John F Kerry Tries to Redeem Himself

The New York Times has run an article in which John F. Kerry, Senator from Massachusetts and failed Democrat presidential nominee, attempts to refute the Swift Boat Vets. The Swift Boat Vets, as you may recall, opposed Kerry's presidential bid and released a book about Kerry's exploits in Vietnam titled "Unfit for Command." Now, almost two years after losing the election, Kerry and his promoters at the New York Times are trying to redeem his military reputation. For what reason isn't clear: are they setting Kerry up for another run at the presidency?

At the time "Unfit for Command" was released, Kerry did not attempt to refute it, but his operatives tried to shut it up, first by ignoring it, then by claiming it had been "discredited" (but they didn't say by whom or to whose satisfaction). Kerry consistently refused to release ALL of his military records, which would have shed a great deal of light on the facts.

Kerry's claims and awards that were discredited by the Swift Boat Vets are these:

1. Kerry's first Purple Heart.
Kerry's wound was self-inflicted when Kerry fired a grenade launcher into some rocks along the river, resulting in a piece of shrapnel lodging itself in his arm -- a situation that would not justify a Purple Heart. The medic who removed the metal said it was tiny and that he covered it with a bandaid. Kerry's commander refused to recommend a Purple Heart for the wound, but Kerry somehow came up with one anyway. The Swift Boat Vets say Kerry wrote his own medal recommendations and simply lied or greatly exaggerated the facts to get medals he didn't deserve.

Kerry's new "evidence" shows a picture of him rough housing with other Swift Boaters while wearing a bandage on his arm, proof of his injury; however, it doesn't show how the injury was sustained or its degree of severity.

2. Kerry's third Purple Heart (no one has challenged his second Purple Heart).
This was another self-inflicted wound. Kerry dropped a grenade into a bin of rice, then turned away from the explosion, which peppered his buttocks with hundreds of bits of burned rice. His self-written medal recommendation told a completely different story.

3. Kerry's Silver Star.
Kerry shot a wounded Viet Cong soldier who the Vets say was running away. Kerry did nothing wrong in shooting the Cong, but his actions clearly do not rise to the level of a Silver Star. Later, Kerry displayed his Silver Star on his website with a "V" for valor. The V is sometimes attached to medals when the recipient was particularly brave while earning the medal. However, the Silver Star is already "for valor" and the V is never given with a Silver Star. Kerry just faked it, proving irrefutably that he is a blowhard and phony attempting to pass himself off as a "war hero."

Kerry's new "evidence" shows him standing over a man's body who is supposed to be the Cong soldier. The man is laying on his back, indicating that he was killed approaching, not running away. Even if the dead man is the soldier in question, which isn't proven, there is still nothing in Kerry's story that would justify a Silver Star.

4. Kerry's Bronze Star.
Kerry got a Bronze Star for turning his Swift Boat around to pick up a sailor who had fallen off the boat into the water. Kerry claimed this was done while under heavy fire, but the Swift Boat vets claim there was no enemy fire.

5. Kerry's claims of secret missions to Cambodia.
Kerry has made several speeches in the past in which he claimed to have been on secret missions to Cambodia, during a time when Cambodia was officially off limits to the U.S. military. Kerry made these claims to bolster his image of the long-suffering warrior who was made to do illegal things while the U.S. government was pretending innocence. During one of these missions Kerry allegedly received a "lucky hat" that a CIA agent gave him, and which Kerry still carries in his briefcase wherever he goes.

The Swift Boat vets showed Kerry's claims to be bogus, that there were no records showing his boat ever went closer than 50 miles to Cambodia. Kerry's latest "evidence" shows that his boat went much closer than that. However, he still has no evidence to prove his claims of secret missions inside Cambodia.

All of the claims and counter claims can be read at the Democracy Project. The story is further discussed at Power Line.