The Man Who Would Be President, Part III

The Man Who Would Be President
Part III
Danny Calhoun
September 20, 2004
http://www.christian-news-in-maine.com

I will continue my articles on John Kerry's (he's a war hero you know) phony war record.

If you would like copies of Parts 1 and 2 please contact me.

I have been asked why I should spend so much time on Kerry's war record. I believe I have answered that several times before. I would like to ask those asking the question, why is it not alright to question Kerry's record of proven lies but alright to question every minute detail of President Bush's National Guard record?

Are we to just take Kerry at his word, against overwhelming evidence that he is lying, while at the same time dissect President Bush's life day by day? Are we asked to take the word of a few men, one of which has been proven to be lying about serving with Kerry, over that of 254 honorable veterans, who have signed affidavits swearing to be telling the truth?

Among those belonging to the Swift Boat group speaking out against Kerry are almost all the other Boat Commanders who operated on missions with Kerry (several other Boat Commanders are deceased and one supports Kerry), Capt Elliott, Kerry's direct commander in Coastal Division 11, Commander Hibbard his direct commander at Coastal Division 14, Capt. Lonsdale his Administrative commander and Adm. Hoffman commander of all Swift Boats in Vietnam. Also over 200 crewmen on the Swift Boats signed the affidavits against Kerry. All these people had direct interaction with Kerry.

Even those who truly hate President Bush can't really advocate that. The truth needs to be told. Why is the media basically ignoring overwhelming evidence of Kerry's record of lies and deceit? Please remember that Kerry's campaign has already stated that Kerry's account of his adventure into Cambodia was a "mistake" and that his first Purple Heart was also possibly received as the result of an "accidental self-inflicted wound, non-combat related."

REPORT OF SWIFT BOATERS RETRACTION NOT TRUE
It was heavily reported that Capt. Elliott retracted his statement that "Kerry did not the deserve the Silver Star." The story was written by Michael Kranish of The Boston Globe Newspaper.

In his original statement Capt. Elliott said "Kerry lied about what happened in Vietnam. ---for example, in connection with his Silver Star, I was never informed that he had simply shot a wounded, fleeing Viet Cong in the back."

What Elliott said to the Globe reporter was " I still say he did not shoot the guy in the back. It was a terrible mistake for me to sign the affidavit with those words."

Elliott says he still stands by his other statements in the affidavit that "Kerry did not deserve the Silver Star" and that "he would never have recommended Kerry for the medal if he had been aware of the actual facts."

It should be known that the reporter, Michael Kornish, is a paid Kerry staff member.

FACT: KERRY'S DD-214
His DD-214 Form, which is a recap of his military career showing times and locations served, training, medals and awards received, etc, have the following discrepancies:

VALOR AWARD
It shows that his Silver Star has a "V" device for "Valor." The Silver Star is not authorized to have a "V" device displayed on it.

CAMPAIGN STARS
It shows 4 campaign stars (battle stars) on his Vietnam Service Medal. According to the Defense Department records Kerry's time in Vietnam would have only qualified him for a maximum of 2 campaign stars.

FACT: AWARD CITATIONS FOR SILVER STAR AND BRONZE STAR SILVER STAR CITATION
When a person is awarded a Silver Star or Bronze Star they must be accompanied by a written citation and other documentation showing the actions taken to earn the medal.

Kerry's has 3 different Citations, written by 3 different persons, at 3 different times. No military experts asked can ever remember 3 different citations being written for the same medal and can only remember a few where 2 citations were written, one to correct mistakes in the first. Each one embellishes his actions more than the other does. The last two also deletes any mention of his having killed the wounded enemy, who had fired a rocket launcher at his boat.

Admiral Zumwalt wrote the first at the time of the incident (based on Kerry's written after mission report). This one mentions him killing the wounded enemy and DOES NOT appear on Kerry's web page.

Admiral Hyland wrote the 2nd, and does not mention his killing the wounded enemy. It appears on his web page.

The 3rd one was supposedly written by then Secretary of the Navy John Leyman during the Reagan Administration, over 20 years later. This one appears on his web page, has no mention of his killing the wounded enemy and adds the words "by his brave actions, bold initiative, and unwavering devotion to duty." Secretary Leyman has recently come forward and stated he did not write the 3rd citation and has no idea why it was signed under cover of his name. It is being investigated and is part of the records Kerry refuses to release.

BRONZE STAR CITATION
Kerry also has 2 citations for his Bronze Star. One written by Adm. Zumwalt at the time of the incident again based on Kerry's after mission report, which disagreed with the accounts of the other 5 Swift Boat Commanders present. Secretary of the Navy Lehman, again, supposedly wrote the 2nd, also during the Reagan Administration, also embellishing his actions. Ecretary Leyman has also stated he did not sign this citation and knew nothing about it.

FACT: PURPLE HEART NUMBER 1
Kerry spent month training at Cam Ranh Bay under the command of Commander Grant Hibbard. Cmdr. Hibbard sent him on a "training mission" with one of "his most trusted boat commanders," Adm.William Schachte, then a Lieutenant, on Dec. 2nd, 1968. The following morning at a de-briefing it was reported that they saw movement from an unknown source and opened fire on the movement. Kerry's rifle jammed and he grabbed an M-79 grenade launcher and fired it. This sprayed the boat with shrapnel from Kerry's own grenade, a tiny piece of which embedded in Kerry's arm. All others present stated that they received "no enemy fire."

When they returned Kerry went directly to the base hospital. Navy Doctor Letman who remembers the incident saw him because he wondered why Kerry was seeking treatment for such a minor wound while he had seriously wounded men to treat. Kerry advised him he had "been wounded by hostile fire." Dr. Letman states that he observed a small "sliver of metal" sticking superficially in the skin of the back of Kerry's right arm. The fragment measured about 1 centimeter in length and about 2 or 3 millimeters in diameter." He described as being the kind of injury you would receive "from a thorn prick." He removed the metal with "tweezers," applied a bacterium, covered it with a "band-aid" and Kerry left.

The next morning during a de-briefing of the mission Kerry advised his commanding officer Hibbard of the "wound" and requested a Purple Heart. Hibbard had already spoken with Schachte and determined that Kerry's "scratch" had been self inflicted in the absence of hostile fire. He refused Kerry's request for a Purple Heart. Approximately 3 months later Hibbard found that Kerry had received a Purple Heart for the "wound." He states he has no idea how or who recommended Kerry for the medal. He also states that Kerry obtained it without the documentation or recommendation of anyone in his chain of command. This is one of the items that Judicial Watch has sued for the Department of Defense to investigate. The information relating to his receiving the Purple Heart is also included in the records Kerry refuses to release.

FACT: KERRY'S TWO TOURS OF DUTY
Kerry's campaign is always eager to state that he served "two tours of duty in Vietnam."

A standard "tour of duty" for in-country troops was 13 months, for Swift Boat duty it was 12 months. Navy ships serving off shore would routinely spend from 1 day to several months in the "off shore combat zone."

Kerry first requested a draft deferment but was turned down. He then joined the Navy. His first duty station was on board the USS Gridley, a Guided Missal Cruiser, which was assigned to protect planes flying over the Gulf of Tompkin. The Gridley, with Kerry on board, served A TOTAL OF 5 WEEKS OFF THE SHORE OF VIETNAM. This is proud and honorable service, but hardly a "tour of duty in Vietnam," as Kerry claims.

When Kerry returned to the United States he started letting it be known that he needed some in-country Vietnam time for his political resume. As stated before, Swift Boat duty at that time was relatively safe. The boats were used as a security force around the major ports. Kerry requested Swift Boat duty stating "they were engaged in coastal patrolling and that's what I thought I was going to be doing. I wanted to see for myself what was going on, I didn't really want to get involved in the war."

Kerry arrived in Vietnam on Nov. 17, 1968. He was assigned to one of the safest places in Vietnam, Cam Ranh Bay (this is where our Presidents stayed when visiting Vietnam.) for 30 days training. In Dec. 1968 Adm. Zumwalt changed the duties of the Swift Boats to patrolling the in-land rivers, making it suddenly one of the most dangerous assignments. Kerry was re-assigned to an area known as An Thoi, an extremely hazardous assignment. Kerry, and other officers, complained that they had not signed up for this type duty. Kerry complained so much that in 1 week he was reassigned to a less hazardous area, Cat Lo, where the rivers were much wider and safer. It is interesting to note that this is when Kerry chose the name "The Boston Strangler" as his call sign.

Kerry arrived in Vietnam on Nov. 17, 1968. He spent 30 days training in Cam Ranh Bay. He left Vietnam on March 17th, 1969, after a total of approximately 120 days. His boat records show that for one 11-day period, March 1 thru the 11th, he had no assignments. Factoring in training time, days off, boat repair time and days with no missions, he served at the maximum 50-60 days (my estimate) on missions, not all of which involved any combat. Again this is proud and honorable service, but in no way qualifies as a "tour of duty."

Next article I will continue with facts about Kerry's other phony medals. The true facts about Kerry are out there folks. To the doubters, open your mind, do your own research and learn the truth. Also remember, all Kerry has to do to refute the allegations is release all his records.

Keeps stating he has released all his records. However, remember the Navy Department stated on Sept. 15th that he had not authorized the release of all his military records.

But then, that's just my opinion -- based on facts.