In his campaign book Massachusetts Senator John Kerry notes there was fine line between actions that merited a court martial or a medal. He reported that medals were given for questionable activities in order to boost morale.
This narrow distinction figures into the controversy that has raged for a several weeks regarding the Silver Star Kerry was awarded for killing a Vietnamese man.
For more than 30 years, Kerry has portrayed a heroic version of a life and death struggle -- of staring down a suspected guerilla who was about to fire upon Kerry's swift boat. It was kill. Or be killed. At least, that's the version Kerry tells.
Eyewitnesses offer a far different account. They allege Kerry shot a wounded teenager retreating from battle.
Kerry has made public, hundreds of pages of official Navy documents to bolster his many claims. Conspicuous by its absence is the official after action report of what actually happened that day. The after action report written by John Kerry, himself.
In an exclusive, The Point has obtained this document from U.S. Navy archives (you can see it here). The pertinent section reads:
"PCF 94 beached in center of ambush in front of small path when Viet Cong sprung up from bunker 10 feet from unit. Man ran with weapon towards hootch. Forward M-60 machine gunner wounded man in leg. Officer-in-charge, LTjg Kerry, jumped ashore and gave pursuit while other units saturated area with fire and beached placing assault parties ashore. Kerry chased VC inland behind hootch and shot him while he fled -- capturing one B-40 rocket launcher with round in chamber."
So there you have it. The official record written by John Kerry supports what the critics have alleged rather than the John Wayne Kerry version the Massachusetts liberal has been telling.
Death is a reality of war. Events occur that are not for the faint of heart. Yet, John Kerry's account of killing what turned out to really be a wounded man while he fled continues Kerry's pattern of lies, exaggerations and embellishments.
Killing a wounded man while he retreated from battle is not an action that most servicemen would brag about. But then again, most servicemen would not return home and attack the very country they were supposed to fight for.
Here's my take on it, and you all know I'm no Kerry supporter. But I have to give it to Kerry on this one.
The fact that the guy running was armed with a RPG or rocket launcher says a lot. In the old West, you never shot a man in the back. But in Vietnam, things were different. That guy could have ducked behind a tree 10 yards away, and then blown up the boat, or at least taken out a couple of GI's.
I say Kerry earned this medal, for sure.
Now, I haven't heard Kerry's "heroic story," and if it's as far from the truth as this reporter says, then Kerry should be criticized. But not for his actions in Vietnam.
I love Kerry bashing -- I admit it! But I hate seeing feeble atttempts that might just backfire.
I don't think anybody denys kerrys service was a highpoint. I don't think anybody wants to put him down for it, quite the contrary actually. I do think we are all tired of hearing about it. Four and a half months of his lifetime where he did something well, and that served our nation as opposed to the ensuing 30+ years where he has done his best to negate that 4.5 months of positive service are what concern me. Why does he keep bringing it up? There has to be more to John Kerry than he has presented, if not, we don't need him in office. Any office.
Kerry is a lying jerkoff and nothing more .
It seems strange to me that of the tens of thousands of men who served in Viet Nam very few even mention it , braggarts are rare among them and are usually self serving azzholes looking for attention . My uncle served from '70-'71 and you can't get him to even talk about it much less brag . He is not unusual in that respect IME . The Navy is currently looking into the circumstances surrounding Kerry's decorations , something tells me that the load on his chest will become lighter in the forseeable future when they expose this dolt for the liar that he is .
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i have to agree most people that I know can't be forced into talking about their time in vietnam and this "war hero " can't seem to stop talking about it
I just don't care about Vietnam. Bush and Kerry have both grown up quite a bit since then, and I'm tired of hearing about the war. Kerry is only highlighting his involvement to deflect attention from his lack of a campaign platform. That's what we need to focus on.
Quote:
Killing a wounded man while he retreated from battle is not an action that most servicemen would brag about. But then again, most servicemen would not return home and attack the very country they were supposed to fight for.
Regarding fleeing VC, he was still an armed enemy of the US forces. Enemies should be killed, whether they're running away or not. Unless he dropped the B-40 and put his hands up, he was fair game.
Implicating fellow servicemen in war crimes to further a political agenda is a whole other story. He is a coward and criminal for that reason alone, not what he did in Vietnam.
I'm not sure why his service record has such an important role in this election considering that most people are either sick of hearing about it, or flat out don't really care either way anyway.
What gets me though is what he did for his medal. Ok, good, job well done. But how many hundreds of thousands of these "events" happened to thousands of service personnel as a way to survive and cover your buds? Probably many that were far more heroic. Maybe I'm out of line by thinking that way, pardon me to the Vets out there if you think I am, but come on, he killed a guy that was against him. Isn't that war?
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We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a civilization, it expects what never was and what never will be.
There is nothing very heroic about killing someone. Nor is there any GLORY in warfare. I say this after retiring from the military with over 30 years of service. I am kinda like ol' Uncle Billy Sherman: "There are people who think war is glorious. But it is HELL, boys! All HELL! He knew what he was talking about!!
The biggest pacifist I ever knew was Dwight Eisenhower - the man who ordered the Normandy Invasion!
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"Bitte, trinks du das Wasser nicht. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen."
Regarding fleeing VC, he was still an armed enemy of the US forces. Enemies should be killed, whether they're running away or not. Unless he dropped the B-40 and put his hands up, he was fair game.
True! But they don't give you the Silver Star for shooting some poor, dumb bastard in the back!!
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"Bitte, trinks du das Wasser nicht. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen."
True! But they don't give you the Silver Star for shooting some poor, dumb bastard in the back!!
I agree 100%, but I also respect the decision of the commander who issued it. I'm a civilian, and do not want to second guess a military commander. That's his commander's job.
Saw this report on TV. What do you think?
