SwiftVets.com

hanna · Rear Admiral Joined: 07 Aug 2004 Posts: 701

You are right. Actually, as a civilian, I was surprised to learn that people requested to be cited for medals. I assumed that someone did a good deed and their superiors cited them based on that good deed...and of course, another assumption, that that superior had first hand knowledge of what happened. DUH....that wouldn't always be possible, but for myself, I cannot imagine going and writing up a report and inflating what happened for the express purpose of receiving a medal. It is just creepy;/

Son Of The Godfather · Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2004 11:20 am Post subject:

Creepy AND dishonorable... Hey, guess who I just described?...

(No, Herman was never dishonorable)

SOTG
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"Which candidate would enemies of the United States prefer to see in the White House?"

Polaris · Rear Admiral Joined: 16 Aug 2004 Posts: 626

hanna,

You aren't alone. Most civilians assume that medals are something you get because of superior service recognized by a superior officer. For enlisted men that is even true. Not for officers, however. (I mean no offense to you officers out there). A decent officer goes by the honor system......but not all officers are decent.
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-Polaris

Truth is Beauty

Son Of The Godfather · Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2004 12:38 pm Post subject:

Polaris,

DEL · Seaman Recruit Joined: 08 May 2004 Posts: 49

This thread is the very reason I opposed attacking his awards.

Question the awards and the awards process itself is defamed,all awards are suspect.
Do I now smirk inwardly at the WW2 vet wearing a Navy Cross lapel pin?

Mr.Kerry, I believe, is a despicable person.
Some victories come with too high a price.
Guard is not one of those victories.

cgc · Seaman Recruit Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Posts: 47

Most members of Coastal Division 11, would not expect a purple heart for a "thorn scratch" covered by a bandaid, that was self inflicted. IE: "I fired my M79 to close to the boat and some of the round come back and scratched me". I saw some guys after a firefight with "rose thorn scratches" who never even had it cross their minds to ask for a purple heart. Also if you threw a hand grenade into a rice filled bunker and got some rice hulls blown into the cheeks of your ass, thats called an accident, not a wound received in action. Who would have the gall to accept that kind of purple heart. Lastly, if we cannot see through the medal hunt Kerry was on, and if we condone his anti-war stance as nothing more than the political flavor of the year, Then we deserve him as our next president. The Democratic left does not like Bush because of what he is: A straight talking, standup guy, who puts the interests of his country first. This is a turning point in our history as a country, do we elect Bush, whom will go through hell and high water to keep our country safe, or do we elect Kerry, who god only knows will conduct his "sensitve" form of appeasement policies towards the terrorists that threaten the world today.
cgc An Toi, Danang 68-69 Swift Boat Crew 6C

Son Of The Godfather · Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2004 1:46 pm Post subject:

DEL,

DEL · Seaman Recruit Joined: 08 May 2004 Posts: 49

Let's hope your right. I don't have as much faith in peoples discretion.
I site human history.The current political polarization of this country.The ready willingness of people to stereotype,ad infintum.......
This thread starts to open the question of disserved.

Fat Fingers:)

sevry · Commander Joined: 13 Aug 2004 Posts: 326

Tom Poole · Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2004 2:59 am Post subject: ...Medals Like Candy...

In my private life, performance evaluations tended to be generous and occasionally untruthful. Now, having read my first and many more Fitness Reports, it seems the Navy was not different. Regarding medals, it seems they may have been used like candy. This seems to be a human characteristic (weakness, frailty?) in a free society. I don't mind it at all. All veterans who served in combat deserve all the medals we can justify (I was a peacetime vet who earned no medals). However, as Truman said, "the buck stops here." He meant the White House where Kerry wishes to reside.
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'58 Airedale HMR(L)-261 VMO-2

GenrXr · Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2004 3:06 am Post subject:

As someone said on a television appearance earlier today or yesterday I forget, if you meet an enlisted man with a silver star realize that person did something extraordinary to recieve it, whereas an officer with one might not of done the extraordinary.
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"An activist is the person who cleans up the water, not the one claiming its dirty."
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing." Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Founder of Conservative Philosophy

torque-pylit · Seaman Recruit Joined: 07 Aug 2004 Posts: 12

Thought I would add this: A friend of mine who recently retired as an Army "Full Bird" turned down a Silver Star in the RVN because his men (EM) did not receive the same. Even though we grew up together and went to University together, I viewed him differently after I learned this. Let's "Pull-Pitch" and keep lerch away from the White House!

Dougz1 · Seaman Recruit Joined: 10 Aug 2004 Posts: 2

As far as I remember............Lewis "Chesty " Puller had the most cabbage patch. I might be wrong and correct me if so. Semper fi.

NavyChief · Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2004 4:38 am Post subject:

It took Kerry 87 days to get his first purple heart. His next purple heart came much faster.

Check his website, the Purple Heart citations are hosed up. They have him earning a third purple heart before he got his second one.

Also, the Silver Star was eye-witnessed by Sandusky and submitted not by Rassman as he has claimed. Also note, that the award recommendation has Kerry earning a Silver Star on 6 Mar 69. huh?

And Kerry is obviously the author of the Spot Report sent out on 14 Mar 69 for the 13 Mar action. It states: Observed fire for 5000 meters. The only boat that left the scene was Kerry.

And ya gotta love the damage report of Kerry's boat, PCF-94. Doesn't sound to me like it could have towed anything, let alone itself.

Gee, don't know why the bone-head didn't get a MOH...

- instigator
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Working with Senator Kerry four years in the POW/MIA Office left me thinking -- when did the man ever do any work?

CAVLRRP · Seaman Recruit Joined: 03 Aug 2004 Posts: 8 Location: USA

Medal infaltion was also common in the infantry and other combat units. I once saw a full Bird award himself a DSC for shooting three wounded NVA from a chopper after I killed a batch of their buddies and severely wounded them with an artillery barrage on a LRRP mission.

How, he wrote up the crew for silver stars in turn for them signing for his DSC. But so what? They were just trying to further their carrers while the vast majority of American men were hiding from service and the country was ostrasizing all of who fought.

Kerry's crime is not medal inflation it's the complete disregard for his "brothers" that were and had been dying like flies in the hell holes of Nam.

Mike McCoy
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CAVLRRP CO A 1/12CAV 191MI LRRP HHC 1ST CALVARY DIVISION LRRP/RANGER COMPANY 1966-1968