SwiftVets.com

Cap' DOC · Seaman Recruit Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 21

Folks: On another blog, a challenge was issued by the Owner that the allegations by the SBVT have not been answered. In response to that challenge, a fellow with the NIC jukeboxgrad made the following statements:

O'Neill doesn't just say Kerry wasn't in Cambodia during Christmas 1968. O'Neill says Kerry was never in Cambodia "at all during the Vietnam War." O'Neill also says Kerry "would have been court-martialed had he gone there."

Furthermore, he goes on: This clip (http://mediamatters.org/static/video/oneil-cambodia.mp4) has video of O'Neill saying "I was never in Cambodia," followed by audio of him telling Nixon "I was in Cambodia."

We've all heard about the MagicHat trip. Although it is probably difficult to disprove the negative (...never in Cambodia at all), I don't know how to answer this guy's contention that Mr. O'Neill is unjustly accusing Kerry of being a liar ("...seared into my memory...") if indeed, Mr. O'Neill was there and ought to be court-martialed for it.

Can anyone lend some direction to me? I'd like to provide some reasonable argument, but since I didn't serve with the Brown Water Navy but with the Marines, I can't offer any response.

ncoic6 · Seaman Recruit Joined: 08 Sep 2004 Posts: 11

You have to go with - O'Neill was never in Cambodia. The audio you refer to in the Nixon tapes is accurate, however, they clipped off the next section in which O'Neill corrects himself to Nixon to say that he had come along the border.

The Kerry side has made a big deal about this correction. However, the fact is that O'Neill corrected himself, unprompted, on the spot. That lends great credence. He didn't know he was being taped.

As to whether it has been definitely established that Kerry "never" went into Cambodia - this has not been throughly worked out.

Certainly, the 1968 Cambodia Christmas claim has been refuted.

Misty · Lieutenant Joined: 26 Aug 2004 Posts: 223

O'Neill's statement to Nixon was (paraphrased) "I was in Cambodia....I was on the border." He immediately corrected his statement to Nixon, yet those who repeat him always do so out of context.
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Misty
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Dad was in the Navy Pacific Fleet
Brother was on the USS Regulus - Vietnam
Husband was AirForce 3rd (34th) Tactical Fighter Wing - Security Police Bien Hoa Vietnam