SwiftVets.com

[factman]

The citation for John Kerrys Silver star contains the following two passages:

"This daring and courageous tactic surprised the enemy and succeeded in routing a score of enemy soldiers."

"The extraordinary daring and personal courage of Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry in attacking a numerically superior force in the face of intense fire were responible for the highly successful mission."

The use of the term "numerically superior force' is subject to question when one delves into the accounts of the events of the two distinct combat incidents that took place that day, February 28, 1969.

Incident #1- Three Swift boats loaded with friendly soldiers, American and Vietnamese, were subjected to enemy fire. The boats were turned towards the point of enemy fire, beached on the shoreline, the friendly soldiers disembarked and fanned out to engage the enemy.

Question: How many enemy and friendly forces were engaged in this incident?

Enemy forces: No precise number given. However, the Silver Star citation stated that a score of enemy forces were routed. A check in the dictionary defines score as a group of 20 items. Unless there is an official combat report that is more precise we can therefore place the enemy forces at 20.

Friendly forces: There were three Swift boats involved in the incident. Each Swift boat includes a boat commander and five crewmen. Therefore, the Swift boat personnel alone number at least 18.

However, each boat was loaded with frienly soldiers, American and Vietnamese, The Silver Star citation does not state the number of friendly soldiers on the three boats. In the abscence of an official combat report giving the number, is there any other source that can be cited?

In the book "Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War" by Douglas Brinkley there is a passage on page 289 that reads as follows:

"The last day of February started out pretty much like any other morning for for the crew of PCF 94. Along with two other Swifts, they were to transport thirty-odd South Vitnamese Popular Forces (PF) troops to a dangerous river on the southern most tip of the Ca Mau Peninsular"

Also, in the Silver Star citation there is a passage that reads: "On a request from U.S Army advisors ashore, Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry ordered PCFs 94 and 23 further up river to suppress enemy sniper fire." Thus we have at least two, and possibly more, American soldiers involved.

Therefore the total number of friendly forces involved in this incident is, at least 18 manning the three Swift boats, 30-odd Vietnamese soldiers, and at least 2 U.S.Army soldiers, for a total of approximately 52.

Summary of Incident #1
Enemy forces: approximately 20
Friendly forces: approximately 52

Confirmation that John Kerry attacked a numerically superior force is not substantiated.

Incident #2-Kerry's Swift boat departed the scene of Incident#1 and proceeded upriver. The Silver Star citation contains the following passage:

"After proceeding approximately eight hundred yards, the boats were again taken under fire from a heavily foliated area a B-40 rocket exploded close aboard PCF 94; with utter disregard for his own safety and the enemy rockets, he again ordered a charge on the enemy, beached his boat only ten feet from the VC rocket position, and personally led a landing part ashore in pursuit of the enemy."

As reported on extensively in "Tour of Duty", on pages 290 through 292, this incident identifies only one enemy combatant who is first shot and wounded by a member of Kerry's crew, Kerry's boat is beached, Kerry and two members of his crew jump off the boat and pursue the lone, fleeing and wounded enemy combatant and Kerry shots him. Kerry and two crew members remain ashore conducting an inch by inch search of the terrain, they find some enemy contraband and load it on the boat and depart the scene. There is no mention of any enemy fire other than the one rocket that exploded close aboard PCF 94.

Pending an official combat report the number of enemy forces involved in this incident is one. The number of friendly forces number at least 7, John Kerry and the six crewmen on board that day.

Summary of Incident #2
Enemy forces: Only 1 identified
Friendly forces: At least 7

Confirmation that John Kerry attacked a numerically superior force is not substantiated.

Conclusion: The statement in John Kerry's Silver Star citation that he attacked a "numerically superior force" is a false and inappropriate description of the respective combat forces, enemy and friendly, that were engaged that day.

Comments welcome.

[Guest]

a superior force of one against half a man

[jataylor11]

[one more captins mast]

something to the "right' of the metric "dismal point"
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the strange mr aj