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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mph who wrote (17002)	4/21/2004 10:33:50 PM
From: American Spirit	Respond to of 81568

Kerry Military Records -- High Praise, 20+ Combat Kills Wed Apr 21, 6:37 PM ET Add Politics - Reuters to My Yahoo! By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites)'s military records, released on Wednesday after critics questioned one of his medals, show he was a highly praised commander credited with killing at least 20 enemy soldiers. The records, posted on the campaign's Web site, include effusive evaluations of Kerry's service and previously released citations for the Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts he earned in the Vietnam War. Kerry, who served as a swiftboat commander in Vietnam's Mekong Delta in 1968 and 1969 during his second tour of duty, "frequently exhibited a high sense of imagination and judgment in planning operations against the enemy," according to a January 1969 evaluation by a supervisor. The report noted Kerry "exhibited all of the traits desired of an officer in a combat environment" and was "unofficially credited with 20 enemy killed in action." Other reports from command school and officer evaluations described him as "a highly talented, polished and professional naval officer" and "highly intelligent, well read and skilled.' The more than 100 pages of records were released by the campaign under pressure from Republicans after one of Kerry's former commanders questioned his first Purple Heart and the severity of the shrapnel wound to Kerry's arm. Regulations governing Purple Hearts, given for injuries caused by enemy action, do not specify a level of severity for the wounds. Navy records showed Kerry had shrapnel removed from his arm. Kerry has made his military service during the Vietnam War a centerpiece of his campaign against President Bush (news - web sites). He said last week Republicans who never served in the military, like Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) and White House political adviser Karl Rove, should not question his patriotism by criticizing his defense record. BUSH RECORD Bush was forced in February to surrender his National Guard files from the Vietnam War period to try to stamp out election-year charges from Democrats that he shirked his duty. Those documents offered no new evidence to place Bush in Alabama during the latter part of 1972, the period when Democrats claimed he was basically absent without leave. Democrats said the release of Kerry's files should put an end to Republican charges against the Massachusetts senator. "Kerry has a proud record of sacrifice and service, whereas Bush has a record of cashed-in connections and evasion," said Terry McAuliffe, head of the Democratic National Committee (news - web sites). Republicans said they had simply questioned Kerry's initial refusal to make the records available because he claimed on "Meet the Press" on Sunday that all of his military records were open for inspection. "We hope that he has now made good on his pledge and made all of his records available," said Christine Iverson, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee (news - web sites). The records include a variety of mundane forms and transfer papers along with evaluations. One officer, endorsing Kerry's request for release from active duty in November 1969, said he "has made an exemplary record while serving his country ashore and afloat." One evaluation from a 10-week command course in California ranked Kerry, who eventually rose to lieutenant, 17th out of a class of 33. In another document, then Ensign Kerry asks for a transfer to swiftboat command after a stint on the USS Gridley. "I consider the opportunity to serve in Vietnam an extremely important part of being in the armed forces and believe that my request is in the best interests of the Navy," Kerry wrote.