adios
09-05-2004, 01:01 AM
I'll have some more on the controversy regarding Kerry's Purple Heart in another post. Basically a biography of Kerry that some Boston Globe reporters wrote examines the circumstances surrounding it and basically it support the Swift Boat Vets version as it was published before anyone even heard of the Swift Boat Vets group.
From the article:
Among other records to be examined is a citation of Mr Kerry for bravery that was apparently signed by the former Navy Secretary, John Lehman, and contributed to the award of his silver star. The glowing citation states: "By his brave actions, bold initiative and unwavering devotion to duty, Lt Kerry reflected great credit on himself." But Mr Lehman denies all knowledge of the commendation. "It's a total mystery to me," he said last week. "I never saw it, I never signed it and I never approved it." The inquiry will also investigate other reports and citations leading to the award of Mr Kerry's medals.
On Friday, Mr Lehman endorsed the investigation of Mr Kerry's awards, saying that the relevant navy records needed to be "thoroughly researched and the facts established". Mr Fitton said: "We hope this is the beginning of an actual investigation of the legitimacy of Sen Kerry's awards by the navy and the Pentagon."
In an angry statement from the Kerry campaign headquarters, Michael Meehan, Mr Kerry's senior adviser, condemned the navy probe as an expensive waste of the Pentagon's resources.
"The facts are clear," said Mr Meehan. "The navy awarded John Kerry the Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V and three Purple Hearts. This is a waste of taxpayers' dollars and the Pentagon's time, especially during wartime."
Where in the U.S. is this story being reported? You'd think the Kerry campaign would be welcoming this probe instead of offering this feeble attempt at spinning it.
Pentagon to check Kerry war record (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/09/05/wus05.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/09/05/ixworld.html)
Pentagon to check Kerry war record
By Julian Coman in Newark, Ohio
(Filed: 05/09/2004)
In a fresh blow to John Kerry's flagging presidential campaign, the Pentagon has ordered an official investigation into the awards of the Democratic senator's five Vietnam War decorations.
News of the inquiry came as President George W Bush opened an 11-point lead over his rival - the widest margin since serious campaigning began - according to the first poll released since last week's Republican convention.
A question mark has been raised over one of John Kerry's awards
The highly unusual inquiry is to be carried out by the inspector-general's office of the United States navy, for which Sen Kerry served as a Swift Boat captain for four months in 1968, making two tours of duty.
He was wounded in action and subsequently awarded three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star. But for the past month, the exact details of Mr Kerry's military service in Vietnam have become shrouded in a controversy that the navy has now decided warrants a full-blown search for the truth.
According to a self-styled group of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, many of whom served in Vietnam during the same period, Mr Kerry exaggerated the significance of combat incidents and inaccurately reported the circumstances of his injuries, at least one of which was allegedly self-inflicted. The accusations are repeated in a book, Unfit to Command, which was published last month.
Last week, the Kerry campaign attempted to leave the Vietnam debate behind, as signs appeared that the controversy was damaging Mr Kerry's standing in the polls. But to the consternation of campaign strategists, the US navy has now agreed to a request by Judicial Watch, a bi-partisan lobby group, for a full inquiry. Judicial Watch is calling for the Navy to report before the elections, but Navy officials are so far refusing to give any timetable for the inquiry.
In an August letter to the Pentagon, the group's president, Tom Fitton, requested an investigation into the "determination and final disposition of the awards granted to Lieutenant (junior grade) John Forbes Kerry, US Naval Reserve", in response to the Swift Boat Veterans' allegations.
A navy spokesman confirmed on Friday that the inspector-general's office at the Pentagon had authorised the inquiry. "It is the responsibility of all personnel to correct errors in official records," said the spokesman. Another official said privately: "There's a feeling that it's time to deal with this thoroughly, once and for all."
Among other records to be examined is a citation of Mr Kerry for bravery that was apparently signed by the former Navy Secretary, John Lehman, and contributed to the award of his silver star. The glowing citation states: "By his brave actions, bold initiative and unwavering devotion to duty, Lt Kerry reflected great credit on himself." But Mr Lehman denies all knowledge of the commendation. "It's a total mystery to me," he said last week. "I never saw it, I never signed it and I never approved it." The inquiry will also investigate other reports and citations leading to the award of Mr Kerry's medals.
On Friday, Mr Lehman endorsed the investigation of Mr Kerry's awards, saying that the relevant navy records needed to be "thoroughly researched and the facts established". Mr Fitton said: "We hope this is the beginning of an actual investigation of the legitimacy of Sen Kerry's awards by the navy and the Pentagon."
In an angry statement from the Kerry campaign headquarters, Michael Meehan, Mr Kerry's senior adviser, condemned the navy probe as an expensive waste of the Pentagon's resources.
"The facts are clear," said Mr Meehan. "The navy awarded John Kerry the Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V and three Purple Hearts. This is a waste of taxpayers' dollars and the Pentagon's time, especially during wartime."
The inquiry comes at the end of the worst week of Mr Kerry's campaign. The poll showing an 11-point lead by President Bush, to be published in this week's Time magazine, was taken during the first three days of the Republican Convention in New York, which featured repeated direct attacks on Mr Kerry as an unreliable candidate for the role of Commander-in-Chief during the war on terror.
Two for the price of one. More about the V medal controversy.
The 34-Year Old "Typo" (http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=14937)
The 34-Year Old "Typo"
By Henry Mark Holzer and Erika Holzer
FrontPageMagazine.com | September 3, 2004
When Erika Holzer and I wrote "John Kerry's Mysterious Combat "V," published at Frontpagemag.com on August 20th, we said the following (set off by the asterisks):
*************************************
The presence of the combat "V" with Kerry's Silver Star on his DD 214 raises two extremely disquieting questions. How did the unauthorized "V" get there, and why has Kerry allowed it to remain?
The first question should not be taken lightly because we are talking about possible federal crimes. We are talking about the possibility of a forged official document. We are talking, as well, about Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001, which states:
Whoever, in any manner within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the United States, knowingly and willfully . . . makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years or both.
Was the combat "V" added by a sloppy clerk or a yeoman's typo thirty years ago? Was someone pressured or persuaded to add it? If Kerry had nothing to do with the gratuitously added combat "V," why didn't he have his DD 214 corrected when he was separated from the Navy?
Which gives rise to the second disturbing question: If Kerry was not a party to the unauthorized "V," why, for all these years, has he allowed his DD 214 to remain uncorrected and to repose on his website?
In light of the recent Swift Boat revelations and the cloud they have cast over Kerry's awards, one plausible answer is that this is yet another example of Kerry's multiple, and increasingly transparent, lies about his alleged heroics in Vietnam.
Let's hope it won't take a controversial TV spot to spark a mainstream media investigation of how candidate Kerry received an unearned "V" for valor.
*********************************
Well, it almost did.
Despite substantial efforts by the folks at FrontPage Magazine, and our own our efforts to get the word out, it has been very difficult to crack through the mainstream media's indifference and even its dishonesty.
That said, however, Fox News just reported the story on how the Navy is now investigating Kerry's medals, including his Silver Star's Combat "V" (and, probably, the puzzling three citations).
The Kerry campaign's response to the Navy's investigation has put their candidate in a box: predictably, "it's a typo," they say.
Oddly, a "typo" exaggerating the record of a man now known for his exaggerations (e.g., Cambodia, wounds, rescues, Purple Hearts etc.)
But assuming arguendo (as we lawyers say, "for the sake of argument") that it really was a typo, Kerry is now impaled on one horn of his inescapable dilemma.
As we wrote in our Frontpage article quoted above: "If Kerry was not a party to the unauthorized "V," why, for all these years, has he allowed his DD 214 to remain uncorrected and to repose on his website?"
Why, indeed?
And when a few years ago Kerry corrected his DD 214 with a DD 215, to add even more questionable medals, did he not correct the false Combat "V" on his Silver Star?
Well, perhaps he was distracted.
And maybe he was distracted back in 1970 when he signed his DD 214, and distracted again recently when he put his DD 214 on his website with the unauthorized, illegal, fake, and perhaps even criminal, Combat "V."
From the article:
Among other records to be examined is a citation of Mr Kerry for bravery that was apparently signed by the former Navy Secretary, John Lehman, and contributed to the award of his silver star. The glowing citation states: "By his brave actions, bold initiative and unwavering devotion to duty, Lt Kerry reflected great credit on himself." But Mr Lehman denies all knowledge of the commendation. "It's a total mystery to me," he said last week. "I never saw it, I never signed it and I never approved it." The inquiry will also investigate other reports and citations leading to the award of Mr Kerry's medals.
On Friday, Mr Lehman endorsed the investigation of Mr Kerry's awards, saying that the relevant navy records needed to be "thoroughly researched and the facts established". Mr Fitton said: "We hope this is the beginning of an actual investigation of the legitimacy of Sen Kerry's awards by the navy and the Pentagon."
In an angry statement from the Kerry campaign headquarters, Michael Meehan, Mr Kerry's senior adviser, condemned the navy probe as an expensive waste of the Pentagon's resources.
"The facts are clear," said Mr Meehan. "The navy awarded John Kerry the Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V and three Purple Hearts. This is a waste of taxpayers' dollars and the Pentagon's time, especially during wartime."
Where in the U.S. is this story being reported? You'd think the Kerry campaign would be welcoming this probe instead of offering this feeble attempt at spinning it.
Pentagon to check Kerry war record (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/09/05/wus05.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/09/05/ixworld.html)
Pentagon to check Kerry war record
By Julian Coman in Newark, Ohio
(Filed: 05/09/2004)
In a fresh blow to John Kerry's flagging presidential campaign, the Pentagon has ordered an official investigation into the awards of the Democratic senator's five Vietnam War decorations.
News of the inquiry came as President George W Bush opened an 11-point lead over his rival - the widest margin since serious campaigning began - according to the first poll released since last week's Republican convention.
A question mark has been raised over one of John Kerry's awards
The highly unusual inquiry is to be carried out by the inspector-general's office of the United States navy, for which Sen Kerry served as a Swift Boat captain for four months in 1968, making two tours of duty.
He was wounded in action and subsequently awarded three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star. But for the past month, the exact details of Mr Kerry's military service in Vietnam have become shrouded in a controversy that the navy has now decided warrants a full-blown search for the truth.
According to a self-styled group of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, many of whom served in Vietnam during the same period, Mr Kerry exaggerated the significance of combat incidents and inaccurately reported the circumstances of his injuries, at least one of which was allegedly self-inflicted. The accusations are repeated in a book, Unfit to Command, which was published last month.
Last week, the Kerry campaign attempted to leave the Vietnam debate behind, as signs appeared that the controversy was damaging Mr Kerry's standing in the polls. But to the consternation of campaign strategists, the US navy has now agreed to a request by Judicial Watch, a bi-partisan lobby group, for a full inquiry. Judicial Watch is calling for the Navy to report before the elections, but Navy officials are so far refusing to give any timetable for the inquiry.
In an August letter to the Pentagon, the group's president, Tom Fitton, requested an investigation into the "determination and final disposition of the awards granted to Lieutenant (junior grade) John Forbes Kerry, US Naval Reserve", in response to the Swift Boat Veterans' allegations.
A navy spokesman confirmed on Friday that the inspector-general's office at the Pentagon had authorised the inquiry. "It is the responsibility of all personnel to correct errors in official records," said the spokesman. Another official said privately: "There's a feeling that it's time to deal with this thoroughly, once and for all."
Among other records to be examined is a citation of Mr Kerry for bravery that was apparently signed by the former Navy Secretary, John Lehman, and contributed to the award of his silver star. The glowing citation states: "By his brave actions, bold initiative and unwavering devotion to duty, Lt Kerry reflected great credit on himself." But Mr Lehman denies all knowledge of the commendation. "It's a total mystery to me," he said last week. "I never saw it, I never signed it and I never approved it." The inquiry will also investigate other reports and citations leading to the award of Mr Kerry's medals.
On Friday, Mr Lehman endorsed the investigation of Mr Kerry's awards, saying that the relevant navy records needed to be "thoroughly researched and the facts established". Mr Fitton said: "We hope this is the beginning of an actual investigation of the legitimacy of Sen Kerry's awards by the navy and the Pentagon."
In an angry statement from the Kerry campaign headquarters, Michael Meehan, Mr Kerry's senior adviser, condemned the navy probe as an expensive waste of the Pentagon's resources.
"The facts are clear," said Mr Meehan. "The navy awarded John Kerry the Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V and three Purple Hearts. This is a waste of taxpayers' dollars and the Pentagon's time, especially during wartime."
The inquiry comes at the end of the worst week of Mr Kerry's campaign. The poll showing an 11-point lead by President Bush, to be published in this week's Time magazine, was taken during the first three days of the Republican Convention in New York, which featured repeated direct attacks on Mr Kerry as an unreliable candidate for the role of Commander-in-Chief during the war on terror.
Two for the price of one. More about the V medal controversy.
The 34-Year Old "Typo" (http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=14937)
The 34-Year Old "Typo"
By Henry Mark Holzer and Erika Holzer
FrontPageMagazine.com | September 3, 2004
When Erika Holzer and I wrote "John Kerry's Mysterious Combat "V," published at Frontpagemag.com on August 20th, we said the following (set off by the asterisks):
*************************************
The presence of the combat "V" with Kerry's Silver Star on his DD 214 raises two extremely disquieting questions. How did the unauthorized "V" get there, and why has Kerry allowed it to remain?
The first question should not be taken lightly because we are talking about possible federal crimes. We are talking about the possibility of a forged official document. We are talking, as well, about Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001, which states:
Whoever, in any manner within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the United States, knowingly and willfully . . . makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years or both.
Was the combat "V" added by a sloppy clerk or a yeoman's typo thirty years ago? Was someone pressured or persuaded to add it? If Kerry had nothing to do with the gratuitously added combat "V," why didn't he have his DD 214 corrected when he was separated from the Navy?
Which gives rise to the second disturbing question: If Kerry was not a party to the unauthorized "V," why, for all these years, has he allowed his DD 214 to remain uncorrected and to repose on his website?
In light of the recent Swift Boat revelations and the cloud they have cast over Kerry's awards, one plausible answer is that this is yet another example of Kerry's multiple, and increasingly transparent, lies about his alleged heroics in Vietnam.
Let's hope it won't take a controversial TV spot to spark a mainstream media investigation of how candidate Kerry received an unearned "V" for valor.
*********************************
Well, it almost did.
Despite substantial efforts by the folks at FrontPage Magazine, and our own our efforts to get the word out, it has been very difficult to crack through the mainstream media's indifference and even its dishonesty.
That said, however, Fox News just reported the story on how the Navy is now investigating Kerry's medals, including his Silver Star's Combat "V" (and, probably, the puzzling three citations).
The Kerry campaign's response to the Navy's investigation has put their candidate in a box: predictably, "it's a typo," they say.
Oddly, a "typo" exaggerating the record of a man now known for his exaggerations (e.g., Cambodia, wounds, rescues, Purple Hearts etc.)
But assuming arguendo (as we lawyers say, "for the sake of argument") that it really was a typo, Kerry is now impaled on one horn of his inescapable dilemma.
As we wrote in our Frontpage article quoted above: "If Kerry was not a party to the unauthorized "V," why, for all these years, has he allowed his DD 214 to remain uncorrected and to repose on his website?"
Why, indeed?
And when a few years ago Kerry corrected his DD 214 with a DD 215, to add even more questionable medals, did he not correct the false Combat "V" on his Silver Star?
Well, perhaps he was distracted.
And maybe he was distracted back in 1970 when he signed his DD 214, and distracted again recently when he put his DD 214 on his website with the unauthorized, illegal, fake, and perhaps even criminal, Combat "V."