No Rant Needed

3 September 2004

This one is too easy.

From Chicago Sun-Times:

August 27, 2004
BY THOMAS LIPSCOMB
In the midst of the controversy between the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and Kerry campaign representatives about Kerry's service in Vietnam, new questions have arisen.
The Kerry campaign has repeatedly stated that the official naval records prove the truth of Kerry's assertions about his service.
But the official records on Kerry's Web site only add to the confusion. The DD214 form, an official Defense Department document summarizing Kerry's military career posted on johnkerry.com, includes a "Silver Star with combat V."
But according to a U.S. Navy spokesman, "Kerry's record is incorrect. The Navy has never issued a 'combat V' to anyone for a Silver Star."
Naval regulations do not allow for the use of a "combat V" for the Silver Star, the third-highest decoration the Navy awards. None of the other services has ever granted a Silver Star "combat V," either.
B.G. Burkett, a Vietnam veteran himself, received the highest award the Army gives to a civilian, the Distinguished Civilian Service Award, for his book Stolen Valor. Burkett pored through thousands of military service records, uncovering phony claims of awards and fake claims of military service. "I've run across several claims for Silver Stars with combat V's, but they were all in fake records," he said.
Burkett recently filed a complaint that led last month to the sentencing of Navy Capt. Roger D. Edwards to 115 days in the brig for falsification of his records.
Kerry's Web site also lists two different citations for the Silver Star. One was issued by the commander in chief of the Pacific Command (CINCPAC), Adm. John Hyland. The other, issued by Secretary of the Navy John Lehman during the Reagan administration, contained some revisions and additional language. "By his brave actions, bold initiative, and unwavering devotion to duty, Lieutenant (j.g.) Kerry reflected great credit upon himself... ."
Burkett, who has spent years working with the FBI, Department of Justice and all of the military services uncovering fraudulent files in the official records, is less charitable: "The multiple citations and variations in the official record are reason for suspicion in itself, even disregarding the current swift boat veterans' controversy."

And now for the petards.

1996: Kerry judged false decorations 'very wrong'
WorldNetDaily ^ | 8/28/04 |

Amid questions about one of John Kerry's combat "V" decorations, unearthed remarks by the senator eight years ago reveal he judged an admiral's allegedly false awards as a serious offense that disqualified him from leadership.
After the suicide of Adm. Mike Boorda in 1996, National Review columnist Kate O'Beirne notes Kerry gave his response to two Boston papers.
"In a sense, there's nothing that says more about your career than when you fought, where you fought and how you fought," Kerry told the Boston Herald.
"If you wind up being less than what you're pretending to be, there is a major confrontation with value and self-esteem and your sense of how others view you."
At that time, a left-leaning news service had raised questions about Boorda's combat "V" clip, which is awarded for valor under fire. The doubt was over whether Boorda's two tours in Vietnam aboard combat ships qualified him for the awards. The Washington Post reported Boorda's right to wear the clips apparently was supported by a Navy manual, but hours before he was scheduled to address the issue with Newsweek reporters, he shot himself.
The Herald described Kerry as among the veterans who said although they would take offense at someone falsely wearing the "V" pin, they couldn't see how it would drive Boorda to suicide.
"Is it wrong? Yes, it is very wrong. Sufficient to question his leadership position? The answer is yes, which he clearly understood," Kerry told the Herald. (highlight mine - pmg)
Kerry also spoke with the Boston Globe.
"The military is a rigorous culture that places a high premium on battlefield accomplishment," he told the paper.
Of Boorda and his apparent violation, Kerry said: "When you are the chief of them all, it has to weigh even more heavily."

Let the hoisting begin.

See Attachment for Navy Awards Regulations and Kerry's DD 214

So let's see.

His campaign now admits his first purple heart might have been for an unintentional self-inflicted wound. No enemy fire, no award.

His "seared in" memory of Christmas 68 in Cambodia is rapidly fading, along with his secret mission to deliver the CIA agent with the "magic" hat.

And when several people wound up in the water, Kerry rescued Rasmussen "under intense enemy fire". This fire was so intense that not one of the five boats, each fifty feet long, had small arms damage? In a 75 yard wide river? In 90 minutes of fire? I may not be the best shot in the world, but I can hit the literal broad side of a barn once in a while.

This is just like playing CSI.

And maybe the Swifties weren't so crazy after all.

Peter Grout