SwiftVets.com

[JK]

Vietnam Controversy Costing Kerry, Says Historian
Dave Eberhart, NewsMax.com
Monday, Aug. 23, 2004 Author and Vietnam historian B.G. Burkett tells NewsMax in an exclusive interview that Sen. John Kerry is mired in a quagmire worse than the one he complained about in Vietnam.

The controversy may just cost him the presidency, Burkett says.

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“Kerry keeps losing points every day this controversy wears on in the media,” Burkett told NewsMax shortly before Kerry’s campaign filed a legal complaint with the FEC to stop the Swift Boat Veterans' ads.

A sign of desperation?

Burkett is no stranger to such controversy and measures. He has been sued multiple times after exposing phony military records of Vietnam veterans – many of whom never even served in Vietnam.

Burkett’s book “Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of Its Heroes and Its History” (Verity Press) was published in 1998 and has become a must-read for those who want to unlock the truth about Vietnam and its aftermath.

In fact, Burkett’s book has been credited as being among the first to question John Kerry’s war record. Burkett has interviewed and spoken with many of the Swift Boaters who served with Kerry and his commanding officers.

Kerry Responds

As Swift Boat Veterans for Truth keep ramming away at John Kerry’s carefully crafted hero image, the beleaguered candidate has finally turned to a media blitz of his own.

In his new TV ad Kerry defends his actions that led to his receiving the Bronze Star.

The ad features Jim Rassmann, one of his loyal dozen “band of brothers,” certifying Kerry’s bravery under fire as the future senator from Massachusetts and presidential candidate pulled him from the water under withering fire after a couple of mines exploded during a South Vietnam river operation.

Or was it just one mine that exploded? And were there small arms sweeping the area as well, as the after-action reports claimed?

The Swift Boat vets who criticize Kerry say that only one mine exploded under a boat not commanded by Kerry and that there was no accompanying enemy fire.

How did Green Beret Rassmann fall off Kerry’s boat only to be rescued from the drink by Kerry? Burkett says witnesses attest that Rassmann fell off Kerry’s boat because Kerry engaged the boat in a frantic maneuver to flee from the action around the exploding mine.

Preponderance of Evidence

What will settle the controversy? NewsMax asks the author.

“They [the Swift Boat group] will go away only if Kerry announces he has removed himself from the race,” replies a cynical Burkett, who has been studying the growing controversy that has dominated the TV talk shows and radio pundits.

Although Burkett feels that the fog of war may forever keep the actual truth from emerging from the smoke, he does believe that the vet group is moving ahead in establishing its less flattering version of the Kerry exploits by “a preponderance of the evidence.”

“These Swift Boats moved in squadrons and formations,” explains Burkett. “Sometimes the better vantage point for observing the action was from another boat.”

And John O’Neil, co-author of the best seller “Unfit for Command,” has interviewed these other observers, disputing the so-called after-action reports filed by Lt. j.g. Kerry.

These reports later provided the basis for Kerry’s now much-celebrated Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Heart decorations – all earned in an abbreviated and bigger-than-life four-month stint in Vietnam.

“The people up the chain of command assumed that none of their officers would cheat,” opines Burkett.

“It’s a back-and-forth catfight” says Burkett, who thinks that the tide may break dramatically to the side of the disaffected vets if one of the loyal Kerry band of brothers turns colors.

How likely is that? asks NewsMax.

“Well, they [Swift Boat Veterans for Truth] keep hoping,” says Burkett. But if O’Neill has done his homework, so has Kerry, he explains. “Kerry long ago called all his men together to settle on one version of the action.”

Other critics say that Kerry’s campaign has already put on the payroll one or more of his “band of brothers.”

Veteran Steve Gardner, however, is one of the Kerry crew members who has never gone along with the Kerry program: “I watched him put his crew in jeopardy, his indecisive moves. ...”

So, why was Gardner so singular? asks NewsMax.

“You have to realize that Gardner was an unusual member of the crew,” explains the author. “Gardner had a previous tour of duty on Swift Boats. He knew the right way to confront the enemy – not the Kerry way [steering to open water].”

Kerry’s Navy More Like McHale’s

Burkett goes on to explain that a stalwart, chance-taking Kerry would be contrary to the historic Kerry, who he describes as “always belly-aching and whining about how the admirals had decided to send the Swift Boats up those dangerous jungle-clogged rivers.”

According to Burkett, Kerry had volunteered with the notion that his tour was going to be a sort of gentlemanly duty of offshore coast-watching – not close combat with an enemy lurking on the shores.

Burkett has suggested in the past that the way out of the dilemma for Kerry would be for Kerry to open up all his files by executing a blanket SF-180 form, allowing all the press to have independent access to his file.

Burkett, however, says the release of Kerry’s full file, which he does not believe has taken place despite Kerry’s claims otherwise, will still not stop the Swift Boat Vets who are opposed to Kerry.

“It would have some bearing to the press, but it’s not going to deter this group,” says Burkett.

“And remember,” adds Burkett, “this is not a bunch of Republicans going after Kerry. If Kerry were running as a Republican, the attacks would be just the same.”

Burkett himself has criticized President Bush for his National Guard duty during the Vietnam War.

Just how worried is the Kerry camp?

“You bet they are worried,” says Burkett. “This election may just turn on those 5 percent undecided out there. The bottom line is simple – the longer the dispute wears on, the more Kerry loses. They’re never going to resolve this dispute

[Chuck54]

Of course the 5% of undecided are an important factor, but I think there have been, and will continue to be, many who planned to vote for Kerry but now will not because of these revelations.

The medals debate, a very important one, aside, I don't know how anyone can vote for Kerry after seeing what he did when he came back to the US. If all Kerry did was lie to get medals, and then shut up when he came back, we would not be having this discussion.
_________________
"And no pair has been more wrong, more loudly, more often, than the two Senators from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry"

Zell Miller

[Polaris]

Chuck,

As far as the undecided vote goes, I think that Kerry's own actions this last week have done as much (if not more) damage to him than anything we have done (so far). In fact one of my friends who is a very weak Kerry supported flat out admitted that he couldn't stand the guy. He doesn't understand my anger (he was never a vet and doesn't understand the service and frankly doesn't want to), but he does agree that Kerry has not acted presidential. This last week he told me that he may well just vote Libetarian instead.

The point is that if we can keep some Kerry leaners from voting for Kerry, we have been effective.
_________________
-Polaris

Truth is Beauty

[manofaiki]

I can think of a big reason why Steve Gardner has never given into the Kerry charm and bribes like the other guys in Kerry's Band of Brothers.

After pissing off all the SwiftVets with is anti-war treason once he came home, Kerry spent years pursuing and wooing all the members of his boat. He has been able to win/bribe all of them except for Gardner.

And I think the Sampan incident has the most to do with that.

Imagine you are steve gardner. You are manning the m60 machine gun as your craft is sitting dead in the water with lights and motor off in ambush mode on the river. You CO is supposedly in the pilot house scanning the radar for contacts.

Like a cat crouched to leap on a mouse, supposedly this swift boat is tensed and ready for action in a half second's notice.

And all of a sudden, out of the blue, Gardner hears a boat coming. He can see the dim outline in the darkness.

WTF???!!!!

With the CO watching the radar, this SHOULD NOT HAPPEN. No craft should get within at least 150 yards of this swift boat without Kerry knowing about it and warning the crew.

Now the boat is right on top of them. Where's Kerry? Now the boat is too close - if it turns out to be a hostile they are close enough to toss grenades or other explosives onto the swift boat. The crew takes action and switches on the lights.

Gardner sees a man crouching in the boat and a warning is yelled. He is to this day convinced he saw the man reaching for an AK-47.

Gardner fires. He takes the man down. He does not find out until a few moments later that his burst of fire also kills a little boy.

Now Kerry finally appears, roaring for a cease fire. The crew looks over the boat next to them. It's a fishing boat. They see a child lying dead and a woman holding an infant.

At this point, Kerry threatens to court-martial Gardner. They take the mother and infant on board and head back to base.

Imagine how Gardner feels. Tonight he killed two innocent people. If John Kerry had been doing his job and watching the radar like he was supposed to be, they would have known the boat was coming well in advance. Swiftboats stopped and search thousands of boats on that river without incident. This one turned into a total clusterfuck because whatever kerry was doing in that pilothouse, he wasn't watching the radar. It would take as much as 10 minutes for a boat to show up on the radar and then reach the swiftboat; that was 10 minutes Kerry had to raise a warning that never came.

And now to top it off, after Gardner is placed in a position he never should have been in where he has to make a split-second fire/no fire decision, Kerry tries to say it's all his fault and threatens to courtmartial him.

I'm sure Gardner is still haunted by that little boy's unneccessary death. And once he found out years later just how Kerry wrote up the afteraction report to make it look like they did a 'good job' that night and took out some VC, Gardner's fury was complete.

I don't think Steve Gardner will rest until all of America has had a chance to see who the real John Kerry is.

manofaiki
_________________
"If any man has not the stomach for this fight, let him depart from us.! We would not die in that man's company!"

You bugged out in Vietnam - so we don't need you commanding us in the War on Terror!

So get lost, John Kerry!!!!!

[fortdixlover]