SwiftVets.com

[The bandit]

Fred Short told NRO's, Byron York, in a August 16, 2004 NRO article that he clearly remembers the date of his first mission under Kerry being February 18, 1969 because his first mission happened to been his birthday. The date is important because it has been alleged by the Kerry Campaign that Fred Short was the replacement gunner for the wounded David Alston. It was also important to have Fred Short serving under Kerry for more than one mission so that his testimony of Kerry's character under combat conditions could be viewed as more believable by voters.

However, someone forgot to inform Fred Short of the importance of his timing under Kerry prior to the David Alston revelations that he had not served under Kerry's command -- which made Short's timing even more critical.

Prior to August 16, 2004, Fred Short had consistently maintained his first mission with Kerry was February 28, 1969 and not earlier. Speaking to Arkansas delegates in late July of this year, Short told how he was ambushed and how Kerry had saved his life on his first day on patrol under Kerry (The Times Record of Arkansas, 7/29/04).

Fred Short has consistently insisted that Kerry had saved his life by killing a Viet Cong who was posed to fire a B-40 rocket at the beached boat Short was on. The date of this incident can only be February 28, 1969 since it is the only date Kerry was remotely in a position to dispatch a threatening enemy soldier with a B-40.

On July 28, Short was quoted by the Beacon Journal as saying,``My first day on patrol, I was in three firefights. I wondered, `What in the world are we doing here?' We're not holding any ground and it just seems to be this big firefight,'' Short said.

Again, this could only be the date of February 28, 1969; not February 18 because February 28 is the only date that can account for three possible firefights during Short's brief timeline under Kerry.

Prior to the above statements by Fred Short, he told Chris Matthews on Hardball on July 27 that: "My first patrol, I was ambushed, and three times on my 21st birthday, two times from the same spot in the river. And I thought going in and coming out and I thought what are we doing here? We are just targets in the air for them, fish in a barrel."

In the above statement he seems to suggest he first went on patrol with Kerry earlier than February 18 only to be ambushed three times on his 21st birthday which he has suggested is February 18. However, the description of the three ambushes clearly suggests he is talking about February 28, 1969. The "two times from the same spot in the river" clearly and without a doubt is a description of what he and Kerry's crew encountered on February 28 and at no other time under Short's timeline.

In all likelihood, Fred Short's first and only mission under Kerry was indeed February 28, 1969 and most likely he was indeed a replacement, but not a replacement for David Alston. He replaced Mike Givens who was shot in the arm the day before while training on Kerry's boat.

This conclusion is further supported by the fact Fred Short only recollects events related to February 28. Short has at least once commented on Kerry's wounding on February 20, suggesting he had witnessed it, but he used the same descriptive language Kerry had used himself in describing it and since has been shown to be false.
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