in Cambodia on Christmas eve to being there sometime in January, 1969. Guess it wasn't seared good enough. Naval veterans who served in that area during that time frame state there was no way KERRY could have been in Cambodian waters. There was a large sign warning where the national demarcation line was, and an army landing craft patrolling, whose sole mission was to ensure no craft crossed over into Cambodian waters.
After a few weeks at Cat Lo, KERRY was reassigned back at An Thoi. On Jan. 22, 1969 KERRY, along with other Swift boat commanding officers, was sent to Saigon for a meeting with Vice Admiral Zumwalt (3-stars, Commander of Naval Forces Vietnam) and GENERAL Creighton Abrams (4-stars, Commander Military Assistance Command Vietnam, the top dog). Zumwalt's Pentagon colleague, W. Scott Thompson, stated, "the admiral complained that young KERRY had created great problems for him and the other brass, by killing so many non-combatant civilians and going after other non-military targets. We virtually had to strait jacket him to keep him under control".
KERRY assumed command of PCF-94 on Jan. 30, 1969. His 2nd Purple Heart was awarded for an incident that occurred on Feb. 20, 1969. According to the citation, PCF-94 came under automatic weapons and rocket fire while on patrol. KERRY was hit by shrapnel in the left thigh. Robert "Rocky" Hidreth was the commanding officer of the other Swift boat accompanying KERRY's PCF-94. He states KERRY filed a false after-action report describing enemy fire which did not occur. Van Odell, a sailor on another Swift boat in the division, stated that KERRY's crew told him KERRY faked a Purple Heart with a self-inflicted wound from an M-79 grenade launcher. Again, according to eligibility requirements, KERRY did not merit this 2nd award either.
KERRY was awarded the Silver Star, the 3rd highest decoration this country awards, for an incident that occurred on Feb. 28, 1969. The paper trail on this award is a mess. Several Swift boats were on patrol, with 70 Vietnamese soldiers embarked. The soldiers were dropped off and began a patrol. They began taking sniper fire. PCF-94 and a 2nd boat proceeded further up river to provide covering fire against the snipers. They saw enemy combatants in spider holes on the river edge. They turned the boats towards shore, firing their weapons, and beached the boats. One of KERRY's men shot an enemy soldier who had a B-40 rocket launcher. The man dropped, then got up and began running away. KERRY charged after the man, followed him behind a hooch, and shot the fleeing, wounded man in the back, killing him. For that KERRY put himself in for a Silver Star. The first citation was signed by Vice Admiral E.R. Zumwalt, Commander U.S. Naval Forces Vietnam.
A 2nd citation awarding KERRY the Silver Star for the same action is signed by Admiral John J. Hyland, Commander In Chief Pacific Fleet (4- stars). That citation had to have been written sometime after the first citation came out and before Dec. 5, 1970, when Hyland transferred out of that billet. In the 2nd citation no mention is made of the enemy combatant KERRY killed, although that was the reason given for KERRY's inital awarding of the medal. In the new version, it states an enemy rest and supply area was uncovered and destroyed.
A 3rd citation awarding KERRY the Silver Star for the same action is signed by John Lehman, Secretary of the Navy. Lehman served in that office from Feb. 1981 - Apr. 1987. At that time KERRY was a Senator. On Aug. 27, 2004 John Lehman stated he had no idea where the 3rd citation came from. He denies ever having seen it. The 3rd citation is almost verbatim with the 2nd. None of the three citations is dated.
A Silver Star requires two witnesses. The action for which KERRY was awarded the decoration as cited in the original citation occurred behind a hooch, where there were no witnesses. It does not look good for a politician to shoot a fleeing, wounded man in the back. That action was sanitized from the account. No one else who went ashore with KERRY that day received a Silver Star.
KERRY left Vietnam in early 1969, and was released from active duty on Mar. 1, 1970. Why was there a need for a 2nd citation? At that time it was questionable whether a 3-star could authorize a Silver Star award. If it was just a matter of rank, why the need to rewrite the citation? How did a lowly, relatively unknown Lieutenant get a 4-star admiral to rewrite and sanitize a Silver Star award citation? KERRY had powerful friends, notably Ted Kennedy.
Title 10 United States Code Section 1552 subsection (a) (1) provides that, "the Secretary of a military department may correct any military record of the Secretary's department when the Secretary considers it necessary to correct an error or remove an injustice". Section (b) provides that, "No correction may be made.... unless the claimant.... files a request for the correction within three years after he discovers the error or injustice. However, a board... may excuse a failure to file within three years after discovery if it finds it to be in the interest of justice".
In order for KERRY to get citation number 2 he had to prove there was an "error" in citation 1, and the citation constituted an "injustice". Since citation 3 was almost identical to citation 2, there could be no error or injustice. KERRY and those with him acknowledge he killed the enemy soldier. What was there in citation one that was in error, or an injustice? Only the point that the hero shot a fleeing man in the back.
John KERRY's website posts his DD-214, the Report Of Separation From Active Duty. The report lists he was awarded a Silver Star with Combat V (V for valor). However, the V is never awarded with a Silver Star. Since part of the requirement for a Silver Star is gallantry, a V device for valor would be redundant. Are KERRY's critics splitting hairs? Several years ago Admiral Mike Boorda, the Chief of Naval Operations, was accused by David Hackworth, a decorated Army officer, of wearing ribbons he did not deserve. Seems there was a V on one of Boorda's medals. Boorda, who was an enlisted man serving on a gunline destroyer off the coast, had been awarded the medal along with the rest of the crew. The accusation took Boorda by surprise. As a result of that and other pressures Boorda committed suicide. Some people take medals seriously.
Five Swift boats were patrolling on the Bay Hap river on Mar. 13, 1969. While destroying a sampan with a cache of rice, John KERRY threw a grenade into it. The subsequent explosion peppered his buttocks with shrapnel and rice. In, Tour Of Duty, KERRY's personal diary entry for the incident states, "I got a piece of small grenade in my ass from one of the rice bin explosions". The Swift boats resumed their patrol of the river. Later in the day PCF-3 was lifted 2-3 feet out of the water when a command detonated mine exploded under it. As three other Swift boats began firing up both sides of the river, PCF-94, under KERRY's command, sped away from the scene. Special Forces Lieutenant Jim Rassmann fell off KERRY's boat as it sped away. After it was determined they were not taking enemy fire, the three Swift boats went to the rescue of PCF-3. They tended to wounded sailors and commenced damage control to the stricken vessel. PCF-94 returned to the scene. As another Swift boat went to recover Rassmann, PCF-94 came alongside him and KERRY pulled Rassmann from the river. KERRY later went to the doctor with an injury to his right arm. He had it x-rayed to determine whether it was broken. It was merely bruised.
Paperwork is a pain in the neck, even at the best of times. Returning from patrols, officers would be worn out. Nobody wanted to do after-action reports, so when KERRY volunteered to do them the other officers let him. It wasn't until years later, when Tour Of Duty came out, that they realized he had falisifed reports.
The after-action report for this incident is a prime example. In the report KERRY states PCF-3 hit a mine. He goes on to say PCF-94 also had a mine go off closeby. KERRY claims they were under fire for a stretch of about 5,000 meters on the river. That's 2-1/2 miles, which seems unrealistic. Why would any enemy have their forces scattered over that great a distance? According to the other Swift boat participants in the incident they received no enemy fire, and there was only one mine detonated. The after- action report contains a detailed listing of all the damage sustained by the mine, but lists it as being to PCF-94, KERRY's boat. Although no damage is ascribed to PCF-3, the report goes on to say PCF-94 towed PCF-3 home. How ironic a boat that has no listed damage is towed by one with severe damage, while there were 3 sound boats with them. The report states, LTJG John KERRY.... "shrapnel wounds in his left buttocks and contusion RT. forearm (minor)". KERRY stated his arm was injured when he was thrown across the pilot house when his craft was hit by a nearby mine explosion. Since the other vets state PCF-94 was on the other side of the river from PCF-3 when the sole mine exploded, the only time KERRY could have been thrown against the bulkhead was when the boat was goosed to flee the area, the same motion that threw LT Rassmann into the river. Without the excuse of a 2nd mine, the shrapnel in KERRY's butt from his own grenade would not have met the requirements for a Purple Heart. The only requirement that might qualify was the bruised forearm, which really didn't require a doctor's care. For his rescue of LT Rassmann KERRY received a Bronze Star. Did he deserve it? They were not receiving fire, according to the other witnesses, KERRY had not been wounded by a 2nd mine explosion, and his rescue occurred only moments before another Swift boat would have pulled Rassmann aboard. Rassmann, a Special Forces officer, was not wounded. For retrieving wounded sailors off PCF-3 from the river and not leaving the scene only the Officer-In-Charge of all five boats received a Bronze Star. Larry Thurlow states he did not even know he had been awarded it until 3 months after he had left Vietnam.
To get rid of him, on Mar. 17, 1969 KERRY's fellow officers in Coastal Squadron 1 brought to his attention a policy that a sailor wounded 3 times could rotate stateside. They told KERRY to leave under that policy. They have since stated that of 3,500 sailors who served in the Brown Water Navy, KERRY was the only one who took advantage of that policy to leave Vietnam early. KERRY, who as a young man fought for this country, servedonly 4-1/2 months of a 12-month tour in Vietnam.
That is how John KERRY, democratic hero, got his three Purple Hearts, Silver Star, and Bronze Star. In light of witness statements that all three Purple Hearts were the result of shrapnel from his own grenades, he is hardly the hero he is being made out as.
KERRY was released from active duty on Mar. 1, 1970. Not until Jul. 1, 1972 was he transferred to the Standby Reserves in an inactive status. He retained his Officer's commission until Feb. 16, 1978 when his submitted resignation was accepted and he was honorably DISCHARGEd from the United States Naval Reserves. That means that while he conducted all his anti-war activities he was still a commissioned officer of the United States.
As Director of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, John KERRY addressed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Apr. 22, 1971. He stated, "I have been to Paris. I have talked with both delegations at the Peace talks, that is to say the Democratic Republic of Vietnam [i.e. North Vietnam] and the Provisional Revolutionary Government [i.e. Viet Cong in South Vietnam]". The following day, Apr. 23, 1971, John KERRY stood with other anti-war demonstrators and threw medals over a fence onto the capital steps. At the time he claimed they were his medals. Now that he is a war hero, he claims they were somebody else's medals, he only threw his own ribbons. [The difference is that ribbons can be picked up at any army surplus store. Medals are obtained only through the Department Of Defense]. According to FBI records, during the summer of 1971 KERRY met with representatives from the North Vietnamese government in Paris. That would be at least the 2nd occasion in which he met with enemy representatives without any official authorization. His supporters claim he was a patriot, trying to end an unjust war. What do U.S. laws have to say about that?
"Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort". U.S. Constitution, Article III ,Section 3.
"No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or any under any state, who, having previously taking an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability". U.S. Constitution Amendment 14, Section 3.
"Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both". Title 18 U.S. Code Section 953.
"Any person who - (1) aids, or attempts to aid, the enemy with arms, ammunition, supplies, money, or other things; or (2) without proper authority, knowingly harbors or protects or gives intelligence to or communicates or corresponds with or holds any intercourse with the enemy, either directly or indirectly, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court- martial or military commission may direct". Title 10 U.S. Code Sect. 904, Uniform Code Of Military Justice, Punitive Article 104.
Major Kenneth Cordier, USAF, was a prisoner of the North Vietnamese for 2,284 days. He was released on Mar. 4, 1973. He states his captors "repeated incessantly" John KERRY's one- liner about being "the last man to die for a lost cause".
While a commissioned Naval Reserve Officer John KERRY accused his fellow service people of committing war crimes on a daily basis. He said they were as bad as Ghengis Khan. He met with enemy representatives in Paris with no official authorization. He actively conspired against the war in the United States. All of these actions aided and abetted the enemy. They lowered morale of South Vietnamese and American forces, and raised the moral of the enemy. The growing impact of the anti-war movement steeled Communist resolve to continue the fight.
At the Republican National Convention on Sep. 1, 2004, Senator Zell Miller, (Democrat-Georgia), endorsed George W. Bush for president. He stated: "FOr more than 20 years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John KERRY has been more wrong, more weak, and more wobbly than any other national figure. As a war protestor, KERRY blamed our military. As a Senator, he voted to weaken our military. And nothing shows that more sadly and more clearly than his vote this year to deny protective armor for our troops in harm's way, far away". That's a pretty damning statement from somebody in one's own party.
Is John KERRY fit to serve as Commander-in-Chief? According to U.S. laws, he is not even fit to serve in the electoral college, let alone as Congressman, Lieutenant Governor, or Senator. That is not my opinion, that is U.S. law.
------------
About the author Joseph Boudreau: I spent just under 24 years in the Navy, 9 on active duty, the rest in the Naval Reserves. From paygrade E-1 I advanced to paygrade O-4, and retired as a Lieutenant Commander.
Email: bunnyboggins@aol.com
Tell a friend about this site! |
