February 27, 2004
ZUMWALT'S PROBLEM:
Setting Straight Kerry’s War Record (THOMAS LIPSCOMB, 2/27/04, NY Sun)
No one denies Mr. Kerry’s four bemedaled months in “Swiftboats” or his seven-months’ service as an electrical officer on board the USS Gridley, during its cruises back and forth to California, or even his months as an admiral’s aide in Brooklyn, before he was able get out of the Navy six months early to run for office.Taking a look at Mr. Kerry’s much-promoted Vietnam service, his military record was, indeed, remarkable in many ways. Last week, the former assistant secretary of defense and Fletcher School of Diplomacy professor,W. Scott Thompson, recalled a conversation with the late Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr. that clearly had a slightly different take on Mr. Kerry’s recollection of their discussions:
“[T]he fabled and distinguished chief of naval operations,Admiral Elmo Zumwalt,told me — 30 years ago when he was still CNO —that during his own command of U.S. naval forces in Vietnam,just prior to his anointment as CNO, young Kerry had created great problems for him and the other top brass,by killing so many non-combatant civilians and going after other non-military targets.‘We had virtually to straitjacket him to keep him under control,’ the admiral said. ‘Bud’ Zumwalt got it right when he assessed Kerry as having large ambitions — but promised that his career in Vietnam would haunt him if he were ever on the national stage.” And this statement was made despite the fact Zumwalt had personally pinned a Silver Star on Mr. Kerry.
Mr. Kerry was assigned to Swiftboat 44 on December 1, 1968. Within 24 hours, he had his first Purple Heart. Mr. Kerry accumulated three Purple Hearts in four months with not even a day of duty lost from wounds, according to his training officer. It’s a pity one cannot read his Purple Heart medical treatment reports which have been withheld from the public. The only person preventing their release is Mr. Kerry.
By his own admission during those four months, Mr. Kerry continually kept ramming his Swiftboat onto an enemy-held shore on assorted occasions alone and with a few men, killing civilians and even a wounded enemy soldier. One can begin to appreciate Zumwalt’s problem with Mr. Kerry as commander of an unarmored craft dependent upon speed of maneuver to keep it and its crew from being shot to pieces.
Mr. Kerry now refers to those civilian deaths as “accidents of war.”
No wonder he doesn't want his partisans to raise Vietnam service as an issue. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 27, 2004 6:30 PM
Question for Mr. Kerry: "Did you kill civilians in the Vietnam War? If so, why?" The Republicans won't have to say a word. The Left will do it for them.
Posted by: ratbert at February 27, 2004 8:56 PMOr the Vietnamese themselves will. I seem to remember Hanoi raised a bit of a ruckus a few years back when Kerry admitted to killing civilians.
Posted by: Joe at February 27, 2004 9:50 PMAddendum to my earlier post: Not, of course, you understand, that I hold any kind of a brief for the Red thugs still clinging to power in Hanoi. I'll just find it unutterably delicious if they end up helping re-elect GWB by bringing the seamier parts of Mr. Kerry's war record front and center.
Posted by: Joe at February 27, 2004 9:52 PMI don't normally tread into the conspiracy theory areas but 3 purple hearts in 4 months for injuries that didn't cause 1 day of missed service should be explained.
Posted by: AWW at February 27, 2004 11:01 PM"... killing so many non-combatant civilians and going after other non-military targets."
No wonder the guy thought everyone is Vietnam was a war criminal or deranged. He was just assuming they were all like him.
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at February 28, 2004 2:39 AMAWW
Raises a good point regarding awarding of purple hearts. If nothing else Republicans should ask for a full explanation for these medals.
Regarding the other issues in the articles, about Kerry's agressive execution of his general orders, I'm afraid I will support him fully. Zumwalt's apparently "cover his *ss" statements don't impress me at all.
A Purple Heart is generally regarded as an unquestionable award. Although there have been some abuses in the past, it is still the decoration that, at the least, assumes the recipient has been in harms way. It is THE bond of mutual experience between recipients regardless of which war or unit or branch of service.
Because of its prominant use in this election and the questions raised about the timing and severity of the wounds, Senator Kerry must release his records for the sake of those of us who do not wish the decoration to be trivialized.
GWB released his records; JFK show us yours.
Posted by: Genecis at February 29, 2004 5:53 PMThis sounds an awful lot the stuff Bob Kerry confessed to and got crucified for. Being a liberal didn't save that Kerry, but then again, he wasn't running for President.
Thing is, I'd be totally willing to forgive John Kerry all his Vietnam sins just as I did the other Kerry... that war was hell and there was no way to tell the friendlies from the hostiles.... if he hadn't turned around and heaped scorn on his fellow veterans for doing the same thing. (sort of like the record special interest money wouldn't bother me if he weren't slamming Bush for the same thing.
More and more Kerry is looking like Clinton on Slim-Fast.
Posted by: MarkD at March 1, 2004 8:59 PMMarkD:
Normally I'm no great defender of Clinton, but that comment is just ridiculous.
Clinton could make it sound convincing.
Posted by: ralph phelan at March 1, 2004 10:12 PM