Will John Kerry’s Swift Boat Sink?
By Barbara Stock (08/10/04)
John Kerry, reminiscent of “Gomer Pyle,” gleefully took the podium and said, “Reporting for duty.” and then gave a fairly wimpy salute. Nearly every speech that preceded Kerry’s convention grand finale made mention of his time as a swift boat captain in Viet Nam--Kerry the hero--Kerry the one-man wrecking crew in his tiny swift boat. John Kerry made it very plain that he was running for president based almost entirely on his four short months as a swift boat captain in Viet Nam.
Unmentioned were the times that Kerry would beach his small boat with the bow so high in the air that its guns were useless, so that captain “Gung-ho” Kerry could go ashore and pretend to be John Wayne re-enacting D-Day. He was in the Navy, yet there he was, over and over, in the jungle, hunting down the enemy with his mighty gun, movie camera at the ready. Apparently, his Zippo lighter was busy as well in burning down small villages. Were those villages out in the middle of the river? Were they in the way of his boat? Were the pigs and dogs of the village perceived as such a threat to him that he had to slaughter them in self defense?
Also glossed over was the fact that when Kerry put in for swift boat duty, they were not running the rivers, they were out where it was safe near the ocean shore. The change in orders came, literally, as Kerry arrived in Viet Nam for his second, short tour. Kerry wanted to claim he was a boat captain a la John Kennedy. He had no intention of putting himself in danger. But Kerry found himself stuck in a situation that he hadn’t foreseen. Kerry found himself in a situation where he could actually get hurt.
A group called “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” has produced a commercial that will be seen in only a few targeted states due to lack of funding. The Kerry camp is in near hysterics over this one-minute ad. John Kerry claims the ad is packed with lies, but instead of suing those men who are in the commercial for slander and liable he has threatened the television stations that are considering showing the Swift Boat Commercial.
In an amazing breach of journalistic ethics, Michael Kranish --a reporter for the "Boston Globe"--wrote that one of the men in the group was retracting his statement against Kerry. This was quickly pronounced as totally untrue by Lieutenant Commander George Elliott who reported that the Kranish column was a complete distortion of his words and he stood by his original statement. What was exposed is that Kranish is on the DNC payroll and should not be reporting as an unbiased journalist on anything that concerns John Kerry. Is the "Boston Globe" aware that its reporter is also being paid by the Kerry campaign?
This short commercial shows men who were there, serving their country at the same time that John Kerry was in Viet Nam. Their swift boats traveled side by side with John Kerry’s boat. The men speaking in the ad have been awarded an impressive number of service awards and medals. They have been honored with no less than ten Bronze Stars, one Legion of Merit, One Distinguished Service Medal, a Silver Star, one Navy Commendation Medal, and three Purple Hearts. Yet, liberals would have us to believe that they are all lying because of partisan influence and some inexplicable hatred for John Kerry.
The Kerry machine has protested the ad saying that those men “didn’t serve on Kerry’s boat with him.” John Kerry was not the captain of an air craft carrier. He was the captain of a very small boat. In fact, he was not even a true captain, but a lieutenant j.g.. The swift boat used in Viet Nam was approximately 50 feet long and 14 feet wide with a crew of six men. Only one officer was on board. Because of the swift boats’ size, they traveled in packs, like wolves. Usually three or four boats would go out at a time. With boats this size, the crews of the boats knew each other very well. Often they would be side by side and these men did not have to have their feet planted on John Kerry’s boat-deck to know what kind of a leader he was. Swift boats traveled together, fought together, and protected each other. Yet, if we are to believe John Kerry, all of these honorable men are lying just to destroy him and his presidential aspirations.
Following that line of thought, one has to ask--why? Are all the men involved in “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” bought and paid for by the Republican Party? This is unlikely. Nowhere in the ad does it say the anti-Kerry vets support George Bush, only that they feel Kerry is not fit for the job based on the performance they claim they witnessed in Viet Nam.
Could it not be said about Kerry’s “band of brothers” that they are bought and paid for by the Democratic Party? Could it be that they were duplicitous in the improper behavior carried out by John Kerry and feel they now must stand by him? As the “band” travels the country with its fearless leader are the “brothers” staying at the best hotels, eating at the finest restaurants and living the good life all on the DNC’s tab? Did they see it as their only chance for their 15 minutes of fame? These men are in a spotlight that they never would have experienced had they not made the decision to support John Kerry. They were not close to Kerry after he left Viet Nam. Kerry had to hunt many of them down early in his campaign.
Those against Kerry have been active for decades. Where was Kerry’s “Band of Brothers” when he was testifying before Congress where he called them all murderers and criminals?
When you peal away the political rhetoric in an attempt to find the truth, it is very difficult to call all the “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” liars. These men knew that the full force of the Kerry political machine and the Democrat Party would be leveled at them. They knew they would be called liars. They knew they would be vilified non-stop by pundits, journalists, and T.V. talking-heads. They are not staying in fine hotels or appearing at the Republican Convention to bask in the cheers of the party faithful. There seems to be no reward for them except finally being able to right the wrongs that have been held under the surface of their consciousness for decades and hopefully put their demons to rest. They do not have the backing and support of the Republican Party. They are on their own in this effort.
For many of the vets against Kerry, it isn’t just the lies they feel Kerry has told about his “heroism” while he was in Viet Nam, but Kerry’s actions when he returned. Real heroes don’t brag about what they did and they rarely call their shipmates and fellow veterans criminals. Kerry has done both.
At some point before the election, John Kerry is going to have to address his four months in Viet Nam and his behavior when he returned. There are simply too many unanswered questions. If all these men--men who also served their country with honor and distinction—are telling the truth, then John Kerry is indeed “Unfit for Command.”
(Printer friendly version) Email: Barbara Stock
