Please see the following two items concerning John F. Kerry that are
apparently making the rounds on email.  Is there any basis for them? 
Fact or Fiction? True or Urban Legend?

Item 1.If you are honestly attempting to judge this man's character, you
should read and carefully evaluate this message:
A VERY interesting article by my brother, Mike, who won a bronze star
in Vietnam.  I hope this one becomes public:
Bigger things.  I've long thought that John Kerry's war record was
phony. We talked about it when you were here.  It's mainly been
instinct because, as you know, nobody who claims to have seen the
action he does would so shamelessly flaunt it for political gain.  So
I spent a couple of hours on the internet yesterday,  made a bunch of
notes, and I'm sending them as an attachment.  In addition, look at
the web site http://25thaviation.org/johnkerry/id15htm  Somebody went
to a lot of trouble to chronicle Kerry's checkered career.
I was in the Delta shortly after he left.  I know that area well.  I
know the operations he was involved in well.  I know the tactics and
the doctrine used.  I know the equipment.  Although I was attached to
CTF-116 (PBRs) I spent a fair amount of  time with CTF-115 (swift
boats), Kerry's command.
Here are my problems and suspicions: 
(1) Kerry was in-country less than four months and collected, a Bronze
Star,  a Silver Star and three purple hearts. I never heard of anybody
with any outfit I worked with (including SEAL One, the Sea Wolves,
Riverines and the River Patrol Force) collecting that much hardware so
fast, and for such pedestrian actions. The Swifts did a commendable
job.  But that duty wasn't the worst you could draw.  They operated
only along the coast and in the major rivers (Bassac and Mekong).  The
rough stuff in the hot areas was mainly handled by the smaller, faster
PBRs.
(2)  Three Purple Hearts but no limp.  All injuries so minor that no
time lost from duty.  Amazing luck.  Or he was putting himself in for
medals every time he bumped his head on the wheel house hatch?  Combat
on the boats was almost always at close range.  You didn't have minor
wounds.  At least not often.  Not three times in a row. Then he used
the three purple hearts to request a trip home eight months before the
end of his tour.  Fishy.
(3)  The details of the event for which he was given the Silver Star
make no sense at all.  Supposedly, a B-40 was fired at the boat and
missed.  Charlie jumps up with the launcher in his hand, the bow
gunner knocks him down with the twin 50, Kerry beaches the boat, jumps
off, shoots Charlie, and retrieves the launcher.  If true, he did
everything wrong.
(a) Standard procedure when you took rocket fire was to put your stern
to the action and go balls to the wall. A B-40 has the ballistic
integrity of a Frisbee after about 25 yards, so you put 50 yards or so
between you and the beach and begin raking it with your .50's.
(b)  Did you ever see anybody get knocked down with a .50 caliber
round and get up?  The guy was dead or dying.  The rocket launcher was
empty.  There was no reason to go after him (except if you knew he was
no danger to you just flopping around  in the dust during his last few
seconds on earth, and you wanted some daring do in your after-action
report). And we didn't shoot wounded people.  We had rules against
that, too.
(c)  Kerry got off the boat.  This was a major breach of standing
procedures.  Nobody on a boat crew ever got off a boat in a hot area. 
EVER!  The reason was simple.  If you had somebody on the beach your
boat was defenseless.  It couldn't run and it couldn't return fire. It
was stupid and it put his crew in danger.  He should have been
relieved and reprimanded.  I never heard of any boat crewman ever
leaving a boat during or after a firefight.
Something is fishy. 
Here we have a JFK wannabe (the guy Halsey wanted to court martial for
carelessly losing his boat and getting a couple people killed by
running across the bow of a Jap destroyer) who is hardly in Vietnam
long enough to get good tan, collects medals faster than Audie Murphy
in a job where lots of medals weren't common, gets sent home eight
months early, requests separation from active duty a few months after
that so he can run for Congress, finds out war heros don't sell well
in Massachusetts in 1970, so reinvents himself as Jane Fonda, throws
his ribbons in the dirt with the cameras running to jump start his
political career, gets Stillborn Pell to invite him to address
Congress and Bobby Kennedy's speech writer to do the heavy lifting,
winds up in the Senate himself a few years later, votes against every
major defense bill, says the CIA is irrelevant after the Wall came
down, votes against  the Gulf War, a big mistake since that turned out
well, decides not to make the same mistake twice so votes for invading
Iraq, but oops, that didn't turn out so well so he now says he really
didn't mean for Bush to go to war when he voted to allow him to go to
war.
I'm real glad you or I never had this guy covering out flanks in
Vietnam.  I sure don't want him as Commander in Chief.  I hope that
somebody from CTF-115 shows up with some facts challenging Kerry's
Vietnam record.  I know in my gut it's wildly inflated.  And fishy.
Keep smiling, Mike


Item 2.Just so you will know who he really is:
 THE REAL KERRY By HOWIE CARR
February 5, 2004 -- BOSTON
ONE of the surest ways to get the phones ringing on any Massachusetts
talk-radio show is to ask people to call in and tell their John Kerry
stories. The phone lines are soon filled, and most of the stories have a
common theme: our junior senator pulling rank on one of his constituents,
breaking in line, demanding to pay less (or nothing) or ducking out before
the bill arrives.
The tales often have one other common thread. Most end with Sen. Kerry
inquiring of the lesser mortal: "Do you know who I am?"
And now he's running for president as a populist. His first wife came from
a Philadelphia Main Line family worth $300 million. His second wife is a
pickle-and-ketchup heiress.
Kerry lives in a mansion on Beacon Hill on which he has borrowed $6
million to finance his campaign. A fire hydrant that prevented him and
his wife from parking their SUV in front of their tony digs was
removed by the city of Boston at his behest.
The Kerrys ski at a spa the widow Heinz owns in Aspen, and they summer on
Nantucket in a sprawling seaside "cottage" on Hurlbert Avenue, which is so
well-appointed that at a recent fund-raiser, they imported porta-toilets
onto the front lawn so the donors wouldn't use the inside bathrooms. (They
later claimed the decision was made on septic, not social,
considerations).
It's a wonderful life these days for John Kerry. He sails Nantucket Sound
In "the Scaramouche," a 42-foot Hinckley powerboat. Martha Stewart has a
similar boat; the no-frills model reportedly starts at $695,000. Sen.
Kerry bought it new, for cash.
Every Tuesday night, the local politicians here that Kerry elbowed out of
his way on his march to the top watch, fascinated, as he claims victory in
more primaries and denounces the special interests, the "millionaires" and
"the overprivileged."
"His initials are JFK," longtime state Senate President William M. Bulger
used to muse on St. Patrick's Day, "Just for Kerry. He's only Irish every
sixth year." And now it turns out that he's not Irish at all.
But in the parochial world of Bay State politics, he was never really seen
as Irish, even when he was claiming to be (although now, of course, he
says that any references to his alleged Hibernian heritage were mistakenly 
put into the Congressional Record by an aide who apparently didn't know that
on his paternal side he is, in fact, part-Jewish).
Kerry is, in fact, a Brahmin - his mother was a Forbes, from one of
Massachusetts' oldest WASP families. The ancestor who wed Ralph Waldo
Emerson's daughter was marrying down.
At the risk of engaging in ethnic stereotyping, Yankees have a reputation
for, shall we say, frugality. And Kerry tosses around quarters like they
were manhole covers. In 1993, for instance, living on a senator's salary
of about $100,000, he managed to give a total of $135 to charity.
Yet that same year, he was somehow able to scrape together $8,600 for a
brand-new, imported Italian motorcycle, a Ducati Paso 907 IE. He kept it
for years, until he decided to run for president, at which time he traded it
in for a Harley-Davidson like the one he rode onto "The Tonight Show" set a
couple of months ago as Jay Leno applauded his fellow Bay Stater.
Of course, in 1993 he was between his first and second heiresses - a time he 
now calls "the wandering years," although an equally apt description might be 
"the freeloading years."
For some of the time, he was, for all practical purposes, homeless. His
friends allowed him into a real-estate deal in which he flipped a condo
for quick resale, netting a $21,000 profit on a cash investment of exactly
nothing. For months he rode around in a new car supplied by a shady local
Buick dealer. When the dealer's ties to a congressman who was later
Indicted for racketeering were exposed, Kerry quickly explained that the
non-payment was a mere oversight, and wrote out a check.
In the Senate, his record of his constituent services has been lackluster,
and most of his colleagues, despite their public support, are hard-pressed
to list an accomplishment. Just last fall, a Boston TV reporter ambushed
three congressmen with the question, name something John Kerry has
accomplished in Congress. After a few nervous giggles, two could think of
nothing, and a third mentioned a baseball field, and then
misidentified Kerry as "Sen. Kennedy."
Many of his constituents see him in person only when he is cutting them in
line - at an airport, a clam shack or the Registry of Motor Vehicles. One
talk-show caller a few weeks back recalled standing behind a police
barricade in 2002 as the Rolling Stones played the Orpheum Theater, a
short limousine ride from Kerry's Louisburg Square mansion.
The caller, Jay, said he began heckling Kerry and his wife as they
attempted to enter the theater. Finally, he said, the senator turned to him 
and asked him the eternal question."Do you know who I am?" "Yeah,"
said Jay. "You're a gold-digger."
John Kerry. First he looks at the purse.

Howie Carr, a Boston Herald columnist and syndicated talk-radio host, has
been covering John Kerry for 25 years.

Hello lag!

Thank you for this interesting question; it?s been challenging and fascinating.

Here we go:




EMAIL #1

A great many veterans have publicly grumbled over Kerry?s military
career, not only for his activities when he came home from Vietnam,
but also for his activities while *in* Vietnam.

However, according to Vietnam Veterans Against Kerry (a group that
certainly has no love for the politician), he *did* earn some medals:

?Kerry experienced his first intense combat action on Dec. 2, 1968. He
was slightly wounded on his arm, earning his first Purple Heart.?

?Kerry earned his second Purple Heart after sustaining a minor
shrapnel wound in his left thigh on Feb. 20, 1969.?

?February 28, 1969: When Kerry's Patrol Craft Fast 94 received a B-40
rocket shot from shore, he hot dogged his craft beaching it in the
center of the enemy position. To his surprise, an enemy soldier sprang
up from a hole not ten feet from Patrol Craft 94 and fled. The boat's
machine gunner hit and wounded the fleeing Viet Cong as he darted
behind a hootch. The twin .50s gunner fired at the Viet Cong. He said
he "laid 50 rounds" into the hootch before Kerry leaped from the boat
and dashed in to administer a "coup de grace" to the wounded Viet
Cong. Kerry returned with the B-40 rocket and launcher. Kerry was
given a Silver Star for his actions.?

?On March 13, 1969, a mine detonated near Kerry's boat, slighting
wounding Kerry in the right arm. He was awarded his third Purple
Heart.?

All of Kerry?s Purple Hearts came from what are sometimes called ?band
aid wounds.? As Vietnam Veterans Against Kerry states: ?When later
asked about the severity of the wounds, Kerry said that one of them
cost him about two days of service, and that the other two did not
interrupt his duty. ?Walking wounded?" as Kerry put it. After his
third Purple Heart Kerry requested to be sent home. Navy rules, he
pointed out, allowed a thrice-wounded soldier to return to the United
States immediately.?

(See the website for a photo of Kerry receiving a medal, and another
photo of him wearing some in Vietnam: Vietnam Veterans Against Kerry,
page 2, http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnkerry.com/page2.html )

Notice that the Purple Hearts were for very minor injuries. (Some
people speculate he got injured ?on purpose? in order to use the
?thrice-wounded rule,? but this is pure speculation, and cannot be
proved.) If you wish to know some more specifics of how Kerry was
injured, the V.V.A.K. site does provide some details. Notice, too,
that their account of how Kerry got his Silver Star isn?t exactly
glowing.

There are many veterans who really wonder about that Silver Star; as
one veteran opined, ?If everything was confirmed and approved, an
officer (normally the original witness) would write the citation
describing the action. All of this was then forwarded to whatever
command level was required by the AR to approve that particular award.
A Silver Star requires something quite extraordinary in the infantry.?
He, too, thinks Kerry?s behavior should not have earned a Silver Star.
You can read his entire commentary at ?A Vietnam Vet Against Kerry,?
Power Line, http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/005841.php )

Another vet states, ?[The awarding of medals] it is not a pure
process, meaning that it often depends on the command, even military
politics itself. And, something that is almost never discussed about
awards--all are not equal. In Vietnam, the Bronze Star could be
awarded for service. In other words, showing up for work...Or, the
Bronze Star could be awarded for valor. If for valor, it had on it, a
"V," it meant that the person who received it did something
extraordinary under fire.? (?IN COMPLETE DISREGARD FOR YOUR OWN
PERSONAL SAFETY,? Airborne Press,
http://www.airbornepress.com/nov2803.html ) According to Veterans For
John Kerry, Kerry?s Bronze Star did have a ?V? on it, although they do
not specify when or how he received the medal. (?John Kerry?s Service
Record,? Veterans for Kerry,
http://www.johnkerry.com/communities/veterans/service.html ) I could
not find any anti-Kerry sites that would verify the presence of the
"V."

Going back to the Silver Star, one website claims that it can be given
for ?For active participation in ground or surface combat subsequent
to 1 March 1961 while in the grade of captain/colonel or junior
thereto.? (Ribbons of the U.S. Navy, Home of Heroes,
http://www.homeofheroes.com/medals/ribbons/1_ribbons_n.html ) Under
that classification, the medal might make more sense. Even if you
believe Kerry did ?everything wrong? (indeed, he has even been accused
of ?war crimes? that day?see ?THE LOGIC OF LIBERAL BIAS? The Daily
Howler, http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh021003.shtml ), he *did*
participate in combat. While there are rules against shooting the
wounded, a generous person could conclude that Kerry was scared and
fired without thinking.

It is a little unfair to say that Kerry voted against ?every major
defense bill.? He did vote for a few, including The National Missile
Defense Act of 1999 and the failed Durbin Amendment. (?Missile Defense
and Space Policy,? by Caitlin Baczuk and Rebecca Schauer, CNS,
http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/week/040216.htm )

Kerry did, however, say that the U.S. should ?almost eliminate CIA
activity.? (?Early Kerry,? NewsMax,
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/1/25/214708.shtml ) According
to CBS News, Kerry ?sponsored a bill to cut $1.5 billion from the
budget for intelligence gathering. Then after the terrorist attacks on
the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001, he asked
why America's intelligence wasn't better.? (?John Kerry?s
Contradictions,? CBS News,
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/26/opinion/main595936.shtml )

As for the Gulf War, Kerry seems to have waffled back and forth. (See
?VIETNAM ALLUSION,? The New Republic,
http://www.tnr.com/etc.mhtml?pid=1261 ) But he did ultimately vote
against it. (See ?Waffling on War,? National Review,
http://www.nationalreview.com/ponnuru/ponnuru102502.asp )




EMAIL #2

This email is, indeed, a reprint of an opinion piece in the New York
Post; see it here: http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/17337.htm


The ?Do you know who I am?? line pops up so frequently online and in
newspapers and magazines, one tends to lend a little credence to it.
It?s impossible to know whether one person told a ?do you know who I
am?? story to the media, and it?s just been repeated ad nauseum, or
whether Kerry does use the line frequently. Here are just a handful
pages that cite this quote:

? ?This is Only A Taste,? Daily KOS,
http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2004/1/24/20933/5264/179 (which
supposedly quotes a former Kerry constituent)

? ?Why Combat Matters,? Spectator,
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=6155

? ?Memory Lane with John & Jane,? Iowa Presidential Watch,
http://www.iowapresidentialwatch.com/cartoonarc/MemoryLane.htm

? ?John Kerry Anecdotes,? Political Puzzle, seen here in a Google
cache, for a limited time (scroll down):
://www.google.com/search?q=cache:egukGxrwho8J:www.politicalpuzzle.org/archives/2004_01_29.html+Kerry+%22do+you+know+who+I+am%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
(Again, purportedly a story told by someone who experienced Kerry in
person)


The fire hydrant story has been widely reported, and by respected
sources. These include The National Review (?The Heinz-Kerry Water
Ballet,? http://www.nationalreview.com/geraghty/geraghty200402050908.asp
), and the more liberal MSN (?Why John Kerry needs some of his wife's
sauce,? MSN, http://slate.msn.com/id/2092399/ )

Kerry?s rich wives and lifestyle are readily acknowledged facts. The
porta-toilets story also appeared in several newspapers, although none
of them were as well known as the Post.

It's also true that Kerry allowed people to think him Irish, when in
truth he isn?t at all. (See ?Whopper of the Week: John Kerry,? MSN,
http://slate.msn.com/id/2079783/ )

I searched long and hard for more information on Kerry?s spending
habits (specifically his charity giving and motorcycle buying), and
while the Carr article has been quoted extensively throughout the
media, I could find no independent article or research to back it up.
This doesn?t mean the claims aren?t true; it also doesn't mean they
are true. It just means I can?t either confirm or deny them. The same
is the true with the Boston television interview and the Orpheum
Theatre story.

I did, however, find an independent note of Kerry?s use of the Buick;
see ?Weld urges probe of Kerry on housing arrangements,? South Coast
Today, http://www.s-t.com/daily/10-96/10-20-96/a04sr013.htm )





In conclusion, much of EMAIL #1 and EMAIL #2 can be easily verified.
EMAIL #1 is full of personal opinions, but the facts are correct.
EMAIL #2 has some facts that are difficult to verify, but if you give
any credence to the idea that a well-known and widely read newspaper
like the Post would check it?s facts, then you might be 100%
satisfied. Otherwise, you can at least say that yes, most of the facts
are verifiable.


Regards,
Kriswrite


MAIN KEYWORDS USED:
Kerry "Silver Star"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Kerry+%22Silver+Star%22&btnG=Google+Search

Vietnam ?Silver Star? circumstances
://www.google.com/search?q=vietnam+%22Silver+Star%22+circumstances&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N

Vietnam ?shooting wounded?
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=vietnam+%22shooting+wounded%22

Kerry against "defense bill"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Kerry+against+%22defense+bill%22&btnG=Google+Search

Kerry "CIA irrelevant"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Kerry+%22CIA+irrelevant%22&btnG=Google+Search

Kerry  CIA
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Kerry++CIA&btnG=Google+Search

Kerry  against "Gulf War"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Kerry+against+%22Gulf+War%22&btnG=Google+Search

"THE REAL KERRY" "HOWIE CARR"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22THE+REAL+KERRY%22+%22HOWIE+CARR%22&btnG=Google+Search

Kerry "do you know who I am"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Kerry+%22do+you+know+who+I+am%22

Kerry "fire hydrant"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Kerry+%22fire+hydrant%22&btnG=Google+Search

Kerry "porta-toilets"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Kerry+%22porta-toilets%22

Kerry $135 charity 
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Kerry+%24135+charity&btnG=Google+Search

Kerry $135 charity 1993
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Kerry+%24135+charity+1993&btnG=Google+Search

"John Kerry" "Buick dealer" 
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22John+Kerry%22+%22Buick+dealer%22&btnG=Google+Search

"John Kerry"  Orpheum  "Rolling Stones" "gold digger"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22John+Kerry%22++Orpheum++%22Rolling+Stones%22+%22gold+digger%22&btnG=Google+Search

"John Kerry"  Orpheum  "Rolling Stones"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22John+Kerry%22++Orpheum++%22Rolling+Stones%22

"John Kerry"  "Rolling Stones"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22John+Kerry%22++%22Rolling+Stones%22&btnG=Google+Search

"John Kerry"  "gold digger"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22John+Kerry%22++%22gold+digger%22

"John Kerry"  motorcycle
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22John+Kerry%22++motorcycle&btnG=Google+Search

"John Kerry"  Harley
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22John+Kerry%22++Harley&btnG=Google+Search


"John Kerry"  "spending habits"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22John+Kerry%22++%22spending+habits%22&btnG=Google+Search

"John Kerry"  "freeloader"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22John+Kerry%22++%22freeloader%22&btnG=Google+Search

Kerry's biography was investigated by the Boston Globe, and a series
of articles resulted which it published in 2003. Part two covered his
war experiences.

Part Two:
Heroism, growing concern over war
http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/061603.shtml




(1) Kerry was in-country less than four months and collected, a Bronze
Star,  a Silver Star and three purple hearts. I never heard of anybody
with any outfit I worked with (including SEAL One, the Sea Wolves,
Riverines and the River Patrol Force) collecting that much hardware so
fast, and for such pedestrian actions. The Swifts did a commendable
job.  But that duty wasn't the worst you could draw.  They operated
only along the coast and in the major rivers (Bassac and Mekong).  The
rough stuff in the hot areas was mainly handled by the smaller, faster
PBRs.


The mission of the Swift boats during Kerry's tour was to act as bait
for the VC. This was called operation SEALORD, and it was the idea of
Admiral Elmo Zumwalt (Zumwalt's own son was a Swift boat commander.
The younger Zumwalt died of cancer, attributed to exposure to Agent
Orange, years later.) The name of the operation among the Swift boat
crews was ZWI, Zumwalt's Wild Idea. The noisy engines attracted enemy
fire, allowing the boats to concentrate their superior weaponry on the
enemy positions thus exposed. Kerry was extremely aggressive in
carrying out this mission objective, sometimes to point of
recklessness. Casualty rates (killed or wounded) among Swift boat
crews ran as high as 75 per cent, according to Zumwalt's own
estimates.


(2)  Three Purple Hearts but no limp.  All injuries so minor that no
time lost from duty.  Amazing luck.  Or he was putting himself in for
medals every time he bumped his head on the wheel house hatch?  Combat
on the boats was almost always at close range.  You didn't have minor
wounds.  At least not often.  Not three times in a row. Then he used
the three purple hearts to request a trip home eight months before the
end of his tour.  Fishy.


The citations for these medals are available and have been examined.
Kerry earned the Purple Hearts, which were being awarded regularly,
and he was entitled by Navy instruction 1300.39 to request a transfer
on the basis of having been three times wounded.

"The instruction, titled 1300.39, says that a Naval officer who
requires hospitalization on two separate occasions, or who receives
three wounds "regardless of the nature of the wounds," can ask a
superior officer to request a reassignment."


(3)  The details of the event for which he was given the Silver Star
make no sense at all.  Supposedly, a B-40 was fired at the boat and
missed.  Charlie jumps up with the launcher in his hand, the bow
gunner knocks him down with the twin 50, Kerry beaches the boat, jumps
off, shoots Charlie, and retrieves the launcher.  If true, he did
everything wrong.


This is not an accurate account of the engagement. First, the .50
caliber guns were mounted not in the bow but in the "tub" above the
pilot house. The bow gunner (in this case, Tom Belodeau) would have
been armed with an M-16. Second, there were two B-40s involved, one
that shattered a window on the boat and another (loaded and ready to
fire) that was wielded by the loin-cloth clad attacker killed by
Kerry. Third, the attacker was only "clipped" in the leg by the bow
gunner. Fourth, it was impossible for the .50 caliber gunner (Frederic
Short) to have fired on the attacker, because the boat had been
beached and the bow was pitched up. The guard rail, by Short's own
recollection, prevented him from lowering his guns on the attacker. It
was Belodeau who "clipped" the attacker, but Belodeau's gun jammed,
and Kerry was face to face with the VC, who got up and ran off, Kerry
in pursuit.


(a) Standard procedure when you took rocket fire was to put your stern
to the action and go balls to the wall. A B-40 has the ballistic
integrity of a Frisbee after about 25 yards, so you put 50 yards or so
between you and the beach and begin raking it with your .50's.


Kerry's actions on Feb. 28, 1969 were admittedly unorthodox. SOP would
have been to "hit and run." Kerry, who had previously beached his boat
and ordered a ground assault during a mission on Feb. 25, 1969, again
beached his boat to attack snipers who had ambushed another boat,
which Kerry had been sent to support. His aggressiveness was
questioned by his commander, George Elliott, who wrote up the incident
for the Silver Star, but Elliott believed that Kerry's actions were
justified in the circumstances and demonstrated great bravery.


(b)  Did you ever see anybody get knocked down with a .50 caliber
round and get up?  The guy was dead or dying.  The rocket launcher was
empty.  There was no reason to go after him (except if you knew he was
no danger to you just flopping around  in the dust during his last few
seconds on earth, and you wanted some daring do in your after-action
report). And we didn't shoot wounded people.  We had rules against
that, too.

First, the man was not shot by .50 caliber fire. Second, he was an
immediate threat to the boat and its crew, as he was carrying a B-40
and could have launched from behind the hooch where Kerry had chased
him. Third, the VC was only slightly wounded, and the boat which was
receiving enemy fire from both banks of the canal.



(c)  Kerry got off the boat.  This was a major breach of standing
procedures.  Nobody on a boat crew ever got off a boat in a hot area. 
EVER!  The reason was simple.  If you had somebody on the beach your
boat was defenseless.  It couldn't run and it couldn't return fire. It
was stupid and it put his crew in danger.  He should have been
relieved and reprimanded.  I never heard of any boat crewman ever
leaving a boat during or after a firefight.


Elliott said that it was contrary to policy for Kerry to have left the
boat, but that the policy was designed for the "big boat" Navy, not
for the small craft that were engaged in those waters. In the
pragmatic terms of the war, the commander took whatever actions he
deemed necessary to achieve the main objective, to eliminate the enemy
threat. In fact, this is consistent with front line battle experience
in all wars: tactics are invented on the fly to meet the immediate
needs, and whatever works is used, regardless of official policy.

From the citation: "With utter disregard for his own safety and the
enemy rockets," the citation says, Kerry "again ordered a charge on
the enemy, beached his boat only 10 feet from the Viet Cong rocket
position and personally led a landing party ashore in pursuit of the
enemy. ... The extraordinary daring and personal courage of Lt. Kerry
in attacking a numerically superior force in the face of intense fire
were responsible for the highly successful mission."

"Michael Bernique, who was revered as one of the gutsiest swift boat
commanders, marveled at Kerry's brazen approach to battle. Bernique
recalled how Kerry one day "went ashore in an area that I thought
might be mined. I said, 'Get the blankety-blank out of there.' John
just shrugged his shoulders and left. John just was fearless.

"If you are asking, 'Was he foolhardy?' -- he survived," Bernique
said. "I don't recall anybody saying they didn't want to serve with
him. I would not have worried about my back if John was with me.""

It should be noted that Kerry had earlier openly criticized the rules
of engagement, especially the establishment of "free-fire" zones,
where it was permissible to fire at will on any suspected target, with
the result that unarmed civilians were often killed. It is hardly
surprising that he would feel justified in disregarding policies that
he felt were contrary to good practice in carrying out the very rules
of engagement with which he disagreed.

hlabadie-ga