what was kerry's service in vietnam?

[LastKnight]

was he navy? or what was it? im interested in knowing...

-LK

[ModerateDem]

1. He was navy

He was a lieutanant junior grade, and the skipper on a swift boat in the Mekong Delta, if I remember correctly.

[metisnation]

2. yes

he did two tours one on a river patrol boat on the mekong delta..they deliver supplies to troops in upper regions. They also patrolled trade of weapons. If you want to experience this rent "Apocalypse Now" I think you get the idea the type of shit the skipper had to go through.

[Divernan]

5. He volunteered for training and assignment in the "brown water" navy.

That's what the naval service in inland waters, such as the Mekong Delta rivers, was called. I read that his first duty was on a large off-shore vessel evacuating wounded from Vietnam. After some months doing that, he VOLUNTEERED for what was IMHOP the most dangerous US Navy assignment - perhaps comparable to being a SEAL - which was patrolling the narrow rivers through the Vietnam jungles. It was on this second assignment that he was wounded three times and for which he received three Purple Hearts. He also was awarded the Bronze and Silver stars.

The GOP are sending these hate-filled emails around deprecating Kerry's service, claiming Kerry should not have accepted those Purple Hearts, if his wounds were not severe enough to put him out of commission. So his courage in going back on this dangerous river assignment after he had been wounded is, incredibly, ridiculed by a bunch of GOP hacks who I expect (1) have never been on a field of battle themselves and (2) are being paid by the word to circulate attacks on Kerry. They further also claim that he only served four months in Vietnam. You can see how they love to twist and lie. I guess they're saying that serving on a boat offshore of Vietnam (his first assignment) was not technically "in country" . I think that's bogus, and certainly all the navy men and women on those offshore boats have always been considered Vietnam vets.

[scottcsmith]

6. Right-wingers think we're stupid

Right-wingers have latched onto the issue of Kerry's injuries and how he was able to return to duty so quickly. As usual they present their side with a lack of context. Here's the context they do not mention:

Battlefield medicine in Vietnam was designed to get soldiers returned to duty as quickly as possible.

I don't have the name in front of me, but the Army put out a training film in the late '60s for doctors, medics and other medical personnel. The film dealt with battlefield medicine and the advances made to return a soldier to battle-ready status. Of note was a photograph of a soldier that had half of his face ripped apart. The caption mentioned how the badly-injured soldier would be returned to duty in a week.

Kerry earned his Purple Hearts.

[xeximian1243]

11. be careful my friends . . .

even though I will probably vote for him he is no war hero. Kerry was a political opportunist from the start as was JFK, knowing that a stint in the military would serve him well in his political pursuits. He actually did not do too much in Vietnam. Just going to Vietnam, being on a river patrol, and getting a medal does not mean much. In almost all of the armed services except the Marine Corps they give medals for shaving in the morning. Many Vietnam vets had some nasty times and many did not. Many Vietnam vets were drunks and drug addicts before they ever landed in the military. The real war heroes are America's young men who join the armed forces and serve with all their might -- KEEP THEIR MOUTHS SHUT -- and follow the orders that the officers deliver to them free of charge in support of American policy NO MATTER WHO THE #$%^&* COMMANDER IN CHIEF IS. As I remember John Kerry on TV back in 1968 most people put him in the same category as Jane Fonda and that was not a good thing back then. But that was then and this is now and I think that he has changed quite a bit, as has Jane Fonda. Age makes you do that. I'm convinced that most of you on these posts would not know an M16 from an M&M so that's all I have to say about John Kerry's military record.

[stanwyck]

12. wow. don't even know where to start

what an "opportunist"...going to Viet Nam! He "actually did not do too much in Viet Nam." Really? Do YOU have THREE purple hearts, silver and bronze medals? Or are you another one of our "brave from a far distance" critics of Kerry? Bush stood down as a pilot (that training cost us taxpayers a cool million) for his remaining TWO years of service. He was absent (and not able to name ONE fellow soldier) at a time we were losing 300 soldiers a WEEK in Viet Nam. And you're criticizing a decorated combat veteran? Kerry came back and protested the war because he didn't want to see more names on that monument in Washington. He had actually been there, came back, and wanted to save lives. Meanwhile, Bush cowardly ducked his Guard service though he now plays dress up in a borrowed flight suit. Talk about an opportunist! That man said "Bring It On!" while our troops (including my active duty Marine son) are in harm's way. That's despicable. And so are your comments.

[Redleg]

14. I never got a medal for shaving in the morning.

You're full of crap on that point, Jarhead. You're pretty critical of Kerry's war record- did you serve with him or just read the right-wing trash about him?

[LastKnight]

15. well, we know who's side your really on

i certianialy could be wrong on this but im willing to gamble on this, your 10 posts dont give me any more assurance than your ignorance filled post.

so, if he is "no war hero" like you say, who would be? they dont just hand purple hearts out. to call him a political opprotunist would just be stupid, going to vietnam ment a very real possability of dying, to say somone went over there JUST for political gain is idiotic.

oh wait, my bad, you already said who where the real heroes, the ones who allowed themselves to be pushed around by whoever was wearing the hat of the president at the time, no matter what thier party, no matter what thier stance, they listen to the president like a toddler listens to thier mommy. they way i see it, around 200 years ago, people died to give us the right to speak out, ill be damned if im not going to use that right, to not would insult everything that was fought for in the revolutionary war. peace through wisdom, war through ignorance.

oh, by the way, thats a nice backhanded comment about not knowing a m16 from an m&m, i see your not that established of a poster yet, so you may not have noticed, but we DO have a bunch of people who are/were in the armed services, while im not one of them, i ask on thier behalf, drop the attitude, show a little respect.

-LK

[LiviaOlivia]

16. I don't believe for one minute

that you'd vote for Kerry.

[pfitz59]

17. That defense worked well at Nuremburg, didn't it!

There is NO requirement in the military to obey unlawful orders no matter who isses them! BTW - The Officer oath of enlistment specifically excludes the part about "obeying the orders of the commander in chief, and the officers appointed over me." As for Kerry's purple hearts, they're legit, unlike your hero Shrub who got the "Purple Nose" award for snorting too much blow!

[GregW]

18. Buh-bye - back to FR with you

:eyes:

[ComerPerro]

19. I say BULLSHIT

Yeah, you remember seeing Kerry in 1968.

Try again.

too bad that me calling you a pathetic sycophant will get my post deleted.

[ModerateDem]

20. Be quiet please

You've never served, so you have no idea what you are talking about. Don't even bring up Jane Fonda. I served in Vietnam. Where did you serve? Huh? Didn't think so. Bye-bye.

[scottcsmith]

21. Kerry on TV in 1968?

What, he had a camera crew with him in Vietnam? How'd they fit everyone onto that small boat? You do realize he was serving in Vietnam in 1968? Come on, at least do some minimal research when you post. And Jane Fonda didn't make her trip to Vietnam until 1972.

What a maroon.

[Doomsayer13]

22. No War Hero? Tell that to Jim Rassman

Former Lieutenant John Kerry was reunited today with fellow Vietnam veteran Jim Rassmann, who says Kerry saved his life during combat.

On March 13, 1969, Rassmann, a Green Beret, was traveling down the Bay Hap river in a boat behind Kerry’s when both were ambushed by exploding land mines and enemy fire coming from the shore.  Kerry was hit in the arm, while a mine blew Rassmann’s boat out of the water. With enemy fire coming from both sides of the river and swift boats evacuating from the area, Kerry’s crew chose to turn their boat toward the ambush to save Rassmann.

“We were still under fire, and he was wounded at the time…,” recalled Rassmann. And with his boat’s gunners providing suppressing fire, Kerry extended his wounded arm into the water and the two lieutenants locked arms.

Kerry and Rassmann have not seen each other since 1969.  Yesterday, Jim Rassmann called John Kerry’s campaign headquarters and said:  “I saw that John is in another tough fight, and I want to lend a hand.”

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0117d.html

[oneighty]

3. From VFW Magazine. March 2004

Enlisted Navy 18 Feb. 66

Four months Feb through 6 June 68 USS Gridly off Vietnam. (Guided Missile Frigate)

Dec 68 through April 69 commanded Swift Boat #44 in Mekong Delta.

180

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

4. The best link I've read on the subject (Boston Globe)

http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/061603.shtml

[Divernan]

9. Excellent article - thanks.

And I note that it mentions that in Vietnam it was more the rule than the exception that recipients of Purple Hearts continued in their battle assignments, just as Kerry did.

My god, there is a vast amount of detail about Kerry's service - from official records and men who served with him or under him - lots of specifics about many encounters with the enemy. Compare this to AWOL Bush, whom no one can recall showing up for many months of his claimed service in the national guard, and who never had a single shot fired at him!

[DemoTex]

7. Swift Boat/Riverine

Dangerous duty, by anyone's standards (except, possibly, a chickenhawk's).

[WilliamPitt]

8. 'Tour of Duty' by Doug Brinkley

In bookstores now if you really want the background.

[AlFrankenFan]

13. I was going to recommend it

I'm reading it right now and it has a really good account of Kerry's service. :)

[DemoTex]

10. When I went on R&R, to Australia ...

It was the winter there (July 1971). At the R&R center at the Sydney airport, I signed up for a one week ski trip to the Snowy Mountains, in South New South Wales. Of 150-some-odd troops on that Pan-Am B-707, only three of us signed up for the ski trip. Most went for the downtown Sydney drinking and whoring. My two buddies for the week in the snow were an Army M.A.S.H. surgeon (fresh from med school at Augusta, Ga.), and a really cool Navy swift-boat/riverine skipper. I won't even get into the war-story swaps we engaged in. We were all three involved in the worst elements of the Vietnam war.