I personally think that Kerry's simply being on a PCF at that time, given
his circumstances, is worthy of praise, regardless of what he did there and
what his attitude might be regarding getting shot at by someone trying to
kill him.
I was a US Naval Reserve officer in that timeframe, going through NROTC a
year or two before Kerry. We had a fairly wide choice of duty station for
what would be our entire military obligation in those days and it was easy
to choose a ship based on the East Coast and unlikely to be involved in any
dirty work in Viet Nam. This was not WWII and it was very easy to avoid
being in-country. Kerry had to have pursued the opportunity just as Bush
managed to avoid being sent to such a place.
I think that experience is something that I would want the PotUS to have,
knowing that he would understand a commitment of troops on a personal level
and so realize the significance of the act.
"dkat" <dkat@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:f_NVc.3228$Nk4.2746240@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net...
On March 13, 1969, in the Bay Hap River, did Lieut. John Kerry, captain of
Swift boat PCF-94, defy enemy fire and heroically save the life of First
Lieut. Jim Rassmann, who had been blown off Kerry's boat into the water by
a
mine explosion? Or did Kerry, during this mission involving five Swift
boats, merely help a comrade return to his boat at a time of relative
calm?
A band of anti-Kerry veterans funded by Republican donors--who call
themselves Swift Boat Veterans for Truth--have claimed that there was no
enemy fire when Kerry pulled Rassmann into his boat and that Kerry did not
deserve the Bronze Star he won for this incident. Although the citation
for
Kerry's Bronze Star notes he rescued Rassmann in the face of sniper fire
and
Kerry, Rassmann and PCF-94 crew members all say Rassmann was under fire
when
Kerry pulled him aboard, the anti-Kerry vets insist that was not how it
happened, that there was no enemy fire. Their campaign against Kerry took
a
hit yesterday when The Washington Post disclosed that the military records
of Larry Thurlow--a leader of the anti-Kerry outfit who also won a Bronze
Star for actions taken during this engagement--contradict Thurlow's claim
that there was no enemy fire at the time. (See here.) Military records
obtained by The Nation provide more evidence that there was enemy fire
during this episode.
Three Navy men won Bronze Stars for their actions that day: Kerry,
Thurlow,
and radarman first class Robert Eugene Lambert, a petty officer in the
boat
captained by Thurlow. The citation for Lambert's Bronze Star--previously
undisclosed but obtained today under the Freedom of Information Act from
the
National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis--repeats the description of
the incident included in the citation for Thurlow's Bronze Star: "all
units
came under small arms and automatic weapons fire from the river banks."
Lambert's citation also notes that Lambert--who assumed command of PCF-51
after Thurlow went to assist another Swift boat damaged by a
mine--"directed
accurate suppressing fire at the enemy." The citation praises Lambert's
"coolness, professionalism and courage under fire."
In an affidavit Thurlow signed last month, he said "no return fire
occurred....I never heard a shot." He said to the Post, "I am here to
state
that we weren't under fire." But the individual citations for Thurlow,
Kerry
and Lambert each refer to enemy fire. And the Lambert citation also
suggests
there was a need for his boat to engage in "suppressing fire."
Asked about the discrepancy between his own account and his citation,
Thurlow, who was the senior skipper in the flotilla involved in this
engagement, said that Kerry was often able to present his own (presumably
self-serving) descriptions of events to superiors. But neither Thurlow nor
the Swift Boat group has substantiated this claim. And did Kerry rig not
only his own award recommendation but those of Thurlow and Lambert? In the
award recommendation for Thurlow's Bronze Star, Lambert--not Kerry--is
listed as the eyewitness. (And Del Sandusky, a crew mate of Kerry, was the
eyewitness listed in the award recommendation for Kerry. According to the
National Personnel Records Center, Lambert's file no longer contains the
award recommendation for his Bronze Star.)
Kerry has posted his award citation on his web site (click here), and
Thurlow's Bronze Star citation was posted by the Post (click here).
Lambert's citation describes what seems to have been a harrowing
situation.
It reads in full:
"For meritorious achievement while serving with Coastal Division ELEVEN
engaged in armed conflict against Viet Cong communist aggressors in An
Xuyen
Province, Republic of Vietnam on 13 March 1969. Inshore Patrol Craft [PCF]
51, with Petty Officer Lambert serving as Leading Petty Officer, was
conducting a SEA LORDS operation in the Bay Hap river with four other
boats.
The boats were exiting the river when a mine detonated under another
Inshore
Patrol Craft, inflicting heavy damage to the boat and wounding the entire
crew. At the same time, all units came under small arms and automatic
weapons fire from the river banks. Inshore Patrol Craft 51 immediately
proceeded to aid the damaged Inshore Patrol Craft, where the
Officer-in-Charge [Larry Thurlow] leaped aboard to render assistance.
Petty
Officer LAMBERT assumed command of Inshore Patrol Craft 51 and directed
accurate suppressing fire at the enemy. While administering first aid to
the
crew of the damaged Inshore Patrol Craft, Inshore Patrol Craft 51's
Officer-in-Charge was knocked overboard. Petty Officer LAMBERT, without
hesitation, directed Inshore Patrol Craft 51 alongside his
Officer-in-Charge, where, from an exposed position and with complete
disregard for his personal safety, he pulled him aboard. Petty Officer
LAMBERT then returned his Officer-in-Charge to the aid of the damaged
Inshore Patrol Craft and remained in command of Inshore Patrol Craft 51
until all units cleared the river. Petty Officer LAMBERT's coolness,
professionalism and courage under fire significantly contributed to the
rescue of his Officer-in-Charge and the damaged Inshore Patrol Craft and
were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval
Service."
Lambert, a career Navy man who served on active duty from 1957 to 1978,
could not be located. But his records offer more support for Kerry's
account
(which, by the way, is the official account). And the credibility of the
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has been challenged on several fronts.
Jerome
Corsi, the co-author of the book the group is promoting, Unfit for
Command,
recently acknowledged that he has posted anti-Catholic, anti-Muslim and
anti-Semitic comments on a conservative website. Others involved with the
anti-Kerry outfit have flip-flopped and altered their stories. For
instance,
George Elliott, a leading member of the group who was the commander who
signed the recommendation for Kerry's Bronze Star, campaigned with Kerry
in
1996, defending him after questions were raised about Kerry's Silver Star.
(Kerry received this medal for chasing down and killing an enemy soldier
on
February 28, 1969.) And in 1969, Elliot wrote Kerry's fitness report and
noted, "In a combat environment often requiring independent decisive
action,
Lt. j.g. Kerry was unsurpassed." Now he says Kerry lied about his service
in
Vietnam. And today the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth unveiled a new ad
that
assailed Kerry for having criticized the conduct of American soldiers in
Vietnam. The ad claims Kerry, during his famous testimony before the
Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, accused his fellow soldiers of having
committed
atrocities. But Kerry, then a leader of the movement against the Vietnam
War, was reporting what other soldiers had said they had done. (Today the
Kerry campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission
accusing the group of illegally coordinating with the Bush campaign.)
The latest volley from the Swift Vets shows what motivates these
anti-Kerry
veterans. They remain mad at him for opposing the war and addressing its
worst aspects. As for what happened on March 13, 1969, the issue is
whether
to accept the accounts of veterans who are angry with Kerry or the
documentary evidence that is seconded by Rassmann, a Republican, and
Kerry's
crew mates. Lambert's citation offers more reason to wonder about the
Swift
Boat group's version of events and to question its dedication to the
truth.
Reporting assistance for this story was provided by Shane Goldmacher
********
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www.davidcorn.com.
********
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