Kerry served two tours of duty. Smearvets lied about that.
They lied about everything.
Kerry was wounded three times, all in combat, one wound very minor, almost identical to Bob Dole's shrapnel sliver wound during WWII for which is is honored by Republican groups. Because of his three wounds he was able to rotate back to the US after about a year in Nam, four months of it on 24/7 combat "hot" zone duty, including up the rivers near Cambodia. Kerry was in the Navy for 3.5 years total.
February 1966: Kerry voluntarily enlists in Navy.
June 1966: Kerry graduates from Yale.
August 1966: Kerry begins officer training.
June 1967: Kerry assigned to frigate USS Gridley.
February 1968: Kerry makes first trip to Southeast Asia aboard Gridley, supporting aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin off North Vietnam.
June 1968: Kerry returns to California for training on 50-foot swift boats used for Vietnam coastal patrol, later for inland waterways. He returns to Vietnam in November after being promoted to lieutenant.
December 1968: Kerry takes command of swift boat unit PCF-44, and experiences first intense combat. On the night of Dec. 2, Kerry and two others set out on boat looking for Viet Cong and engage in a firefight. Kerry is slightly wounded on left arm, qualifies for first Purple Heart.
Dec. 24, 1968: Kerry is involved in combat in waters off Cambodia during Christmas Eve truce of 1968. Kerry ordered crew to open fire, silencing machine gun barrage aimed at them.
Feb. 20, 1969: Kerry, now commander of swift boat unit PCF-94, and crew come under automatic weapon and rocket fire while on patrol in South Vietnam. Kerry hit by shrapnel in his left thigh, earning his second Purple Heart.
Feb. 28, 1969: Kerry and crew again draw intense enemy fire. Kerry decides to chase down Vietnamese firing at crew, lands swift boat in the thick of an enemy position, and pursues Viet Cong, killing a sniper. Kerry awarded Silver Star for gallantry.
March 13, 1969: Two mines detonate as five swift boats patrol narrow canal. One knocks Lt. James Rassmann into the water; the other wounds Kerry in the right arm. Despite injury and sniper fire, Kerry turns boat toward Rassmann, pulls him from water, saving his life. Kerry earns third Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his "great personal courage under fire."
April 1969: After leaving Vietnam under a policy that grants relief to any individual who is wounded three times in action, Kerry returns to U.S. to serve as admiral's aide in New York.
January 1970: Kerry requests discharge. He is honorably discharged, and later joins Vietnam Veterans Against the War. |
