John Kerry Controversy

The following paragraphs are from a 2004 article. 

Kerry is on the record as saying that he threw his own medals over the wall, including the bronze star, the silver star and three purple hearts. He is also on the record saying that they were not his medals but someone else’s (e.g., Slate, Boston Globe).  Historically, both versions of the story can’t be true.  It is easy to see why he would lie about this issue.  He has recently tried to portray himself as a war hero, and for that medals are necessary.  He has also tried to portray himself as the noble anti-war protestor, who was compelled to return awards given to him for the mistake of the Viet Nam War.  Thus, his desire to sketch two seemingly antithetical  portraits of himself has caused him to create two versions of the same story.

 The second is the Christmas Eve account in Cambodia.  He has said on the record that he was in Cambodia on Christmas Eve 1968 under Richard Nixon’s order being shot at by the Khmer Rouge. This event has been shown to be a complete fabrication, and now Kerry surrogates are saying that he was not in Cambodia on that day, but four times in January 1969 under the cover of secret missions.  No evidence regarding these later alleged events are available and we have only Kerry’s word.  It is curious that Kerry’s testimony is also guilty of a two serious anachronisms: the first is that Nixon (Republican) was not president on Dec. 24, 1968, but rather Johnson (Democrat) was; the second, we are told by experts, is that the Khmer Rouge could not have been involved in shooting at Kerry until two years later.

In the case of the 264 Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, they are clearly angry at Kerry for his testimony upon returning from Viet Nam which had the effect of depicting all US forces in Viet Nam as war criminals.  It is very easy to see why they would hate Kerry and wish to see harm done to his campaign for President.

As a result of Swiftvet TV ads, John Kerry has also recently accused these 264 men of being liars and lackeys for the Republican party.  Kerry’s further claim that they did not serve on his boat suggests that only the testimony of those who served directly under Kerry’s command and on his boat is germane, and all these vets consider Kerry a war hero.

Kerry’s own officers say that he was lazy, disloyal, self-serving and often unwilling to follow orders. This seems to contradict the meritorious service records signed by some of these same gentlemen.  These officers now claim that the signing of service reports recommending an officer for promotion is not the same as saying that this person is qualified to be President of the United States.  And besides, only those familiar with how to read such service records are able to interpret them correctly, and according to the Swiftvets, who are able to do so, even the records which Kerry has published on his website corroborate their many of their contentions regarding his character as an officer–to those on the outside they appear to be respectful, sometimes even glowing accounts, but those inside the high command were able to determine who were the best officers marked for accelerated promotion and who presented various kinds of problems.  Kerry’s commanding Swiftvet officers are now on the record saying Kerry is unfit to serve at that level, and they base their position not on service reports in need of scrutiny and interpretation, but upon their own observation of his service while in Viet Nam. 

 Finally, these Swiftvets have repeatedly challenged Kerry to sign the Form 180 which would permit the Navy to release all of his service and medical records.  They apparently do not fear that such evidence would contradict their version of the events.  Kerry has not released all of his service records.  One may only conclude that he is hiding something. 

The historical event of John Kerry’s Vietnam record is that he was a war hero who served honorably and received wounds leading to three Purple Hearts which led to his early release.  Snopes states he asked for early release from his commanding officer, Adm. Schlech to run for office in the MA Congress. It was approved on 1/3/1970.

So, who are we really to believe in this last paragraph? Snopes or what John Kerry stated? Is he really qualified to be head of the Defense Department or Secretary of State? He is, if being an inconsistent liar is part of the qualifications for the job.