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Jack Mclaughlin
PO3
Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 280
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 Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 10:10 am Post subject: |
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| I hope everyone on this site understands that the Rood article is a huge victory for us. Pro-Kerry pundits and reps. have been contending that only Kerry`s actual boatmates were credible witnesses to these incidents. Now they have conceded that boat commanders serving on the same missions with Kerry also have credibility. We should hammer this point home. |
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ASPB
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 1680
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| Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 10:31 am Post subject: |
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Jack,
You're exactly right. Furthermore, nothing Rood wrote contradicts our position but it does contradict statements made 8 years ago by Kerry crewman Tommy Belodeau (deceased).
What are they going to do next? Walk on the graves of honorable veterans? Spit on the Wall?
But, of course, Kerry and surrogates are again walking on the souls of living Vietnam veterans. We can't speak for Tommy Belodeau but we can speak for ourselves.
Let us not allow it this time around!
_________________
 On Sale! Order in lots of 100 now at velero@rcn.com Free for the cost of shipping All profits (if any, especially now) go to Swiftvets. The author of "Sink Kerry Swiftly" ---ASPB |
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VietVet
Seaman Recruit
Joined: 20 Aug 2004
Posts: 3
Location: Milwaukee, WI
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| Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 10:53 am Post subject: A Few Questions |
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I'm a first time poster who found this site through publicity from your book. Served with the 3/13th Artillery, 25th Infantry Division from October 1967 to October 1968.
I was convinced that Kerry's war record was not what he claimed. But in the past few days there have been a number of major newspaper articles that seem to refute some of the charges from "Unfit". As an active Life member of DAV Chapter 1 and a VERY ACTIVE VVA Chapter 324 these issues pop up regularly. I would say that the charges and counter-charges are not helpful in moving Vets in the middle. The issues raised in "Unfit" clearly strengthen the resolve of the anti-Kerry Vets but there is a lot of Vets who are angry at what they see as an attack on Veterans' credibility and not just Kerry (I hope I am explaining this clearly. If not let me know and I will try to rephraze this.) I would like understand this controversy better and respond more effectively.
I live in the swing state of Wisconsin (Go Pack Go) with a population of over 5 million. Our President lost WI in 2000 by around 5,000 votes so it is an important battleground state. (We also have a race against US Senator Feingold to contend with.)
Your help would be greatly appreciated with a few questions I have.
1. All of Kerry's military records are posted on his and other websites. Are these accurate records? Is something missing? What is a Form 180? What would Form 180's show that the reports on Kerry's site (assuming they are accurate) don't show?
2. If there is such confliciting testimony on Kerry's war record now, and so much time has passed since Vietnam, why isn't the focus on his anti-war record and his voting record in Congress? That seems much more straight forward and it doesn't emotionally anger Vets in the way that the controversy over his Vietnam medals/record does.
Thank you for your assistance. |
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jataylor11
Vice Admiral
Joined: 10 Aug 2004
Posts: 856
Location: Woodbridge, Virginia
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| Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 10:55 am Post subject: |
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Stay the course gentlemen.
I pray that when this is over the honor of (most) Vietnam Vets is finally restored, and that the traitor Kerry and his VVAW frauds are publicly flogged.  |
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ASPB
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 1680
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| Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:07 am Post subject: |
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I'll take a quick shot at your questions. A SF-180 is a one page form that authorizes direct release of "all" of Kerry's protected military service records. He has not done so. He and his staff have selectively released, retracted, released, and re-released his records. Turn the whole record over to media reps on both the left and right and the questions get answered..at least in part. Kerry's hiding the football.
The focus on embellishment of his combat recod comes from a recognition that he lied to his peers and superiors in '69. They didn't recognize the fraud he had perpetrated on them until "Tour of Duty" was released last winter. This however is just chapter 1. Chapter 2, which starts with VVAW and the Wintersoldier testimony just started.
Batten down the hatches. There will be some "fog of war" aspects to the in-country stuff but the VVAW and Wintersoldier activities are well documented. This is a campaign with legs. The last 2 weeks is just round 1.
_________________
On Sale! Order in lots of 100 now at velero@rcn.com Free for the cost of shipping All profits (if any, especially now) go to Swiftvets. The author of "Sink Kerry Swiftly" ---ASPB |
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Polaris
Rear Admiral
Joined: 16 Aug 2004
Posts: 626
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| Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:08 am Post subject: |
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VietVet,
Let me try to answer your questions. Hopefully other posters can chime in. I also recommend you read the other material on this site.
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1. All of Kerry's military records are posted on his and other websites. Are these accurate records? Is something missing? What is a Form 180? What would Form 180's show that the reports on Kerry's site (assuming they are accurate) don't show?
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First of all, these are not all of Sen. Kerry's records. Essential FITREPs and pages of FITREPS are missing along with crucial medical records.
In the second place, we have no way of knowing if Sen. Kerry has disclosed all his records since he and only he is the gatekeeper of his records.
A Standard Form 180 is a release that removes privacy act protections from all military records. This would permit anyone to go to the DoD and National Archives and request all of Sen. Kerry's records. Then we'd know.
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2. If there is such confliciting testimony on Kerry's war record now, and so much time has passed since Vietnam, why isn't the focus on his anti-war record and his voting record in Congress? That seems much more straight forward and it doesn't emotionally anger Vets in the way that the controversy over his Vietnam medals/record does.
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I am not one of the swift vets, so I can only speculate. However, even a cursory and fair look at even the available record indicates that at minimum then LT (jg) Kerry embellished key details in order to look better. At worst he lied. Indeed we know he lied about X-Mas in Cambodia. This seems like a small thing until you realize that Kerry made it a central theme of his political career and called it a life changing event...something seared ---seared--- into his memory.
IMHO the whole point about the medal flack was to throw doubt on Kerry's character. I note that you are hear asking questions. IMHO this is what the Swift Vets want. For too long Kerry was given a "pass" on his war record and was assumed to be a hero without closer examination.
Now, you may have seen the second ad. This shows Kerry's character when he came home...and I hope you'd agree that it is damning. I can not see how a decent human being can see that second ad and not have doubts about Kerry.
In short, as I understand it, it is ungoing process to educate the American People into what sort of person John Forbes Kerry really is....and it is not a flattering picture.
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Thank you for your assistance.
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You're welcome.
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-Polaris
Truth is Beauty |
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drjohn
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined: 09 Aug 2004
Posts: 550
Location: CT
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| Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 2:02 pm Post subject: "OUR" boat??? |
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| stealthy wrote: | Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the text of the eulogy I gave for my friend, Thomas M. Belodeau, on November 10, 1997.
"There was the time we were carrying Special Forces up a river and a mine exploded under our boat sending it 2 feet into the air. We were receiving incoming rocket and small arms fire and Tommy was returning fire with his M-60 machine gun when it literally broke apart in his hands. He was left holding the pieces unable to fire back while one of the Green Berets walked along the edge of the boat to get Tommy another M-60. As he was doing so, the boat made a high speed turn to starboard and the Green Beret kept going--straight into the river. The entire time while the boat went back to get the Green Beret, Tommy was without a machine gun or a weapon of any kind, but all the time he was hurling the greatest single string of Lowell-Chelmsford curses ever heard at the Viet Cong. He literally had swear words with tracers on them!"
Congressional Record: January 28, 1998 (Senate) Page S186-S18
So, it wasn't a explosion that threw him out?
Rood's account is much ado about nothing. |
a mine exploded under "OUR" boat?????????????????  |
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