FACT CHECK: Swift Boat Veterans for Bush

[Joeychgo]

McCain Says It's Dishonest & Dishonorable-Same Thing That Happened to Him in 2000. "Republican Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, called an ad criticizing John Kerry's military service "dishonest and dishonorable" and urged the White House on Thursday to condemn it as well. 'It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me,' McCain said in an interview with The Associated Press, referring to his bitter Republican primary fight with President Bush'." [AP, 8/5/04]



McCain Says Ad Makers Don't Have Facts. The ad, scheduled to air in a few markets in Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin, was produced by Stevens, Reed, Curcio and Potham, the same team that produced McCain's ads in 2000. "I wish they hadn't done it," McCain said of his former advisers. "I don't know if they knew all the facts." [AP, 8/5/04]



McCain Calls on Bush to Condemn It - No Comment From Bush Asked if the White House knew about the ad or helped find financing for it, McCain said, 'I hope not, but I don't know. But I think the Bush campaign should specifically condemn the ad." Later, McCain said the Bush campaign has denied any involvement and added, 'I can't believe the president would pull such a cheap stunt'. The White House did not immediately address McCain's call that they repudiate the spot." [AP, 8/5/04]



Same Tactics Used Against McCain in 2000. "In 2000, Bush's supporters sponsored a rumor campaign against McCain in the South Carolina primary, helping Bush win the primary and the nomination. McCain's supporters have never forgiven the Bush team. McCain said that's all in the past to him, but he's speaking out against the anti-Kerry ad because he believes it's bad for the political system. 'It reopens all the old wounds of the Vietnam War, which I spent the last 35 years trying to heal,' he said." [AP, 8/5/04]



McCain Deplores This Kind of Politics "I deplore this kind of politics. I think the ad is dishonest and dishonorable. As it is, none of these individuals served on the boat (Kerry) commanded. Many of his crew have testified to his courage under fire. I think John Kerry served honorably in Vietnam. I think George Bush served honorably in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War." [AP, 8/5/04]






Swift Vets Funded By Longtime Texas Bush Contributors

Fox News: "Many Of Them Are Republicans Who Have Contributed To And Backed Various Bush Campaigns And Causes Over The Decades" "Kerry's military service was an asset during the primaries; critics hoped to transform it into a liability now. The GOP says it's not involved with the veterans criticizing Kerry, but many of them are Republicans who have contributed to and backed various Bush campaigns and causes over the decades." [Fox News, Special Report, Cameron, 5/4/04] Dallas Morning News: "Veterans' Group Critical of Kerry Backed by Bush Supporter." Bob Perry, a major supporter of President Bush and the Republican Party, is the biggest financial backer of a veterans group seeking to discredit Democrat John Kerry's military service, according to federal records. Perry, a Houston homebuilder, gave $100,000 to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group that has been critical of Kerry's anti-war activities after he returned from Vietnam. That accounted for two-thirds of the organization's receipts to date. [DMN, Slater, 7/23/04]



Swift Vets Operated By Same People Who Tried to Discredit McCain in 2000

CBS News: "The Press Conference Was Set Up By The Same People Who Tried To Discredit John McCain's Reputation." "The [May, 2004 Swift Boat Veterans for Truth"] press conference was set up by the same people who tried to discredit John McCain's reputation in Vietnam service when McCain faced George W. Bush for the Republican nomination in 2000. It's the same strategy used to go after Georgia Senator Max Cleland, who lost three limbs in Vietnam." [CBS Evening News, Pitts, 5/4/04] Salon.Com: "Same Vicious Techniques They Used Against McCain" "Behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are veteran corporate media consultant and Texas Republican activist Merrie Spaeth, who is listed as the group's media contact… In 2000, Spaeth participated in the most subterranean episode of the Republican primary contest when a shadowy group billed as 'Republicans for Clean Air' produced television ads falsely attacking the environmental record of Sen. John McCain in California, New York and Ohio. While the identity of those funding the supposedly 'independent' ads was carefully hidden, reporters soon learned that Republicans for Clean Air was simply Sam Wyly -- a big Bush contributor and beneficiary of Bush administration decisions in Texas -- and his brother, Charles, another Bush "Pioneer" contributor." [Salon.com, Conalson, 5/4/04]



Swift Vets Hire Private Investigator to Dig Into Kerry's Past Dallas Morning News: "P.I. Digs Into Kerry's War Past Group Defends Investigation; Veterans Say Comments Distorted." "Opponents of John Kerry have hired a Dallas-area private investigator to gather information aimed at discrediting his military service, say several veterans who served with the Massachusetts Democrat in Vietnam. Several veterans who have been contacted in recent days accused the private investigator, Tom Rupprath of Rockwall, of twisting their words to produce misleading and inaccurate accounts that call into doubt the medals Mr. Kerry received for his service. 'They're just distorting things,' said Jim Wasser, who served with Mr. Kerry. 'They have nothing to go after John Kerry for, so now they're trying to discredit him'." [DMN, Slater, 7/13/04] Salon.com: "How Low Will the Swift Boat Veterans Sink?" A private detective retained by 'Swift Boat Veterans for Truth'-- the Texas-based group seeking to discredit John Kerry's military record -- is contacting veterans who may have information about the incidents that led to Kerry's Vietnam decorations. According to a former Kerry crew member, several of the Massachusetts senator's old Navy comrades have refused to talk with the detective, a former FBI agent named Thomas Rupprath -- and some have complained that the detective tried to put damaging words in their mouths. Rupprath's efforts are clearly intended to discredit Kerry's military record, which should surprise nobody familiar with the 'Swift Boat' group. Its leaders are conservative Republicans embittered over Kerry's later antiwar activism." [Salon.com, 7/13/04]

 

[MonsterMark]

Nobody in the Kerry Kampaign, Democratic National Committee or Main Stream Media including all the outlets you have mentioned have refuted not one (1) single claim of the Swift Boat and POW's for Truth. Not one. SHOW ME!

I just posted today irrefutable proof that Kerry is a liar and is the one that created at least 1 if not all the After-Action Reports that all his medals are based on. This is the same guy that gave aid and comfort to our enemy. The same guy that help create the slaughter of over 1,000,000 Cambodians and Vietnamese. The same guy that claims to have been in Iraq when the armistice was signed.

Kerry quote: "I mean, I was in Safwan. I went there when the signing of the armistice took place at the end of the war."

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

 

[Joeychgo]

and I just posts 20 lies bush made during the debate a few days ago.

I live in today's world, not 35 years ago.

 

[Joeychgo]

Top 10 Latest Lies From the “Swift Boat Vets For Bush”



The past week has seen some extraordinary activity from the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush—unfortunately, the group's activity has been to mislead the American people and spread lies about John Kerry's service to his country during the Vietnam War while he was in the United States Navy. Although this group calls themselves “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,” it has become quite obvious they are not interested in the truth. Time and time again, the group has been caught spreading falsehoods and contradicting themselves. Here is a small sample of some of their latest works of fiction: 1) THE LIE: The Swift Boat Veterans for Bush Group Has Repeatedly Stated They Are Being Honest and Truthful With the American People and Have Always Had Strong Feelings About Kerry.

THE TRUTH : The Group of Veterans Has a History of Flip-Flopping and Even Being Censured By the U.S. Navy.​

• Hoffman Was Censured By The Navy For His Improper Actions. “ Mr. Hoffmann had commanded the Swift boats during the war from a base in Cam Ranh Bay and advocated a search-and-destroy campaign against the Vietcong - the kind of tactic Mr. Kerry criticized when he was a spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War in 1971. Shortly after leaving the Navy in 1978, he was issued a letter of censure for exercising undue influence on cases in the military justice system.” [NYT, 8/20/04]
  
• Lonsdale Defended Kerry From Smears In 1996. “So, as far as I was concerned the war was won over there, in that part, for that period. And it was mainly won because of the bravado and the courage of the young officers that ran the boats—the Swift boats and the Coast Guard cutters. And Senator Kerry was no exception .”[Kerry for Senate Press Conference, 10/27/96]
• Elliot Defended Kerry From Smears In 1996. “The fact that he chased an armed enemy down is not something not to be looked down upon but it was an act of courage. And the whole outfit served with honor. … [T]here was no question that it was above and beyond anything that we had seen down there in that case at that time frame…It just so happened that this one was so outstanding that the Silver Star was eventually awarded.” [Kerry for Senate Press Conference, 10/27/96]
  

2) THE LIE: Group Says They Are Independent and Have No Political Ties. Their Leader, John O'Neill, Went So Far As to Try and Claim He Wasn't a Republican. O'NEILL: “I've had no serious involvement in politics of any kind in over 32 years.” O'NEILL: “First, I'm not a Republican from Texas” [CNN Crossfire, 8/12/04 ; MSNBC Hardball, 8/12/04]

THE TRUTH: “ It was very hard for many of us covering [O'Neill] to figure out where the Nixon White House ended and where he began” –Thomas Oliphant, [ Boston Globe, 8/20/04]​

• 1971--O'Neil Was A Pawn For Nixon. NBC's BRIAN WILLIAMS: “The White House pushed for and got a debate between O'Neill and Kerry. But first, President Nixon called O'Neill in for a pep talk.” PRESIDENT NIXON: “That's great. Give it to him. Give it to him. And you can do it, because you have a pleasant manner, too. Because you've got -- and I think it's a -- it's a great service to the country.” WILLIAMS: Two weeks later, the veterans squared off on "The Dick Cavett Show." [MSNBC, Hardball, 3/15/04]
• O'Neill Has Strong Republican Ties. O'Neill has long-standing ties to the Republicans, Nixon counsel Charles Colson arranged his 1972 debates with John Kerry; he met with Nixon in 1972 in the Oval office, nominated Richard Nixon for President at the 1972 Republican Convention, clerked for Chief Justice of the United States William Rehnquist in 1974; his law partner ran for Texas Lt. Governor on the ticket with George W. Bush in 1994, another law partner was Bush's Texas legal counsel; and his law clients include “Bush for President Pioneers.”
  
• O'Neill Has Contributed $15,000 To Republicans Since 1988—Including 1992 G.H.W. Bush Campaign. O'Neill gave the maximum donation to George H. W. Bush's 1992 presidential campaign, and contributed to Texas Republican Party and National Republican Party. since 1990, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, O'Neill has contributed $14,650 to federal candidates or national political organizations -- all Republicans: [MediaMatters.org, 8/12/2004]
  

3) THE LIE: The group says they are independent of the Bush campaign. But all the evidence is that they're a front for the Bush campaign.

• New York Times: Bush Family, Bush Political Aide Have Close Ties to These Ads. “In a series of interviews and a review of documents show a web of connections to the Bush family, high-profile Texas political figures and President Bush's chief political aide, Karl Rove. Records show that the group received the bulk of its initial financing from two men with ties to the president and his family - one a longtime political associate of Mr. Rove's, the other a trustee of the foundation for Mr. Bush's father's presidential library. A Texas publicist who once helped prepare Mr. Bush's father for his debate when he was running for vice president provided them with strategic advice. And the group's television commercial was produced by the same team that made the devastating ad mocking Michael S. Dukakis in an oversized tank helmet when he and Mr. Bush's father faced off in the 1988 presidential election.” [NYT, 8/20/04]
• Dallas Morning News: “Veterans' Group Critical of Kerry Backed by Bush Supporter. ” Bob Perry, a major supporter of President Bush and the Republican Party, is the biggest financial backer of a veterans group seeking to discredit Democrat John Kerry's military service, according to federal records. Perry, a Houston homebuilder, gave $100,000 to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group that has been critical of Kerry's anti-war activities after he returned from Vietnam . That accounted for two-thirds of the organization's receipts to date. [DMN, 7/23/04]

4) THE LIE : O'Neill Claims Kerry Was Not Injured and Should Not Have Received His Third Purple Heart—In Fact O'Neill Calls Kerry's Wound “another example of Kerry political theater.” [“Unfit for Command”, O'Neill, p.93]

TRUTH: The U.S. Navy Determined Kerry Deserved the Third Purple Heart. Official Naval documents available to the public at the Naval Historical Center in Washington , DC and available at [url]www.JohnKerry.com [/url]include the after action reports, also known as “spot reports.” These reports contain the details of the four boats involved in these actions on March, 13. 1969—including Kerry's boat PCF-94. These reports contain specific details of time, personnel, combat action and even maps. These report specifically detail the injuries received by various members of the SWIFT boat flotilla—including Kerry. “LTJG JOHN F. KERRY, USNR, HSHRAPNEL WOUND LEFT BUTTOCK AND CONTUSION RT. FOREARM (MINOR)”​

TRUTH: Kerry's injury report for This Action, Also Available at the Naval Historical Center in Washington DC, Reads that He Was Injured: ​

KERRY, JOHN F., XXXXXX, USN WOUNDED IN ACTION - 13 March 1969 vicinity of Song Bay Hap, South Vietnam. Received shrapnel wounds in the left buttocks and contusions on the right forearm when a mine detonated close to PCF-94 while engaged in operations on river. CONDITIONS AND PROGNOSIS EXCELLENT. RESULT OF HOSTILE ACTION 5) THE LIE : John Kerry Wrote the After Action Report Which Detail His & Others Acts on Days He Won the Bronze Star. “Several veterans insist that Mr. Kerry wrote his own reports, pointing to the initials K. J. W. on one of the reports and saying they are Mr. Kerry's.” [ New York Times, 8/20/04]

THE TRUTH: 1) Those Are Not Kerry's Initials & 2) They Refer to Person Who Had Received Report At Headquarters Swift Boat Vets for Bush Clearly Wrong—Initials Were For Someone Else. “What's the W for, I cannot answer,' said Larry Thurlow, who said his boat was 50 to 60 yards from Mr. Kerry's. Mr. Kerry's middle initial is F, and a Navy official said the initials refer to the person who had received the report at headquarters, not the author.” [NYT, 8/20/04]

​

6) THE LIE : Swift Boat Vet for Bush Larry Thurlow Says Kerry Received No Enemy Gunfire on the Day of His Bronze Star.

THE TRUTH: Records Obtained By the Washington Post Show Thurlow's Own Bronze Star Citation Confirms the U.S. Navy, Rassmann, Crewmates & Kerry Account. Washington Post: “Records Counter a Critic of Kerry; Fellow Skipper's Citation Refers To Enemy Fire” “Newly obtained military records of one of Sen. John F. Kerry's most vocal critics, who has accused the Democratic presidential candidate of lying about his wartime record to win medals, contradict his own version of events. In newspaper interviews and a best-selling book, Larry Thurlow, who commanded a Navy Swift boat alongside Kerry in Vietnam , has strongly disputed Kerry's claim that the Massachusetts Democrat's boat came under fire during a mission in Viet Cong-controlled territory on March 13, 1969 . Kerry won a Bronze Star for his actions that day. But Thurlow's military records, portions of which were released yesterday to The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act, contain several references to "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire" directed at ‘all units' of the five-boat flotilla. Thurlow won his own Bronze Star that day, and the citation praises him for providing assistance to a damaged Swift boat "despite enemy bullets flying about him.” [ Washington Post, 8/19/04]

​

7) THE LIE : Merrie Spaeth Denies Having Made Multiple Visits to Bush White House.

THE TRUTH: Spaeth Made Multiple Visits, Received a Tour from Ken Starr, Advising Bush Officials and is Not Sure if There is Any More…

Spaeth At First Denied Making Multiple Visits to White House—Later Corected Her Story. “When asked if she had ever visited the White House during Mr. Bush's tenure, Ms. Spaeth initially said that she had been there only once, in 2002, when Kenneth Starr gave her a personal tour. But this week Ms. Spaeth acknowledged that she had spent an hour in the Old Executive Office Building, part of the White House complex, in the spring of 2003, giving Mr. Bush's chief economic adviser, Stephen Friedman, public speaking advice. Asked if it was possible that she had worked with other administration officials, Ms. Spaeth said, ‘The answer is “no,” unless you refresh my memory'.” [NYT, 8/20/04]

​

8)THE LIE : O'Neill Attempts to Deny Jerome Corsi's Involvement in the Book—Tries to Say Corsi Was Just an Editor. Wolf Blitzer: “Over the past 24, 48 hours, there have been some serious questions raised about your co- author, Jerry Corsi. They have discovered some comments he's written on various Web sites which appear to be anti-Muslim, anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic. I could read some of them, but we don't have a whole lot of time. I wonder if you want to disassociate yourself from what he has written. JOHN O'NEILL: Oh, absolutely. Jerry Corsi acted as sort of an editor of our book.” [CNN Wolf Blitzer, 8/11/2004]

THE TRUTH: Corsi Co-authors Attack on Kerry; Authors Large Portion of O'Neill's Book. ​

• Corsi Credited As Co-Author of the Slanderous Book. The cover of “Unfit for Command” lists authors “John O'Neill and Jerome R. Corsi, PH.D.. Corsi is a co-holder of the Copyright to the book, he and O'Neill both write dedications, and the preface says “O'Neill and Corsi had been friends since their undergraduate years.… After reconnecting they decided to work together to write this book .” [“Unfit for Command,” p.2]

9) THE LIE: John Kerry Had a Secret Admiral Riding On Board His 15ft Boat During His First Purple Heart. O'NEILL: Well, his first Purple Heart was not on the ship. It was on a Boston Whaler. With him on the Boston whaler was Lieutenant William Schachte, now Rear Admiral William Schachte. He will tell you he falsified the award. O'NEILL: Lieutenant William Schachte, now a rear admiral in the United States Navy, was on the small whaler with Kerry. He witnessed Kerry with an M-79 fire it and wound himself. [] O'NEILL: I'm claiming that, with respect to the Silver Star, the Purple Hearts, that he applied under false pretenses for those Purple Hearts, that he wounded himself with a grenade fragment on the first Purple Heart, as can be witnessed by Rear Admiral Bill Shakte (ph), who was on the boat, and many others, the division commander and others. [MSNBC Hardball, 8/12/2004 ; CNN Crossfire, 8/12/2004 ; FNC Hannity & Colmes, 8/10/2004]

THE TRUTH : Mysterious Admiral Was NOT on Kerry's Boat. Even O'Neill Website Agrees With That. ​

• Crew on Boat Disputes Story—Says They Can Count to Three. “But the two other men who acknowledged that they had been with Mr. Kerry, Bill Zaladonis and Mr. Runyon, say they cannot recall a third crew member. ‘Me and Bill aren't the smartest, but we can count to three,' Mr. Runyon said in an interview.” [NYT, 8/20/04]
• Boston Globe Biography Says Two Men Accompanied Kerry. Two men serving alongside him that night had similar memories of the incident that led to Kerry's first wartime injury. William Zaladonis, who was manning an M-60, and Patrick Runyon, operating the engine, said they spotted some people running from a sampan to a nearby shoreline. When they refused to obey a call to stop, Kerry's crew began shooting. [John F. Kerry, The Complete Biography by the Boston Globe Reporters who knew him Best, p.72]
• "Tour Of Duty" Reports Three Men On Board. “'Three of us, two enlisted men and myself, had stayed up all night in a Boston Whaler patrolling the shore off a Viet Cong-infested peninsula north of Cam Ranh…'” [Brinkley, Tour of Duty, p.146]
• Even O'Neill's Website Contradicts O'Neill. "The action that led to John Kerry's first Purple Heart occurred on December 2, 1968 , during the month that he was undergoing training with Coastal Division 14 at Cam Ranh Bay. While waiting to receive his own Swift boat command, Kerry volunteered for a nighttime patrol mission commanding a small, foam-filled "skimmer" craft with two enlisted men."
  
  [http://www.swiftvets.com/staticpages/index.php?page=Purple1]
  

10) THE LIE : O'Neill Claims There Was No Explosion Near Kerry's Boat: “Neither weapons fire or mine explosion occurred near Kerry during incident” [“Unfit for Command” p. 87]

THE TRUTH: Every Official Account and Every Person On Board Kerry's Boat Disputed This Swift Boat Vet for Bush Fictional Tale.​

• The U.S. Navy Determined Kerry's Boat Was Hit. Official Naval documents available to the public at the Naval Historical Center in Washington , DC and available at www.JohnKerry.com include the after action reports, also known as “spot reports.” These reports contain the details of the four boats involved in these actions on March, 13. 1969—including Kerry's boat PCF-94. These reports contain specific details of time, personnel, combat action and even maps which mention the mine which PCF-3 struck and “TWO OTHER MINE EXPLOSIONS OVC RVED.” Additionally, Kerry's boat was badly damaged at the time: “PCF-94 HULL REG NR 50NS6678 BATTLE DAMAGE…PCF NOT CAPABLE OF EXECUTING MARKET TIME PATROL…TWO STBD AND ONE PORT MAIN CABIN WINDOWS BLOWN OUT. VCR-46 RADIO AND ALL REMOTE UNITS PILOT HOUSE INOP. AC WIRING SHORTED OUT. ONAN GENERATOR INOP. STEERAGE CONTROL AFTER HELM INOP. STBD (?)ILGE PUMP BROKEN. SCREWS CURLED AND CHIPPED. RADAR GEAR BOX FROZEN. MAIN ENGINES EXPERIENCED RPM DROP… BATTLE DAMAGE”
• The Boston Globe Determined Kerry's Boat Was Hit. The Boston Globe, which has repeatedly criticized John Kerry for any exaggeration or misstatement for the past 30 years, did their own investigation into Kerry's military career. The Globe wrote in their book, “John F. Kerry; A Complete Biography by the Boston Globe Reporters Who Know Him Best” that “ The flotilla of approximately five swift boats was cruising along a narrow canal, with Kerry's boat toward the front, when a mine detonated, throwing one of the crafts two feet into the air and knocking out its engine. In the swift boat behind it, Rassmann was eating a chocolate chip cookie in the pilothouse when his craft was also rocked by an explosion.” [p.106]
• Kerry's Bronze Star citation recounts the events of that day and include this sentence, “ while exiting the River, a mine detonated under another Inshore Patrol Craft and almost simultaneously, another mine detonated close aboard his Inshore Patrol Craft knocking a man.” Versions of this citation were signed by the Secretary of the Navy and the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Vietnam. This citation is available for the public to read at www.JohnKerry.com.

 

[Joeychgo]

The Record of John Kerry's Service



A group called “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” is trying to smear John Kerry's military service. But they are not interested in the truth, and they're not telling the truth. Thirty years ago, official Navy reports documented John Kerry's service in Vietnam and awarded him the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. Thirty years ago, this was the truth, and it's still the truth today. They are funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars from Texas' largest Republican contributor. Senator McCain said their television ad is “dishonest and dishonorable” and called on the President to condemn it. It's clear what's going on here. The President won't condemn this group, because he wants them to do his dirty work.

Kerry earned his first Purple Heart in combat

They allege that John Kerry's wounds were self-inflicted and not serious enough to justify a Purple Heart. He lied in order to get it.

The record shows:

• The doctor who makes these claims did not see the incident, did not talk to crewmates who were there and does not even show up as the person who treated Kerry on the only Official Naval Record of the treatment.
• Three people were there that night. Not one of them backs up their claims. In fact, all three say they were firing on suspected Viet Cong who disobeyed an order to stop in a free-fire zone. One also called it the most frightening night of his entire service.

Kerry saved the lives of his crew and earned his Silver Star

They allege that Kerry shot a fleeing kid in the back and claimed he charged a superior force and that he lied to receive his Silver Star.

The record shows:

• Kerry was awarded a Silver Star for saving his boat and the lives of his crew by chasing down an armed Viet Cong carrying a loaded B-40 grenade launcher. Eyewitness accounts show that the launcher was pointed at Kerry's boat when he shot and killed the Viet Cong.
• Kerry's award citation from the U.S. Navy signed by Admiral Elmo Zumwalt lists repeated acts of charging enemy positions, captured weapons and goods and his act of heroism in saving the lives of his crew.
• These attacks were made against Kerry in 1996 and thoroughly disproved. Many of the people who are criticizing him today, including his chief accuser, George Elliott, rushed to his defense in 1996 and since then. Last year, Elliott said that the medal was “well deserved,” that he had “no regrets or second thoughts at all about that. . . . (It) was pretty courageous to turn into an ambush.” [ Boston Globe, June 16, 2003 ] Admiral Elmo Zumwalt even said in 1996 that Kerry deserved a higher award for the action.

Kerry risked his life to save Jim Rassmann's life to earn his Bronze Star

They allege that Kerry and his crew were not under fire, did not hit a mine and Kerry received his “fanny wound” earlier in the day in a self-inflicted accident. They say Kerry lied to get his third Purple Heart and his Bronze Star.

The record shows:

• Naval records from that day say that all boats were under fire and that an explosion blew Jim Rassmann off the boat and into the water. Everyone on Kerry's boat, and some that were not, confirm these accounts. Jim Rassmann says that he is certain that he was under fire from the shore while he was in the water.
• The Naval after action reports say that Kerry was wounded in the arm when a mine went off near or under his boat. The wound was serious enough to require X-Rays. He was also treated for a shrapnel wound received earlier in the day.
• Naval records show Kerry's boat itself showed battle damage including radar and radio damage and blown out windows.
• Larry Thurlow, who says he was there that day and charges Kerry with lying, also received a Bronze Star that day. His citation says the action "took place under constant enemy small arms fire which LTJG THURLOW completely ignored in providing immediate assistance" [Washington Post, 8/19/2004]. Naval records also show that his boat, PCF 51, was repaired the next day for battle damage including bullet holes.

Kerry was sent stateside after being wounded three times and completed three years of active duty

They allege that Kerry faked three Purple Hearts and used them as a reason to get out of Vietnam after just 4 months.

The record shows:

• Naval records detail how Kerry served honorably for TWO tours of duty in Vietnam. He was on active duty for three years and 10 months and was honorably discharged.
• None of the people making these allegations stepped forward until 35 years later -- after John Kerry had clinched the Democratic presidential nomination. Many of them had openly supported and praised him during his service.
• Every single living person who was with Kerry when he earned his five medals backs him today.

Kerry was operating on the Cambodian border on Christmas eve 1968

They allege that Kerry is lying when he tells his story of spending Christmas Eve in Cambodia. He could not have crossed the border because it was patrolled by armed river boats. In fact he was 50 miles away at Sa Dec.

The record shows

• Naval records show Kerry was in the area of Sa Dec at 7 am and came under attack, giving him plenty of time that day to travel the 50 miles north to Cambodia .
• Kerry's journal entry for the day, published on the Boston Globe website, shows that his crew met River Boats that day, came under attack and pursued his attackers.
• During John Kerry's service in Vietnam , many times he was on or near the Cambodian border and on one occasion crossed into Cambodia at the request of members of a special operations group operating out of Ha Tien.
• It is an acknowledged fact that Swift Boat crews regularly operated along the Cambodian border from Ha Tien on the Gulf of Thailand to the rivers of the Mekong south and west of Saigon . Boats often received fire from enemy taking sanctuary across the border. Kerry's was not the only United States riverboat to respond and inadvertently or responsibly across the border. In fact, it was this reality that lead President Nixon to later invade Cambodia itself in 1970.

Kerry has released his entire military file

They allege that Kerry has not released his military records.

The record shows:

• Kerry requested his full military file from the Navy and posted the entire contents on his website on April 18th.
• Kerry has also posted records gathered pertaining to his service from the Naval Operational Archives.
• Kerry made his medical records available to the press for inspection on April and allowed them to ask questions of his physician of 17 years. A summary of the records written by his doctor is posted on his website.

 

[RRocket]

I was under the impression here that the "Swift Veterans" making the smears didn't actually serve on the boat with Kerry. They were in fact part of another group of Swift boats. Is this true?