KERRY'S SILVER STAR

[delayjf]

Just read some of Kerry's Silver Star citation. He's credited with killing a enemy soldier who had pointed, but not fired a rocket at his boat. One of the other members of his crew, who is a member of Swift boats Veterans for truth has claimed that he had shot the soldier who then ran off behind some hut. Kerry then jumped off the boat and finished him off. Which ever version is true, the whole thing seems weak. Reminds me of McCarthur's Medal of Honour.

[Secretariat]

Originally posted by delayjf
Just read some of Kerry's Silver Star citation. He's credited with killing a enemy soldier who had pointed, but not fired a rocket at his boat. One of the other members of his crew, who is a member of Swift boats Veterans for truth has claimed that he had shot the soldier who then ran off behind some hut. Kerry then jumped off the boat and finished him off. Which ever version is true, the whole thing seems weak. Reminds me of McCarthur's Medal of Honour.

I generally don't respond to the above hogwash when it comes to the awarding of medals. I admire McCain for denouncing these unfounded accusations, and expect nothing less from AWOL Bush to attempt to use these few funded by a bigtime GOP contributor. Personally, it is the lwoest of the low. Especially when these men did not even serve with Kerry. It has already been debunked that the man claiming to have been on that swift boat with Kerry was never there. How repugnant to repudiate Kerry for his Silver Star. It's not exactly as if he awarded it to himself. I beleive this is as low as it gets in politics, and I expect nothing else from the Bush crew.

As to another act of Kerry's, at least one Repub is going to vote for him: See below:

Roll Call

February 4, 2004 Wednesday

Kerry the Lifesaver, Part Two

By Ed Henry Roll Call Staff

It turns out there's another Republican who is coming forward to say that Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) saved his life, but this rescue mission occurred in a corridor of the Capitol - not the jungles of Vietnam.

The incident dates back to 1988, when then-Sen. Jacob "Chic" Hecht (R-Nev.) rushed out of a GOP Conference luncheon gasping for air because he was choking on a slice of apple. Kerry happened to walk off a nearby elevator and hurriedly performed the Heimlich maneuver.

"He sized it up in a split second and saved my life," the 75-year-old former Senator recalled in a telephone interview this week.

"Every year at Christmas my wife and I call John Kerry and thank him for saving my life," Hecht added. "My wife of 45 years gets very emotional. He seems very happy that we remember him every year."

In an interview, Gail Hecht said of the couple's annual calls to Kerry: "He just makes light of it like it was nothing. I say, 'I owe you my life for saving my husband - what more can someone say?'"

And like Jim Rassmann, the Republican from Oregon who contacted Kerry's campaign office last month to reveal that the candidate had saved his life during the conflict in Vietnam, the former Nevada Senator said he would be glad to put his partisan leanings aside to appear at the side of the Democratic frontrunner.

"I'm sure if I was asked, I would," said Hecht, who revealed that his wife is planning on her own to attend a campaign event in California and their two daughters have already been working to elect Kerry. "My whole family is very sensitive and very appreciative of what he did."

Hecht said that he and his wife were on a long vacation to Australia and New Zealand around the time of the Iowa caucuses and had very little access to news reports, so they were not aware of Rassmann's decision to fly into Des Moines last month and appear with Kerry at an emotional campaign event.

Rassmann, a former Green Beret, had been traveling on the Bay Hap River behind Navy Lt. Kerry's boat in 1969 when they both faced an ambush. Rassmann's boat was blown out of the water and a wounded Kerry turned his own boat around to rescue his comrade.

After being informed of the story by a reporter, Hecht felt an instant kinship with the Oregonian. "Of course I do," said Hecht, who is still more amazed by Kerry's actions in the Capitol.

"When someone is drowning, it's obvious," Hecht said. "But in my case, 99 out of 100 would have thought it was a heart attack. Someone else who is not as sharp as him would have laid me down and I'd be dead. But he just immediately figured it out."

After finishing a round of golf on Tuesday afternoon, the retired Hecht delighted in recounting what he calls "the number one story of my life."

On July 12, 1988, Hecht had been digging into his lunch of fruit salad and cottage cheese at the GOP's weekly policy lunch when he suddenly felt a piece of apple lodge in his throat.

"It's the worst feeling," recalled Hecht, noting that he could not breathe or talk so it was difficult to communicate the problem to his GOP colleagues. He decided the solution was to force himself to vomit and thus rushed into the hallway for some privacy.

That didn't work, and Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) tried in vain to help by slapping Hecht on the back. Kerry suddenly emerged from an elevator and sprung into action as he happened upon a hunched-over Hecht.

Kerry tried the Heimlich maneuver four separate times until the windpipe of Hecht, who was now blue in the face, was finally cleared. "He said later, 'When I grabbed you, you had passed out,'" Hecht noted.

Hecht still needed the help of a team of Capitol physicians, who were unable to remove the apple for some time. The Senator was left with a smashed rib and a sore throat that could not handle solid food for several days, but he realized that it was nothing compared to what could have happened.

"It became an international story at the time, and Dr. Heimlich called me and said, 'You had 30 seconds. If you had not been saved, you would be a vegetable.'"

There was a remarkable bit of irony to the story, centering on the fact that Kerry was serving as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee that election cycle. Hecht, who had been elected in 1982, was facing his first re-election bid and was one of Kerry's top targets.

"You know, that says something about America," Hecht said immediately after the incident, according to news reports. "That's the difference between America and another country. He's targeted me as No. 1, yet he saved my life. That's the story of America."

Hecht did end up losing to Democrat Richard Bryan, who wound up serving two terms in the Senate. Hecht landed a terrific consolation prize: serving as U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas in the first Bush administration.

And Hecht is certainly not bitter about the political work of the former DSCC chairman, which is why he and his wife have kept up the annual tradition of calling Kerry's office around Christmas and getting his personal assistant to track the Senator down regardless of where he is in the world.

"He says, 'It's one of the best calls I get every year. I look forward to it,'" Hecht noted.

That call was particularly poignant this past Dec. 23, when the couple tracked an exhausted Kerry down at his Sun Valley, Idaho, vacation home.

Kerry lamented that there would not be any time for skiing during the holidays, noting that he would only be at the vacation home for a total of about 24 hours and would spend most of that time catching up on sleep. Rather than rush the couple off the phone, however, the Senator proceeded to spend 30 minutes discussing his campaign - which was still struggling at the time.

"He said, 'It's going to turn for me,'" Hecht recalled Kerry saying. "And he laid it out, and what he laid out is happening."

So does Kerry have this conservative Republican's vote? Hecht laughed heartily and then there was a long pause.

"Only the good Lord and myself will know," he finally said.

There was much less hesitation from Gail Hecht when asked whether she will cast a ballot for the Democrat. "How could I not?" she said. "He's someone very special in our lives. There are some times that you make exceptions."

[GameTheory]

I agree that these Swift Boat people and their accusations are repugnant. What I don't understand is why Bush is blamed for the ads/book when he had nothing to do with them, has also denounced them, and has no means to stop them. Is Bush responsible for what every Bush supporter does?

[Secretariat]

Actually GT, Bush has not denounced them as McCain suggested he do.

Here's a little background on some of these Swift Boat jerks from the Washington Post:

"But a new assault on Mr. Kerry -- in an ad by a group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and in a new book -- crosses the line in branding Mr. Kerry a coward and a liar. This smear is contradicted by Mr. Kerry's crew mates, undercut by the previous statements of some of those now making the charges and tainted by the chief source of its funding: Republican activists dedicated to defeating Mr. Kerry in November.


"John Kerry has not been honest about what happened in Vietnam," says George Elliott, Mr. Kerry's former commanding officer. But it was then-Lt. Cmdr. Elliott who recommended Mr. Kerry for the Silver and Bronze stars, commending him as "calm, professional and highly courageous in the face of enemy fire." In a 1969 evaluation Mr. Elliott had this to say: "In a combat environment often requiring independent, decisive action, LTJG Kerry was unsurpassed."

"I know John Kerry is lying about his first Purple Heart because I treated him for that injury," says Dr. Louis Letson. Dr. Letson isn't listed on Mr. Kerry's medical record at the time. That doesn't disprove his claim to have treated Mr. Kerry, who received a superficial shrapnel injury to his arm. But neither does the account of Dr. Letson or others about the incident indicate that Mr. Kerry was lying. Mr. Kerry's wound doesn't seem to have amounted to much, but he didn't claim it did -- nor does that make him ineligible for a Purple Heart.

The most potentially damning accusation in the ad concerns the the best-known episode of Mr. Kerry's service, in which he saved the life of Jim Rassmann after the Special Forces officer was blown off Mr. Kerry's Swift boat by a mine explosion. Three people quoted in the ad, all of whom say they were present that day, March 13, 1969, assert that Mr. Kerry ordered his craft to flee the danger and turned around to rescue Mr. Rassmann only after the shooting stopped. "John Kerry lied to get his Bronze Star . . . I know, I was there, I saw what happened," says Van O'Dell, a retired Navy enlisted man. "His account of what happened and what actually happened are the difference between night and day," says Jack Chenoweth, who commanded a different Swift boat. "When the chips were down, you could not count on John Kerry," says Larry Thurlow, another Swift boat commander.

If accurate, this would demolish a central part of the picture of Mr. Kerry as Vietnam hero. But the weight of the evidence supports Mr. Kerry. Mr. Rassmann, having had no contact with Mr. Kerry for the previous 35 years, came forward during the primaries to tell the story of how Mr. Kerry, braving enemy fire and with an injured arm, pulled him back on board. "John came up to the bow, and I thought he was going to get killed because he was so exposed," Mr. Rassmann recalled. Other surviving crew mates corroborate that account. "I was there," crew mate Del Sandusky told CNN. "I saw the bullets skimming across the water. I saw the firefight gun flashes from the jungle. I know the firefight and the ambush we were in." Another crew mate, James Wasser, told ABC: "What boat were you riding on? Because you weren't there -- we were."

It's also relevant to know who's underwriting this advertising campaign. The biggest single donor so far to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth isn't a Swift boat veteran but one of the leading Republican donors in Texas. Houston builder Bob J. Perry gave the group $100,000, accounting for the bulk of the $158,000 in receipts it has reported. It's fair to ask whether truth is at the top of this group's agenda. "

Enough said on this disgraceful issue in political advertising.

[cj]

Originally posted by GameTheory
I agree that these Swift Boat people and their accusations are repugnant. What I don't understand is why Bush is blamed for the ads/book when he had nothing to do with them, has also denounced them, and has no means to stop them. Is Bush responsible for what every Bush supporter does?

He'll probably denounce them as soon as Kerry denounces that ridiculous Moore movie.

[chickenhead]

My dad wanted me to go see the 9-11 movie with him so I went.

Two things struck me about it.

First, I fell asleep (literally) during the part with the mother who's son died over there. Most people understand, I think, that people die in war, and understand that it is very hard on the families who lose them. I am not sure why MM spent 20 minutes showing us this fact. He could have got the same footage from a WW2 family I am quite sure.

Second, a week away from the movie I can't recall a central thesis for the movie, what was it? That Bush lied about Iraq?

Strange movie, I am not sure who it will effect and in what way.

[JustRalph]

Originally posted by cjmilkowski
He'll probably denounce them as soon as Kerry denounces that ridiculous Moore movie.

Good point CJ. In fact the White House spokeperson has already said that the President "does not want this type of campaigning done on his behalf" or something similar.

oh yeah........ is Kerry still waiting for his Purple Heart for the Apple Pie thing? Maybe he got some Apple Shrapnel on his suit?:D

[lsbets]

Welcome back Secretariat, nice to see you telling half truths again. First, you say the swift boat vets did not even serve with Kerry. That is a lie. They served in the same unit, just not on the same boat. Just because someone never road in my hummer with me does not mean they didn't serve with me. Then you say Bush was AWOL - another lie and you know it. And, you make certain assumptions and then present them as fact - that because a Bush supporter gave money to the swift boat vets that Bush supports their book. Thats a pretty big leap. Prove that Bush backed it. Prove it.

Now, here is my take on it, especially the medals that Kerry received. First, the man who was running away. So what? That doesn't make Kerry a criminal or anything else. By killing him, he kept the guy from coming back to shoot at them again. I've been there, and wouldn't do anything different than what Kerry did. Then, the next one, where someone just pointed a rocket but didn't fire it. Again, so what? The goal is to kill the enemy before he has a chance to try and kill you. I see nothing wrong with what Kerry did, and obviously the chain of command thought enough of what he did to award him his medals, so I don't question that he earned them.

I don't put much credence in what the swift boat vets say because I don't think it matters. In any unit there are people who like you and people who don't, especially when you are in a position of authority. If you are in command and doing your job you are pissing some people off. There are soldiers in my unit who would not have anything good to say about me in 20 years, because I took rank from them, or came down hard on them for their actions. Some of my peers don't like me because I don't tolerate incompetance well, and tend to be a real prick to fellow officers who do not hold themselves to the same standard that I do. Oh well. The last thing I would want to have to listen to is someone questioning the validity of my Bronze Star because of what some people I served with had to say. Medals are not handed out underservedly.

That being said, I still do not support John Kerry, and never will. I admire his service in Vietnam, but feel that he disgraced the corps of commisioned officers when he became an activist after he got home. I feel that he has a far left voting record that I totally disagree with, so I will not vote for him. But, before he crossed over to the darkside he served his nation admirably and should be recognized for that.

[delayjf]

My point is that either way, whether or not he chased down a enemy soldier who may or may not have been wounded and kill him simply doesn't rise to the standard of a Silver Star. One solider killing another is nothing new in combat. If it were, give every soldier in Iraq with a confirmed kill a Silver Star.

I'm not saying that he didn't do something else to deserve the Medal, just that which is listed in the citation is not worthy IMHO.

[JustMissed]

Why won't John Kerry just release his military records. This would go a long way to clear the air.

Whether or not he has anything to hid, I don't know. It just appears to me when someone hides records, they have something to hide.

John, while your at it. Have Teresa show us her tax returns.

I saw where she was accused of giving money to questionable organizations. Just show us the tax returns and that will go a long way to letting the sunshine.

Let's take as good a look at John Kerry as the Dems and their detectives have taken at Bush.

One way or the other, the truth about Kerry will come out.

JM

[eclecticapper]

I encourage everyone to periodically visit factcheck.org. It's non-partisan, so you can see how misinformation, lies, half-truths, etc. are distributed by both parties and their supporters (personally, I think the two major parties are nothing more than brothels filled with political whores that cater to somewhat different clientele). The complete text of Kerry's citation is available on the website, plus info on Heinz Kerry contributions, twisting of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by Kerry, misquotations of Bush by pro-Kerry supporters and the list goes on. Something for everyone, including links to source documents. It allows you to compare the source data and the "spin" and draw your own conclusions.

[GameTheory]

Originally posted by eclecticapper
I encourage everyone to periodically visit factcheck.org. It's non-partisan, so you can see how misinformation, lies, half-truths, etc. are distributed by both parties and their supporters (personally, I think the two major parties are nothing more than brothels filled with political whores that cater to somewhat different clientele). The complete text of Kerry's citation is available on the website, plus info on Heinz Kerry contributions, twisting of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by Kerry, misquotations of Bush by pro-Kerry supporters and the list goes on. Something for everyone, including links to source documents. It allows you to compare the source data and the "spin" and draw your own conclusions. Oh man, my new favorite site. Thank you.

[Tom]

And the question remains......assume Kerry was the knight in shinning armor and single handedly won the Viet Nam war.....what heel relevence does that have to him behind fit to bep resident?
As the song goes..."absolutley nothin' Say is Again!"

I think the Swift boat vets have much more creditbility that MM and his cartoon. Funny how Sec thinks that the lies from some fat boy who claims to be from Flint, is a slob, a proven liars, and openly denounces America is the be all end all of information and is so quick to denounce people who were actually there when they speak out. Scarry that he is allowed to vote.:eek: