Kerry in Vietnam: Black Eye or Feather in his Cap?
Published August 10, 2004
But it's not just Kerry who indicates that Christmas in Cambodia never happened, it's his shipmates. On page 16/21 of chapter three of Unfit for Command, Kerry's fellow swifties have the following things to say:
And...During Christmas 1968, Kerry was stationed at Coastal Division 13 in Cat Lo. Coastal Division 13's patrol areas extended to Sa Dec, about fifty-five miles from the Cambodian border. Areas closer than fifty-five miles to the Cambodian border in the area of the Mekong River were patrolled by PBRs, a small river patrol craft, and not by Swift Boats. Preventing border crossings was considered so important
at the time that an LCU (a large, mechanized landing craft) and several PBRs were stationed to ensure that no one could cross the border. A large sign at the border prohibited entry. Tom Anderson, Commander of River Division 531, who was in charge of the PBRs, confirmed that there were no Swifts anywhere in the area and that they would have been stopped had they appeared.
All the living commanders in Kerry's chain of command--Joe Streuhli (Commander of CosDiv 13), George Elliott (Commander of CosDiv 11), Adrian Lonsdale (Captain, USCG and Commander, Coastal Surveillance Center at An Thoi), Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann (Commander, Coastal Surveillance Force Vietnam, CTF 115), and Rear Admiral Art Price (Commander of River Patrol Force, CTF 116)--deny that Kerry was ever ordered to Cambodia. They indicate that Kerry would have been seriously disciplined or court-martialed had he gone there. At least three of the five crewmen on Kerry's PCF 44 boat--Bill Zaldonis, Steven Hatch, and Steve Gardner--deny that they or their boat were ever in Cambodia.A blog called Kerry Haters picked up on this story back on May 21st. Everything that has come out since has merely made it worse. FoxNews ran a story last night, and, since I started writing this post, the NY Post has picked up the story.
What does it all mean?
I cannot say enough times that Kerry was honorable both for going to Vietnam and for fighting while he was there. Everyone in America has the freedom of speech and I do not begrudge him that right in his post-service anti-war sentiments. But the fact that Kerry's words were and are free from adulteration and suppression in this country does not mean that they will not have consequences when uttered, and repeated, and repeated. He has spoken the words. He has written the words. He has used the words, weaved together to form a false narrative, designed to to pluck the strings of our hearts and make us fear the duplicity of our government and to lionize and justify Kerry's anti-Vietnam attitude. Unless everyone else is lying.
- Kerry in Vietnam: Black Eye or Feather in his Cap?
- Published: August 10, 2004
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- Section: Culture
- Writer: Jeremy Chrysler
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Comments on this articleComments
This is a strange phenomenon, as many of the Vets lining up against Kerry stand to lose a lot of credibility if they allege that he did not act bravely in Vietnam and that his Purple Heart awards were not so sincere.
For me, this is especially intriguing as I have given Kerry the benefit of the doubt for his service, in fact defending him against the inflammatory charges of being a war criminal. Clearly there are those out there who do believe Kerry fought bravely in Vietnam and are crying for his head.
Then again, I also know that Kerry couldn't separate himself from his "band of brothers" soon enough upon getting back from the war and his activities and Senate record since coming home from 'Nam should rightly outrage and offend Vietnam Veterans. I always doubted that all Vietnam Vets just love Kerry as much as Kerry supporters stipulate.
MEM: in fact defending him against the inflammatory charges of...
If that was a defense, please never ever step in to defend me.
What you did in that post was a back-handed smear.
Thanks for the link. I've been walking around in a daze for a week. :)
I read your article and I have something to ad to the Cambodia escapade. You are correct that Nixon was not President then, but it is also true that Nixon had not made the speech saying no Americans were in Cambodia until Nov. 1971.
I also take issue with the medals etc. but will address one small aspect here. Generally when someone relays a personal story the basics of the story remain unchangedm especially when it was an event that could have ended your life. In the case of Jim Rasmussen, that is not the case. These are quotes that I have uncovered using the limited resources I have.
Rassmann's river patrol of Swift boats had been blown out of the water in a barrage of fire from Viet Cong AK-47s and rocket launchers. He had come up for air, taking sniper fire from both banks, sure "my ticket was punched.''
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/02/08/MNGKO4RLT71.DTL
On March 13, 1969, Rassmann, a Green Beret, was traveling down the Bay Hap river in a boat behind Kerry's when both were ambushed by exploding land mines and enemy fire coming from the shore. Kerry was hit in the arm, while a mine blew Rassmann's boat out of the water. With enemy fire coming from both sides of the river and swift boats evacuating from the area, Kerry's crew chose to turn their boat toward the ambush to save Rassmann.
http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0117d.html
Rassmann, a first lieutenant in the Army special forces, was eating a chocolate chip cookie on Kerry's patrol boat as it pulled back from a fire fight when a nearby boat hit a mine. During the ensuing combat, Kerry's boat was rocked by another explosion, which injured Kerry and tossed Rassmann into the water.
http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2004/07/22/76146.php
While returning from a SEA LORDS operation along the Bay Hap River, a mine detonated under another swift boat. Machine-gun fire erupted from both banks of the river, and a second explosion followed moments later. The second blast blew me off John's swift boat, PCF-94, throwing me into the river. Fearing that the other boats would run me over, I swam to the bottom of the river and stayed there as long as I could hold my breath.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110005460
The group had already lost one soldier that day. As they sped down the river, one boat was blown out of the water, and then another. An explosion wounded Kerry in the arm and threw Rassmann into the river. Rassmann dove to the bottom to avoid being run over by the other boats. When he surfaced, he saw the convoy had gone ahead.
Viet Cong snipers fired at him, and Rassmann submerged over and over to avoid being hit. The bullets came from both banks, and Rassmann had nowhere to go. He began thinking his time had come, but the fifth time he came up, he saw the convoy had turned around. Kerry had ordered the boats back to pick up the man overboard.
http://www.htmlhelponline.com/kerry/news1.html
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The mainstream media is strongly anti-Bush and pro-Kerry. This blatant lie by Kerry will be brushed aside as "minor" and "unimportant." Those that continue to bring it up will be accused of using "smear tactics against a genuine war hero." Etc.
As I've said before, footage could come out tomorrow of Kerry butchering a pre-teen Vietnamese girl with a smile on his face, and the liberal press would immediately begin excusing it by talking of the "fog of war" and such. Sickening.