Kerry’s Curious Medals
The requirements for receiving a Purple Heart include that the soldier receives a wound “from an outside force or agent” and treatment from a medical officer.
According to Kerry’s own account of the action in which he received the wound for his first Purple Heart (as documented in “Tour of Duty”), Kerry and his crew opened fire on a sampan crossing the river, destroying the boat and cargo, yet did not take any enemy fire. The next day Kerry asked his commander for the medal:
Hibbard recalls that Kerry had a “minor scratch” on his arm and was holding in his hand what appeared to be a fragment of a U.S. M-79 grenade, the shrapnel that had caused the wound. “They didn’t receive enemy fire,” Hibbard said.
Hibbard refused but somehow must have signed off on it shortly thereafter during the confusion of transferring to a new command (Kerry had petitioned for reconsideration after he transferred to a new division). [Ah, the fog of war . . .]
So Kerry
- Did not receive the wound from an enemy agent
- Did not have the necessary documentation of medical treatment
- And evidently got the medal for a wound received from an American grenade!
Most importantly, Kerry was well enough versed in military law to insist on being sent home due to an obscure “three-and-out” Navy instruction known as 1300.39. Yet he later insisted that he did not know that his actions in Vietnam were war crimes as he claimed ignorance of the Geneva Convention.
Not exactly a class act.
I pray the Republicans make this an issue. I’d really enjoy watching GOP ads talking about “half-assed combat” when their own standard bearer can’t seem to account for the last 12 to 18 months of a NG commitment his family pulled strings to get him into.
I especially like Hibbard’s account that he signed off on something he disgreed with–kind of doesn’t speak well of his own fitness as an officer.
I love the fact that Democrats make such a big deal about W flying planes in the National Guard, but thought it was perfectly fine that Clinton was a draft dodger and that Gore was chaperoned and coddled during his “tour”.
Too bad Junior isn’t running against either Clinton or Gore, huh?
As for Junior’s NG service–Bush’s family pulled strings to get him into a unit which wouldn’t see action unless the VC started coming ashore at Galveston. Even so, Bush couldn’t be bothered with actually fulfilling his commitment.
It’s a ll part of the pattern that is George Jr’s life.
FoolsGold,
You still hawking your Bush, a.w.o.l. b.s.?
President Bush served his commitment in a demanding unit and was honorably discharged. That’s all there is to that story, despite what you and your idiotarian friends have struggled to manufacture about it.
Funny, you don’t refute that Kerry is a classless poseur. But I guess that is true, so you have no choice but to impugn Bush’s record.
Why all the fuss about Kerry’s medals? Why all the fuss about Dubya’s service or non-service in the USAF? Look, the fact is we haven’t had a decent statesman in the Whitehouse since Nixon. Service records aren’t THAT important. Take Ike, for instance, all he did, as president, was play golf. Does anybody really think Kerry is anything more than a shameless opportunist? Look how he acted the instant he came back from Viet Nam. Listen to what he said about his own comrads in arms, with, I might add, not a shred of evidence–just rumor! Anytime he opens his mouth to speak, he sounds like a pompous boob, (so did Nixon, but not as bad). He has nothing interesting to say. Boring–absolutely boring. Nothing inspirational coming out of his face!
And what about George? I will lay odds that his legacy is going to be he got us Americans involved in a war he had absolutely no idea how to win, and didn’t win it. He’s afraid to let our military go in and finish off the resistance in Fallujah. Instead, the military is stopped, after they had the bad guys on the run, so that humanitarian aid can be given to the city! What kind of strategy is that? I’ll tell ya what kind: Politically correct strategy! He and his gererals are still trying to win the hearts and minds! Pay no attention to the burned up American bodies hanging from a bridge in Fallujah, with a bunch of Iraqi Fallujahnites (I made that last word up) dancing around, all happy about the burned up Americans hanging from a bridge! We gotta win the hearts and minds! If President Dubya and his cabnet think this is the way they are going to win the war on terrorism, God help us all! Dubya should pay less attention to the hearts and minds and a lot more attention to gaining respect. It is not necessary for Iraqis to like America, but, by God, they better respect us! During WWII America got respect. Ask Japan and Germany. You didn’t see the citizens of those two countries blowing up Americans after the War. First, unlike Iraq, they didn’t have any weapons left to blow up Americans with and second, even if they did, they were too busy looking for somthing to eat and a place to stay for the night! There wasn’t much left to live in for people in Berlin–or Toykyo!
If Dubya and his cabnet are so worried about upseting the Iraqis for going into Fallujah to take care of business, if they are so concerned about going into a mosque to light up a bunch of terrorists hiding in the place and shooting Moqtada al-Sadr in his ugly mug, then, I want to know why in “Blue Balzes” we’re there! Don’t tell me! Don’t tell me! To win the hearts and minds! I got it now! I swear, if America would have had this kind of leadership, both civilian and military, in WWII, we would all be eating German food with chopsticks!
Does anyone remember that Army colonel who put a gun to the head of an Iraqi terrorist posing as a cop? That terrorist gave all the respect in the world to that colonel by spilling all the beans he had to spill. And what was the Army going to do to the colonel? Courts martial! The only reason they didn’t was fear of bad publicity. So they ruined his career by messing up his record. He should have been promoted and awarded a medal. Instead, he gets you know what, up the you know what! And we all get a retired colonel who knows how to make split decisions, IN A COMBAT SITUATION, and fight. Real useful!
Finally, I would like to say I have been a Republican all of my adult life. However, I honestly do not know who I am going to vote for, come this election. But I can tell you who I’m not voting for: Kerry or Dubya!
Schmat:
No need to defend Kerry’s service. You see, when you’re awarded the Silver and Bronze Stars and 3 PHs–well, your record is pretty unassailable.
Of course, if one can’t account for his time in a NG unit that one’s parents got one into–well, that’s AWOL.
Bush is good. That Kerry guy he is a bad man, I saw it on the television. If Bush had gone to war he would have kicked Kerry’s ass. Bush knew he could help out more at home and that’s why he didn’t. Just like we are kicking ass in Iraq. We have to stay the course or the terrorists will win. Everybody who says that bush is wrong is a terrorist.