SwiftVets.com

[Polaris]

Everyone,

I just sent the following to Mr. Hume at FOX news.

[producehawk]

Thats a great e-mail I hope he reads it

[Curt]

Sounds like a winner to me.

Curt

[llano]

[Polaris]

llano,

You're right. I was careless. That said, the essential point is correct, i.e. he (Kerry) did go after the VC and did shoot him in the back. If I was mistanken on that point I apologize....I try to be careful. That said, I am sure that Mr. Hume will examine the records and see the similiarties for himself.
_________________
-Polaris

Truth is Beauty

[Molon Labe]

The OIC is named "Rood" not "Hume". Bummer.

[Dragoro]

Great letter, hopefully hell read it and do a segment about that.
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[Polaris]

Molon,

You're right. I hope that Mr. Hume is smart enough to know what I meant. I do try to be careful.....can't imagine how that slipped.

I am sorry about that guys.
_________________
-Polaris

Truth is Beauty

[PO2]

[PO2]

[PO2]

[TripleDipper]

I don't know about the rest of poster but I am getting one H** of a headache trying to following these stories. Now we have two more coming out of the closet with stories that in conflict with previous accounts.
Kerry is now diving in the river to safe Rassman - where did they find Lanhofer? Either he not following the news or is smoking some really good stuff. We knew about Rood being the OIC of PCF 23 on the 28 February action several months ago. We understood from a poster that he didn't want to be involved. I read "Tour of Duty", okay stop laughing.
Checked it out from the local Library - won't spend my hard earned money on such trash. This may me a little long but I would like to give a brief summary on the Silver Heart section of "Tour of Duty". Sorry failed to record the page numbers. I strongly suggest that you put on some rain boots prior reading this and comparing it with Rood's statement - it's going to get deep.

Rookie Gunner's Mate Third Class Frederic Short was now taking David Alston's pace manning the twin .50 caliber mounted guns as the South Carolinian recuperated from his January bullet wonds. .......then sent to Vietnam in February 1969. (No mention as to the actual date Short entered country.) Short fell lucky to join the talented crew of PCF-94, who would need al their combined skills and experience to make it through the harrowing next month alive.

It appears that Brinkley not only used Kerry journals but also Petty Officer Medeiros handwritten personal log.

"According to the invaluable handwritten personal log Michael Medeiros kept on every mission he went on in 1969, between February and March 13 PCF-94's Officer in Charge John Kerry conducted daily river raids on
Swift Boat missions 81 through 98. All eighteen of these outings were risky, if variously intended."

"Of all the patrols charted in Medeiros' log, however, Mission 91 on February 28 stands out. In the margin next to his entry for that date, Medeiros recorded that PCF-94 had killed nine Viet Cong and captured two others (although the official U. S. Navy report on the action reported ten VC fatalities). And it was the day that John Kerry won the Silver Star, the Navy's third-highest combat award."

At this point we have Kerry's journal and Medeiros' handwritten personel logs as the sources for the February 28 action as recorded in Brinkley's book.

"The last day of February started out pretty much like any other morning for the crew of PCF-94. Along with two other Swifts, they were to transport thirty-odd South Vietnamese Popular Forces (PF) troops to a dangerous river on the southermost tip of the Ca Mau Peninsula. Lieutenant Kerry was put in tactical command of the high-risk operations to deliver the Pfs plus a handful of U. S. explosive experts to designed spot along ..........."

Since Kerry was the tactical commander it would stand to reason that he would write the after action report. And this would be the primary(if not only) source document that Elliott would use to write the draft of the Silver Star award. Please correct me if I am wrong.

"We were basically inserting South Vietnamese troops at a certain point in this river," Medeiros explained the mission. "And then they were going to do a sweep. After they checked for VC we were supposed to pick them up and then take them back to their village. While they were hunting around onshore, we on the 94 and the 23 boat(s) were going to go further up the river to act as a blocking force in case something came downriver. We would be like a blocking force for the troops that were going the land sweep. " (What happen to the third Swift PCF 43?)

".............on their way upriver the three Swifts were ambushed and taken under fire by small-arm weapons. Kerry made the snap decision to beach his boat on the bank at the exact spot where the ambush was coming from. Kerry gave the order: "Turn 090 charge the beach." The officers of the other two Swifts, Don Droz and William Rood, followed suit."
(Now you understand why Kerry called Rood to join his band of brothers.)
"His philosophy was it's stupid to just sit in the river and fire back," Medeiros recalled of his Officer in Charge. "For one thing, we never knew whether we killed any VC or not. " The Swift immediately spotted a VC guerrilla with a weapon on the shoreline. "We caught him totally by surprise," Medeiros remembered. "He just kind of looked up and one our boats opened fire and took him out." They beached the Swifts right there and began searching the dead body for useful information. .......the PF troops fanned out into the mangrove swamps to look for the VC. (What happen to the U. S. explosive team (UDT 13). While PCF-94 headed farther upriver to block for them and investigate short they heard. (Now start playing attention because there's going to be a quiz later.) In reading this it's fair to assume PCFs 23 and 43 stayed at this location and PCF-94 went upriver alone. The Swift got only two hundred yards from where they killed the VC lookout when a rocket was fired at them, which blew up their portside windows. Once again Kerry ordered helmsman Del Sandusky to drive PCF-94 right into the point of ambush. The crew immediately spotted a "spider hole" emplacment. Standing in this particular hole, to the horror of the Swift crew, was a VC guerrilla holding a B-40 rocket launcher aimed right at them. The enemy, staring at them, fumbled around with his rocket-propelled grenade in hopes of blasting the American boat into oblivion, but he was too close to PCF-94 to arm his weapon in time. .......he started to run away from the river. Tommy Belodeau was manning the Swift's M-60 machine gun and managed to hit the fleeing foe in the leg. "The guy fell down, but he got back up with the B-40 rocket launcer in hand," Medeiros related. "And then I saw him make a left-hand turn, and he ran down this little trail. In fact, I remember grabbing for the M-16 that I had next to be bulkhead. I picked it up and tried to shot at this guy, but I had the safety on. And by the time I got the safety off he had already made the turn. He was now out of view."

.........Kerry had already jumped off the boat with an M-16 and lit off after him down the trail. "Well we had an agreement," Medeiros explained of his own heroic reaction in the instant when it counted. "If he went on the beach, I went on the beach with him. I was his radioman. I grabbed a PRC-25, and M-79 grenade launcher, and an M-16. And, of course, my .38. I didn't however, have time to grab the radio. (The only reason for Medeiros action was to ensure his OIC had communications with the other Swifts, but be forgot the damn radio.) With my adrenaline racing, I started following him off the boat. So I was right behind him." Belodeau soon followed, while the other three crewmen manned the Swift - Del Sandusky was at the helm, Thorson on the .50 caliber machine gun, astern and Short in the gun torrent with the mounted twin .50 calibers.
(No comments about Alston or the crew member undergoing training that was mentioned in a previous posting (Givens. Or more important the troops that someone in previous posts where onboard PCF-94.)

"As the VC guerrilla got twenty or thirty meters down the path, just about in front of a lean-to, the (future) Senator shot the guy," Medeiros related.
"He had been standing on both feet with a loaded rocket launcher, about to fire. He fell dead."

Note: Sandesky, Short and Thorson stayed on the boat. Plus as stated by Mederios the VC ran down the trail and out of sight. Boelodeau was the third person off the boat. Only Kerry, Mederios and Belodeau witnessed what happened on the beach. There's no mention of PCF 23 and 43 being present at this time.

Kerry and Medeiros(I guess Belodeau was a slow runner) approached the sniper with caution, made sure he was really dead, and then searched his corpse. (I read he was only wearing a loins cloth.) After confiscating his B-40, they quickly headed ack to their boat. (Attention important stuff:
"Medeiros radioed the other two Swifts (PCF 23 and 43) and Coastal Division 11 to let them know PCF-94 was going to make a sweep of the area in hope of ferreting out more Viet Cong. (This statement confirms that the other two Swifts were still at the disembarking point and there's not mention of troops on Kerry's boat. If this is true (and why should be doubt what Medeiros recorded in his handwritten personal logs) we have three sailors sweeping an area loaded with VC. Kerry, Mederios, and Belodeau (he finally catches up) then began combing the terrain inch by inch, their awareness at high alert for booby traps, punji stakes, snipers, or anything else they could imagine by the VC coming up with. (John Rambo Kerry) In the process they stumbled upon a mother load: the foundation for a new insurgent village. Comfouflaged contraband material lay everywhere and they confiscated everything from VC flags to American made 20-mm shell castings and sewing machines of potentially nefarious intent. The suspicious goods in hand, the trio from PCF-94 burned the tiny hooches they had found the stuff in. In the distance they could see VC running toward a tree line out of range.

(Important stuff: "Meanwhile, the PF soldiers began hiking their way through the tall elephant grass. Along the way they engaged in firefights that claimed the live of TWO more Viet Cong operatives. "Spider holes were all over the shore," Fred Short recalled. "The VC were all over the place." (But they ran away from three sailors!) But after February 28, there were nine fewer of them, thanks to the uncommon bravery of John Kerry and the rest of the crew of PCF-94. (Let's see - three Swifts with approximately 60 troop kill one VC, Kerry kills a VC with the B-40 and the Pfs kill two VC. Is this the fuzzy math Kerry keeps talking about in his compaign? Seems like Kerry not Bush has a problem adding numbers.

Kerry kills a wounded VC, burnt a deserted village and gets a Silver Star.
Plus Mederios and Belodeau earned Bronze Stars. Sandesky, Short and Thorson received Navy Commendation Medals with Combat V Devices.

Quiz:

- I have read in previous posting that PCF-94 was receiving incoming fire from both sides of the river. How is this possible without some getting injured or killed?

- Did PCFs 23 and 43 participate in this action. If so, why is this left out of the book. If I was Rood I wouldn't be very happy after reading
"Tour of Duty" just like the SBVT.

- If they did participate, did PCFs 23 and 43 crewmembes receive any awards? If not, why not? Be interested in seeing these - should be available under the Freedom of Information Act.

- After reading the above summary (taken from the book word for word) and the other previous statements by the band of brother do you now a have a clear idea of what happen or you just confused as I am?

- After reading "Unfit from Command" and "Tour of Duty" which one should be banned from the book stores?

Sorry for the long post. If someone would put together all the various stories told by the band of brothers, including the two newest members, this would be a good timeline for people like Brit Hume.

Good Night.

USN 56-88

[Polaris]

TripleDipper,

That's fascinating because that account is almost at complete odds not only with UFC but also with Rood's own article!

-Polaris
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-Polaris

Truth is Beauty