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 For Swift boat vet, words still sting   
 Author: 
 Dated:  Saturday, September 18 2004 @ 10:00 PM PDT
 Viewed:  2217 times  
Former officer challenging Kerry's service

-- by Amanda Parry

Every few years since the early 1990s, Bub Morgan has met up with Navy pals from his time in Vietnam. But at a 2003 reunion in Norfolk, Va., Morgan was surprised and unhappy to spy a vet he hadn't seen in years.

"When John Kerry arrived I said to my friend, 'What is he doing here?'" said Morgan, a Wilmot resident and former officer in charge of a Navy Swift boat.

Morgan's disdain for the Massachusetts senator stemmed from Kerry's assertion in the early 1970s that Americans had committed atrocities in Vietnam.

Earlier this year, with Kerry running for president, Morgan was one of 192 Navy veterans to sign a letter asking Kerry to release his military records and to "correct misconceptions" about his conduct in Vietnam. The letter from the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth - now numbering close to 260 - also accused Kerry of "grossly and knowingly (distorting) the conduct of American soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen."

"We wanted the American people to know the truth about Kerry's service," Morgan said. "We feel the American people should know what kind of character this man has."

Originally from Phoenixville, Pa., Morgan served as the officer in charge of a Swift boat from December 1968 to mid-November 1969. Designed for coastal patrol, the 50-foot aluminum boats were used to ship supplies, South Vietnamese troops, special forces and medical teams up Vietnam's muddy rivers.

Initially a member of Coastal Division 14, Morgan was soon transferred to Coastal Division 11, stationed on the island of An Thoi. It was the same division with which Kerry had served.

Kerry was gone by the time Morgan arrived at An Thoi, sent home after four months based on a military rule that allowed men leave if they had received three Purple Hearts. (Kerry had served a previous tour aboard the destroyer USS Gridley, although all of his wounds were received during his Swift boat duty.)

Many of the men who were in An Thoi with Morgan had also been there with Kerry. From what Morgan heard, Kerry had been unpopular. Some officers questioned his conduct, he said.

By the early 1970s, Kerry was active with the organization Vietnam Veterans Against the War and testified before a Senate committee on atrocities committed by U.S. soldiers.

Later, on Meet the Press, Kerry said he and other Swift boat veterans had routinely committed war crimes.

For Morgan, it was a slap in the face. He had served in the same place at almost the same time as Kerry. And yet, he said, he had never witnessed or even heard of war crimes or atrocities being committed.

"He provided no evidence," Morgan said. "There were no affidavits, no real investigations. Yet he went in front of the country and told people that this had happened."

Already Morgan had been dealing with what had become the stigma of serving in Vietnam. He often kept quiet about his service because to mention it invited tirades.

"There was this stereotype of Vietnam veterans," he said. "We were supposedly all crazy. We had supposedly all done horrible things to the Vietnamese. That was already the case when I got back, but guys like Kerry and the VVAW made it worse. They turned my stomach."

Some of Morgan's most enjoyable missions with the Swift boat fleet were ferrying and distributing food and medical supplies to South Vietnamese villages.

"We brought medical teams to provide vaccinations," he said. "We gave the children candy. Wherever we went, we drew a crowd. A waving crowd."

But while Morgan believed Kerry was lying, he made no attempt to counter his testimony. All Morgan wanted to do was move on with his life, and he hoped Kerry's influence would fade.

A graduate of Bucknell University, Morgan moved to Connecticut and worked as an investment banker. He married and had three sons. Ten years ago he moved with his family to a farm in Wilmot.

From time to time, Morgan would hear about Kerry at Swift boat reunions from fellow vets who had read about his latest political victory. But he didn't pay much attention until earlier this year, when Kerry triumphed in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.

It was around this time that Tour of Duty, a book on Kerry's military service, was published. Written by historian Douglas Brinkley, it was based on Kerry's journal entries and letters and on interviews with fellow sailors and family members.

The book stirred public discussion once again about alleged war crimes by Swift boat veterans. He took offense that Kerry would promote his war record after he had spent so many years protesting the war.

"I think we decided we'd had enough," Morgan said.

Morgan attended a meeting of Swift boat vets in Washington, D.C. He put his name on the open letter to Kerry. Right now he doesn't have any activities planned with the group, although he said if he were asked to get involved in something, he would consider it.

Morgan said his decision to participate had nothing to do with party politics. He is registered independent, and he said he'd be doing the same thing if Kerry were a Republican.

"I just felt it was about time we all spoke up," he said. "I feel like Kerry has been using us for his political career for a long time. It needs to stop."

This article was published by The Concord Monitor




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