John Kerry's shipmates speak out

Thanks to NewsMax.com:

Vietnam Vets Speak Out on John Kerry
Although John Kerry accumulated a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts in a relatively brief 4-month tour in Vietnam as a Swift Boat skipper, many of those who served on the combat patrol vessels in that era have come out swinging against the Democratic presidential candidate.

Last May about 25 of the vets -- organized into a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth -- went to the order on Kerry at a special press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

"We resent very deeply the false war crimes charges he made coming back from

Vietnam in 1971 and repeated in the book "Tour of Duty." We think those cast an

aspersion on all those living and dead, from our unit and other units in

Vietnam. We think that he knew he was lying when he made the charges, and we

think that they're unsupportable. We intend to bring the truth about that to the

American people.

We believe, based on our experience with him, that he is totally unfit to be the

Commander-in-Chief."

– John O'Neill, spokesman, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

"I do not believe John Kerry is fit to be Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces

of the United States. This is not a political issue. It is a matter of his

judgment, truthfulness, reliability, loyalty and trust -- all absolute tenets of

command. His biography, 'Tour of Duty,' by Douglas Brinkley, is replete with

gross exaggerations, distortions of fact, contradictions and slanderous lies.

His contempt for the military and authority is evident by even a most casual

review of this biography. He arrived in-country with a strong anti-Vietnam War

bias and a self-serving determination to build a foundation for his political

future. He was aggressive, but vain and prone to impulsive judgment, often with

disregard for specific tactical assignments. He was a 'loose cannon.' In an

abbreviated tour of four months and 12 days, and with his specious medals

secure, Lt.(jg) Kerry bugged out and began his infamous betrayal of all United

States forces in the Vietnam War. That included our soldiers, our marines, our

sailors, our coast guardsmen, our airmen, and our POWs. His leadership within

the so-called Vietnam Veterans Against the War and testimony before Congress in

1971 charging us with unspeakable atrocities remain an undocumented but

nevertheless meticulous stain on the men and women who honorably stayed the

course. Senator Kerry is not fit for command."

– Rear Admiral Roy Hoffman, USN (retired), chairman, Swift Boat Veterans for

Truth

"During Lt.(jg) Kerry's tour, he was under my command for two or three specific

operations, before his rapid exit. Trust, loyalty and judgment are the key,

operative words. His turncoat performance in 1971 in his grubby shirt and his

medal-tossing escapade, coupled with his slanderous lines in the recent book

portraying us that served, including all POWs and MIAs, as murderous war

criminals, I believe, will have a lasting effect on all military veterans and

their families.

Kerry would be described as devious, self-absorbing, manipulative, disdain for

authority, disruptive, but the most common phrase that you'd hear is 'requires

constant supervision.'"

– Captain Charles Plumly, USN (retired)

"Thirty-five years ago, many of us fell silent when we came back to the stain of

sewage that Mr. Kerry had thrown on us, and all of our colleagues who served

over there. I don't intend to be silent today or ever again. Our young men and

women who are serving deserve no less."

– Andrew Horne

"In my specific, personal experience in both coastal and river patrols over a

12-month period, I never once saw or heard anything remotely resembling the

atrocities described by Senator Kerry. If I had, it would have been my

obligation to report them in writing to a higher authority, and I would

certainly have done that. If Senator Kerry actually witnessed or participated in

these atrocities or, as he described them, 'war crimes,' he was obligated to

report them. That he did not until later when it suited his political purposes

strikes me as opportunism of the worst kind. That he would malign my service and

that of his fellow sailors with no regard for the truth makes him totally

unqualified to serve as Commander-in-Chief."

– Jeffrey Wainscott

"I signed that letter because I, too felt a deep sense of betrayal that someone

who took the same oath of loyalty as I did as an officer in the United States

Navy would abandon his group here (points to group photo) to join this group

here (points to VVAW protest photo), and come home and attempt to rally the

American public against the effort that this group was so valiantly pursuing.

It is a fact that in the entire Vietnam War we did not lose one major battle. We

lost the war at home... and at home, John Kerry was the Field General."

– Robert Elder

"My daughters and my wife have read portions of the book 'Tour of Duty.' They

wanted to know if I took part in the atrocities described. I do not believe the

things that are described happened.

Let me give you an example. In Brinkley's book, on pages 170 to 171, about

something called the 'Bo De massacre' on November 24th of 1968... In Kerry's

description of the engagement, first he claimed there were 17 servicemen that

were wounded. Three of us were wounded. I was the first..."

– Joseph Ponder

"While in Cam Rahn Bay, he trained on several 24-hour indoctrination missions,

and one special skimmer operation with my most senior and trusted Lieutenant.

The briefing from some members of that crew the morning after revealed that they

had not received any enemy fire, and yet Lt.(jg) Kerry informed me of a wound --

he showed me a scratch on his arm and a piece of shrapnel in his hand that

appeared to be from one of our own M-79s. It was later reported to me that

Lt.(jg) Kerry had fired an M-79, and it had exploded off the adjacent shoreline.

I do not recall being advised of any medical treatment, and probably said

something like 'Forget it.' He later received a Purple Heart for that scratch,

and I have no information as to how or whom.

Lt.(jg) Kerry was allowed to return to the good old USA after 4 months and a few

days in-country, and then he proceeded to betray his former shipmates, calling

them criminals who were committing atrocities. Today we are here to tell you

that just the opposite is true. Our rules of engagement were quite strict, and

the officers and men of Swift often did not even return fire when they were

under fire if there was a possibility that innocent people -- fishermen, in a

lot of cases -- might be hurt or injured. The rules and the good intentions of

the men increased the possibility that we might take friendly casualties."

– Commander Grant Hibbard, USN (retired)

"Lt. Kerry returned home from the war to make some outrageous statements and

allegations... of numerous criminal acts in violation of the law of war were

cited by Kerry, disparaging those who had fought with honor in that conflict.

Had war crimes been committed by US forces in Vietnam? Yes, but such acts were

few and far between. Yet Lt. Kerry have numerous speeches and testimony before

Congress inappropriately leading his audiences to believe that what was only an

anomaly in the conduct of America's fighting men was an epidemic. Furthermore,

he suggested that they were being encouraged to violated the law of war by those

within the chain of command.

Very specific orders, on file at the Vietnam archives at Texas Tech University,

were issued by my father [Admiral Elmo Zumwalt] and others in his chain of

command instructing subordinates to act responsibly in preserving the life and

property of Vietnamese civilians."

– Lt. Col. James Zumwalt, USMC (retired)

"We look at Vietnam... after all these years it is still languishing in isolated

poverty and helplessness and tyranny. This is John Kerry's legacy. I deeply

resent John Kerry's using his Swift boat experience, and his betrayal of those

who fought there as a stepping-stone to his political ambitions."

– Barnard Wolff

"In a whole year that I spent patrolling, I didn't see anything like a war

crime, an atrocity, anything like that. Time and again I saw American fighting

men put themselves in graver danger trying to avoid... collateral damage.

When John Kerry returned to the country, he was sworn in front of Congress. And

then he told my family -- my parents, my sister, my brother, my neighbors -- he

told everyone I knew and everyone I'd ever know that I and my comrades had

committed unspeakable atrocities."

– David Wallace

"I served with these guys. I went on missions with them, and these men served

honorably. Up and down the chain of command there was no acquiescence to

atrocities. It was not condoned, it did not happen, and it was not reported to

me verbally or in writing by any of these men including Lt.(jg) Kerry.

In 1971, '72, for almost 18 months, he stood before the television audiences and

claimed that the 500,000 men and women in Vietnam, and in combat, were all

villains -- there were no heroes. In 2004, one hero from the Vietnam War has

appeared, running for President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief. It

just galls one to think about it."

– Captain George Elliott, USN (retired)

"During the Vietnam War I was Task Force Commander at An Thoi, and my tour of

duty was 13 months, from the end of Tet to the beginning of the Vietnamization

of the Navy units.

Now when I went there right after Tet, I was restricted in my movements. I

couldn't go much of anyplace because the Vietcong controlled most of the area.

When I left, I could go anywhere I wanted, just about. Commerce was booming, the

buses were running, trucks were going, the waterways were filled with sampans

with goods going to market, but yet in Kerry's biography he says that our

operations were a complete failure. He also mentions a formal conference with

me, to try to get more air cover and so on. That conference never happened..."

– Captain Adrian Lonsdale, USCG (retired)

"I was in An Thoi from June of '68 to June of '69, covering the whole period

that John Kerry was there. I operated in every river, in every canal, and every

off-shore patrol area in the 4th Corps area, from Cambodia all the way around to

the Bo De River. I never saw, even heard of all of these so-called atrocities

and things that we were supposed to have done.

This is not true. We're not standing for it. We want to set the record

straight."

– William Shumadine

"In 1971, when John Kerry spoke out to America, labeling all Vietnam veterans as

thugs and murderers, I was shocked and almost brought to my knees, because even

though I had served at the same time and same unit, I had never witnessed or

participated in any of the events that the Senator had accused us of. I strongly

believe that the statements made by the Senator were not only false and

inaccurate, but extremely harmful to the United States' efforts in Southeast

Asia and the rest of the world. Tragically, some veterans, scorned by the

antiwar movement and their allies, retreated to a life of despair and suicide.

Two of my crewmates were among them. For that there is no forgiveness. "

– Richard O'Meara

"My name is Steve Gardner. I served in 1966 and 1967 on my first tour of duty in

Vietnam on Swift boats, and I did my second tour in '68 and '69, involved with

John Kerry in the last 2 1/2 months of my tour. The John Kerry that I know is

not the John Kerry that everybody else is portraying. I served alongside him and

behind him, five feet away from him in a gun tub, and watched as he made

indecisive moves with our boat, put our boats in jeopardy, put our crews in

jeopardy... if a man like that can't handle that 6-man crew boat, how can you

expect him to be our Commander-in-Chief?"

– Steven Gardner

"I served in Vietnam as a boat officer from June of 1968 to July of 1969. My

service was three months in Coastal Division 13 out of Cat Lo, and nine months

with Coastal Division 11 based in An Thoi. John Kerry was in An Thoi the same

time I was. I'm here today to express the anger I have harbored for over 33

years, about being accused with my fellow shipmates of war atrocities.

All I can say is when I leave here today, I'm going down to the Wall to tell my

two crew members it's not true, and that they and the other 49 Swiftees who are

on the Wall were then and are still now the best."

– Robert Brant

"I never saw, heard of, or participated in any Swift boat crews killing cattle,

poisoning crops, or raping and killing civilians as charged by John Kerry, both

in his book and in public statements. Since we both operated at the same time,

in the same general area, and on the same missions under the same commanders, it

is hard to believe his claims of atrocities and poor planning of Sea Lord

missions.

I signed this letter because I feel that he used Swift boat sailors to proclaim

his antiwar statements after the war, and now he uses the same Swift boat

sailors to support his claims of being a war hero. He cannot have it both ways,

and we are here to ask for full disclosure of the proof of his claims."

– James Steffes