SwiftVets.com

[duhaast]

I have seen or heard somewhere a discription of Kerry's volunteerism to 'Nam thinking it was safe easy duty,and how it got dangerous and turned into something he did not want to do.

Can anyone give me a source this?
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[Navy_Navy_Navy]

There are numerous discussions of this on the board, here from a variety of sources including the Boston Globe, Tour of Duty and a book that was written in 1986.

He first requested a one-year deferment to go to Paris when he left Yale and that was denied, so he went into the Navy.

He did one year on the USS Gridley and then requested duty aboard Swifts, which were then engaged in coastal patrolling and one of the safest duties for Navy personnel considered "in country."

Two weeks after his arrival in Vietnam, the mission of Swifts changed to one of the most dangerous.

He left his tour after only 4 months, went to work as an Admiral's aide and left that duty early so that he could run for Congress.

Sources:
Book - "The Vietnam Experience"
Book - "Unfit for Command"
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~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother

[baldeagl]

Sheesh, ask something hard....John Kerry's own words -- http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/061603.shtml

Kerry initially hoped to continue his service at a relatively safe distance from most fighting, securing an assignment as "swift boat" skipper. While the 50-foot swift boats cruised the Vietnamese coast a little closer to the action than the Gridley had come, they were still considered relatively safe.

"I didn't really want to get involved in the war," Kerry said in a little-noticed contribution to a book of Vietnam reminiscences published in 1986. "When I signed up for the swift boats, they had very little to do with the war. They were engaged in coastal patrolling and that's what I thought I was going to be doing."
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antimedia
USN OST-6 68-74
http://antimedia.blogspot.com/

[LewWaters]

Here's another article on that from the UK Telegraph;

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/03/07/wkerr07.xml
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Clark County Conservative

[Navy_Navy_Navy]

Can you guys add those links to the FAQ, please?

Thanks!
_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother