SwiftVets.com

[mtboone]

This is an exchange from Ted Peck who was with jfk in CRB and in An Thoi who had the 94 boat before jfk and then was badly wounded.

Larry,

I read your email below after Rocky recently forwarded it to me. I was intrigued how close we severed in An Thoi but cannot for the life of me find you in my memory bank. For starters I was in Swift school with Mike Brown and did my SERE training with Bill Locke before reporting for duty in CosDiv 12 in DaNang. "Reporting for duty", good opening line for an acceptance speech wouldn't you agree?. After six months patrolling in DaNang and Chu Lai I was ordered to Cam Ranh Bay (CRB) as boats were rotating further south as part of the onset of SEALORDS. Kerry arrived approximately ten days after my arrival in CRB. Except for his height he was very non-descript. He kept to himself when not on indoc patrols with other OinC's.

What I am about to say goes against the grain of some Swift Boat Vets' memories. You state that Kerry was bragging about his first Purple Heart in early December 68 and his need for two more to get a ticket back to paradise. That struck me as being peculiar since I was in CRB with Kerry in November 68 and have a vivid memory of his exploits concerning his attempt to secure the first PH. "Two more, he was out of there", is very puzzling since Grant Hibbard turned Kerry down for the PH on or about Thanksgiving Day 1968 based on the recommendation of Bill Schachte who was with Kerry on the skimmer op on 25 November 68, not on 2 December contrary to the medical report documenting Kerry's wound. Why the discrepancy with the dates? Let me make this very clear to all reading this email. Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday in November. It has been this way since the Roosevelt administration. In 1968 Turkey day fell on the 28 November. While transiting to the USS Mars for Thanksgiving dinner along with five or six fellow OinC's I commented on how swarthy Kerry was for stooping to such a low as to politick for a PH. I was informed by Rich Baker at that precise moment that I didn't understand Kerry's JFK complex. I couldn't get myself to believe that someone could be planning his election campaign thirty-six years out but how wrong I was about the calculating mind of John F. Kerry.

2 December was the Monday following Thanksgiving. By the morning of 2 December Kerry possessed a piece of shrapnel but did not possess a PH citation due to Hibbard denying him the medal. While on a mission, described by Kerry as the "scariest night of his life" on Meet the Press, 18 April 2004 Kerry is wounded. Let me destroy this myth. On 25 November Bill Schachte took Kerry on a skimmer op in Nha Trang Bay north of CRB. Bill opened fire on suspected movement on the beach. Kerry also opened fire but both of their guns jammed according to Bill's account. Kerry while maneuvering on the skimmer accidentally fired the M79 close aboard. After all was quiet Bill surmised that what they fired at was shadows and definitely not an enemy position. The skimmer had received no fire and all was well with the world.

The next day 26 November Kerry approaches Skip Hibbard asking for a PH. Skip's words are well documented but in the end Kerry was denied the PH. On 27 November while I was having a drink in the NSA CRB Officers Club sometime after 1700 Bill Schachte appears and talks to Mike Voss, Don Droz and me about Kerry's, shall I say, confrontation with Hibbard regarding the denial etc. Bill returns again a few minutes later and tells us that Kerry is threatening to write his Congressman if Hibbard doesn't acquiesce to Kerry's demands.

When I heard that BS I became fully engaged in the Kerry PH fiasco. I confronted Kerry and asked him to show me his wound. I had heard that the wound was located in a public, not private, area and could easily be revealed without embarrassment. Kerry refused to show me the scratch and ignored my repeated requests. I mentioned to others recently that I found this odd behavior since most young men when wounded will talk about their experience over and over but Kerry wouldn't talk about his experience to anyone other than his Congressman.

Let's go back to 2 December. I was in patrol area 5C south of CRB the night of Kerry's scariest night. I never heard one word coming over the radio pertaining to a fellow boat officer being engaged in a firefight in the CRB area. In fact the next morning when I returned to base not one word was mentioned regarding any such incident. Nada, zip, zero word was presented to any of us regarding Kerry's scariest night at the 1600 briefing. If you read Tour of Duty look in chapter six and Kerry describes what took place. However, he omits telling his readers the location, the names of crew members on the boat or the time and date of the incident. I find that strange since I can recall to this day minute details of his calendar of events without the aid of memoirs. He describes going up some inlet with the jungle closing in around them. The only bay that fits this description is Nha Trang Bay. The very same bay Mr. Schachte conducted the skimmer op, with Kerry in tow, one week prior. Kerry tells of his efforts to move fisherman out of the area by paddling the skimmer and heading the basket boats out to the cover boat. Who was the cover boat skippered by? Why didn't Kerry use the outboard engine that was mounted on the stern sheet? How could a person or persons paddle a Boston whaler without suffering shear exhaustion? During Bill Schachte's interview with Lisa Myers on NBC last August there was brief clip of Zaladonis stating he and Kerry were on a operation south of CRB. Obviously, memories of the scariest night in their lives were not seared into their brains. What's with the vagueness?

Then after all of this Kerry watches in amazement as sampans glide onto the shore to offload supplies or whatever. Sampans were powered by small motors that made quite a noise on the water at night in a bay with steep jungle covered walls. It is my contention that he would have heard the sampans minutes before seeing them. Kerry, who by the way had not earned his "water wings" that allowed him to make unmonitored patrols, did not have an assigned boat and was not in charge of a crew, became a bona fide hero while still in diapers, if you will.

The scariest night of his life was not documented in any after action report as was mandated by regulations. As the only officer on a skimmer with two enlisted men, who by the way were not mentioned in his autobiography, was responsible to report all contact with enemy forces. This is significant because two days later I led a skimmer op accompanied by Ltjg's Steve Hayes and Mark Jans. When we attended the 1600 briefing on 4 December, prior to embarking on PCF 45 skippered by Don Droz, there was absolutely no mention of enemy contact in the same location that we were heading toward. I think any rational person would find this a bit odd that the scariest night of Kerry's life was undocumented in Navy records with the exception of Kerry's memoir.

I almost forgot about his visit to see Lou Letson on 2 December. He asks Dr. Letson to verify a piece of shrapnel in his arm. Letson explains a few months ago in Unfit for Command that Kerry could have removed the shrapnel himself as it was truly a superficial wound. Duly noted by the doctor and entered into Kerry's medical record by the duty PO, however, no on in Cos Div 14 was made aware of his sickbay visit. Very convenient and very, very necessary for Kerry to carry off his ruse.

Here's the kicker. If John Kerry was wounded on 25 November and again on 2 December he would be a folk hero. The incident on 25 November did not warrant an after action report. The action on 2 December never was mentioned in an after action report. Were Skip Hibbard and Bill Schachte negligent in their duties by not demanding an after action report from an untested OinC on a spec ops without supervision or did they even know about this phantom op? I think it highly improbable that Kerry could have commandeered a skimmer, solicited another OinC to sealift him to a remote location 45 miles north of CRB, endanger the lives of two enlisted men, merit a PH with and no one was the wiser.

As of 6 December there was no mention of a second PH. I find that peculiar in light of the fact that CosDivs were intimate in comparison to other military units in Viet Nam. After my negotiations with Don Droz about taking his assignment to An Thoi I met Kerry on the pier that night prior to getting underway for An Thoi. Still no PH and I bullied Kerry to stay clear of me during the transit as I had little or no respect for the man. Make that no respect. A week later he was telling you about his PH and the need for two more. How was it possible for Kerry to state that he had a PH when Hibbard turned him down for the action of 25 November and Hibbard had no knowledge of the supposed incident of 2 December. As far as I was concerned only Hibbard, Bill Schachte and me had knowledge or gave a damn about his conduct. The other OinC's in CRB most likely forgot about the incident after Kerry left for An Thoi.

I understand that Kerry had a friend in high places in Saigon who was probably his handler. Could it be John Kerry sent his friend a copy of his 2 December medical report and the paper work for the PH after Skip, Bill and I left country. They left prior to 31 December and I was medivaced on 29 January 1969. If you ask Skip or Bill they will attest that they had no knowledge of Kerry receiving a PH on 2 December or any other day during that time frame. That's the story of his PH. I think this the last time I will relate this story to anyone again, unless John tries for an Adelai.

Talked to Tom Herritage today and he stated that he was OinC of 94 before it was sent to overhaul in late October or early November. I took it out of overhaul on 24 January 1969 and returned to An Thoi on 25 January.

Glad to hear that life has treated you well. Mike Brown and I talked today and he is awaiting your phone call for the long awaited lunch.

Good Luck,

Tedd Peck
PCF 94 & 57

John tried to recruit me into the VVAW in May of 1969 while I was a patient in St Albans Naval Hospital. Some leader...definitely not a salesman.




Subject: Back to you


Hi Bob: Yes, a voice out of the past is always welcome. I haven't kept up with the Swifties untill I got a home computer in 90' and I keep their history site on favorites to visit every so often. When John Kerry started his run, I joined the Swift Vets for the Truth and kept up to date on their cause every day. I see the picture on the sight and remember that I was at the meeting in Saigon but didn't make the pic. I pretty much endorsed the cause. This brought back a lot of memories. I recall that I took John out on several patrols when he came to An Thoi in December of 69. I was on PCF 94 at the time. He told me that he had one purple heart and if he could get two more, he was out of there. I really didn't care one way or another. I transferred with most of my crew to Cat Lo and took 94 up there for an in country overhaul. John must have followed me up, as we were both on patrol the Christmas eve that he claims to have been in Cambodia. I found that to be pretty much a big tale. He eventually returned to An Thoi with 94 after the overhaul. I went on to Saigon for the Small Boat School to turn over PCF's and PBR's. I didn't see John again until May of 1970 when I was stationed in New York City with the Coast Guard. ( I transferred to the CG in August of 69 after completing my tour in Vietnam and made a career out of it. I retired in 1993. Skip Barker relieved me in Saigon) John looked me up and we had pizza at the Staten Is. Ferry terminal. He tried to get me to join the Vietnam Vets Against the War. I declined and never heard from him again. The rest is history. I Taught Navy JROTC in Chicago at Mooseheart High School for 9 years. Really enjoyed it a lot. I finally got a little burned out and moved down here to Bradenton. I am working as a marine surveyor doing mostly insurance damage claims. It has turned out to be a great "third" career choice as I can set my own schedule and do what I am most competent at. Mike Brown lives near by, but we have not gotten together yet. Also, another interesting tale--do you remember Don Droz. He was in our class at San Diego. He had gotten married just before we deployed and I saw him for dinner in spring of 69 when he past through Saigon coming home from leave in Hawaii. He was killed shortly thereafter. Anyway, My inlaws live on Cape Cod and I was up there with my wife last year. A distant cousin of my mother in law was visiting from San Francisco. Along the way we started talking about my career and Swift Boats. He said that he was an editor of sorts and was helping a young girl publish a book about her father. I found out it was Don's daughter. What a small world. Let me know what you are doing. Great to keep in touch after all these years. If you kept up with anyone else let me know. Take care.

(PS) By the way, I had an oil painting of PCF 94 done in Saigon while I was there and have it hanging right behind me now. I was thinking Teresa might have wanted it as a present to John, but I guess that is out the window now!!!! I don't think he wants to continue the association after the grief he had heaped on him.

Larry Balok
_________________
Terry Boone PCF 90
Qui Nhon 68-69

[1991932]

This is probably the MOST INTERESTING item I've read on this forum. It reeks of authenticity, and brings back lots of memories for me, a non-Swifty Viet Nam vet. This sounds clumsy, but I hope you know what I mean.

Your timing is perfect. This nation did, indeed, make the right choice on November 2nd. But we already knew that.

Thank you so much.
_________________
Former "War Criminal"

[d19thdoc]

Just amazing.

SVPT needs to archive this one. For any who might have thought Kerry's behavior in Nam might have been a matter of interpretation or perspective, "fog of war" or other matter for doubt, this sinks it.

No wonder the Swiftees were so adamant about including the Vietnam charade in their attacks, in addition to the after-war protest activities.

He was so calculating it almost begins to give credence to a friend's theory that I have seen nowhere else - that Kerry was, in fact, a active enemy agent before his Navy service, planted in Vietnam to acquire credentials to take the anti-war movement into another direction. That sure would help explain his carrying water for them in Washington ever since, as on POW and Human Rights and economic matters.

Another amazing detail is that his "join VVAW" pitch to you guys starting in May of 1970 exactly coincides with his first visit with Madame Binh. Must have been a busy month for Kerry.
_________________
For The Honor of the Fifty-Eight Thousand.
"He Can Lose, But He Can Not Hide"