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rbshirley
Founder
Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 394
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 Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:51 pm Post subject: How the Swifties helped sink Kerry |
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I am still recovering from a fantastic weekend in Austin in the company of
many of my Swift Boat shipmates. Including Jack Chenoweth, Van Odell
and Troy Jenkins. But, even though as interesting a these three were, the
quiet strength and honest humility of the other sailors such as Rey Lopez,
who won the Slver Star for real actions saving lives, are the things I will
most remember from the hours we all spent remembering the shipmates
we left behind and the experiences we shared so long ago and far away.
The overwhelming emotion as Rey hugged his fellow crewmember Charlie
Janner after not seeing one another for over thirty-five years was touching.
So it was a welcome relief to read at least one article analyzing the effect
of the Swift Vets & POWs that did not include a caveat that our message
was "propaganda" or "discounted" How the Swifties helped sink Kerry
You do NOT discount the folks I was with on Saturday. They are the BEST
| The American Thinker wrote: |
How the Swifties helped sink Kerry
November 6th, 2004
In the aftermath of this historic election we ought to examine the
important role the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth played in defeating John
Kerry; how and why they sank his campaign yacht.
John Kerry had made his Vietnam service as a Swiftboat commander the
centerpiece of his presidential campaign. The men who knew him best
could not and would not allow his lies and distortions about that service to
go unchallenged. Appearing at the National Press Club in Washington,
D.C. on May 4, 2004, retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffman announced the
formation of the Swiftboat Veterans For Truth. The officer who commanded
these men in Vietnam now led them again in a new mission: “to counter
the false war crimes charges that Kerry repeatedly made against Vietnam
veterans who served in our units and elsewhere, and to accurately portray
Kerry’s brief tour as a junior grade lieutenant.” The Swifties also called for the
release of all of Kerry’s military and medical records. The now-famous letter,
declaring their mission statement, was released at the same time, carrying
260 signatures.
Who were these men, this armada of honor, preparing to unleash their
truth torpedoes? The were, they are, retired and former commanders
and crewmen of Swiftboats – enginemen, gunner’s mates, radarmen,
bosun’s mates, quartermasters, Ensigns, Lieutenants, junior grade and
full Lieutenants who manned the 50’ shallow-draft, aluminum PCFs, Patrol
Craft, Fast that sailed into harm’s way along the coasts, rivers and canals
of the Mekong Delta.
Motivated by honor, integrity and love of country, they embarked
confidently on their vital mission.
Their most significant early action was launching the website,
www.swiftvets.com on July 21. Packed with information and constant
updates, press releases, articles, transcripts of interviews and the like, it
became a powerful online voice. Perhaps most importantly, it was the
repository of solid, documented, eyewitness-based facts rebutting the
barrage of criticism that began almost immediately, as the Kerry
campaign and its media allies assaulted the veracity and reliability
of the Swifties.
In the lead boat sustaining that first media fusillade was multi-tour
ex-Gunner’s Mate, Steve Gardner. The mild-mannered Southerner
encountered hostile fire from the big guns at Time and other media
ambushers, but he was a man who had been there, done that, who had
survived the impact of real bullets. He not only survived, he prevailed.
The truth always does.
He would be followed by other Swifies: Van Odell, Larry Thurlow, Bob
Elder and the rest, telling the straight, unvarnished facts of the matter to
their interviewers.
The Swifties gained a huge, positive boost in those early months when
Rush Limbaugh spent two consecutive days talking about them and
voicing support for their efforts.
Then on August 4th they launched the first of a series of nine television
ads that would have a growing and eventually, a cumulative, powerful
impact, garnering further attention and support. The first was titled “Any
Questions.” The last one, “Why?” produced in concert with their new
allies, Vietnam POWs, appeared October 13.
On August 31 Swiftboat Veterans For Truth released their open letter to
John Kerry “Tell The Truth And We’ll Stop The Ads.”
The Kerry campaign responded with a continuation of their intimidation
tactics, by threatening television stations running the ads with legal action.
Publication of Unfit For Command was perhaps the signal event of the
ongoing Swiftie effort. Principal author John E. O’Neill (with Jerome R.
Corsi, PhD.), now a Houston attorney, served over a year as a Swiftboat
commander, earning two Bronze Stars with “V” device for Valor, among
other decorations. The comprehensively documented book presents the
case for the truth regarding Kerry’s three Purple Hearts, Silver Star and
Bronze Star. It presents for close examination Kerry’s public, under oath
slandering of Vietnam veterans, and reveals his cynical Vietnam Veterans
Against The War activities and potentially illegal dalliance with communist
Hanoi’s representatives in Paris.
John O’Neill, who defeated Kerry during a 1971 debate on the Dick Cavett
Show, was now thrust into the spotlight, where he suffered the ad
hominem slings and arrows of a hostile media. He became the
representative face and voice for his fellow Swifties, carrying with
persevering patience and steadfast conviction their message of
indomitable truth.
And many Americans supported what the Swifties were doing. They
showed their appreciation by donating money to the cause. At a huge
public rally in September the Swifties announced that they had received
over $50,000 from individual contributors in all 50 states. By the election
time, that total would $26 million.
Through it all, Adm. Hoffman and the armada of honor pressed forward,
firing another accurate torpedo over Kerry’s “Christmas in Cambodia”
canard, forcing his campaign crew to back off while it tried to repair the
leak in the yacht.
That the Swiftboat Veterans For Truth were instrumental in President
Bush’s re-election there can be no doubt. As of this writing, they are
considering their next mission, their website noting the possibility of
Kerry’s less than honorable discharge from the Navy.
Here is how O’Neill and Corsi summed it up in Unfit For Command:
“John Kerry might well continue as Senator, but as commander-in-chief he
has, unfortunately, breached the trust to hold his band of brothers together.
In the end, our objection to John Kerry is not his past; it is the future as
predicted by his past.”
Thank God, America’s future is now in the hands of President George W.
Bush.
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Last edited by rbshirley on Sun Nov 28, 2004 5:35 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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rbshirley
Founder
Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 394
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| Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 2:17 pm Post subject: Re: How the Swifties helped sink Kerry |
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| rbshirley wrote: | I am still recovering from a fantastic weekend in Austin in the company of
many of my Swift Boat shipmates. Including Jack Chenoweth, Van Odell
and Troy Jenkins. |
............  ...........
........ Troy and Jill expounding about JFK to Warren Jenny and Barry Bogart ......
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I B Squidly
Vice Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 879
Location: Cactus Patch
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| Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2004 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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What RB neglects to mention is that he was SOPA for the Austin shindig.
As a benediction he sang for us a sea-shanty about Swift Boats. He preserved the tempo, hit all the notes and most importantly remembered the words, a bravo performance. |
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NavyChief
Rear Admiral
Joined: 12 Aug 2004
Posts: 627
Location: Boise, Idaho
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| Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2004 9:31 pm Post subject: |
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| I B Squidly wrote: | What RB neglects to mention is that he was SOPA for the Austin shindig.
As a benediction he sang for us a sea-shanty about Swift Boats. He preserved the tempo, hit all the notes and most importantly remembered the words, a bravo performance. |
Sorry I missed this post earlier. Thanks Bob!!!
Yes, I second that Bob did an OUTSTANDING job and brought tears to the eyes -- he is so eloquently spoken.
What a great time with the BEST!!!
- Chief
_________________
Working with Senator Kerry four years in the POW/MIA Office left me thinking -- when did the man ever do any work? |
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