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Swift Boad Veterans


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Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has been formed to counter the false "war crimes" charges John Kerry repeatedly made against Vietnam veterans who served in our units and elsewhere, and to accurately portray Kerry's brief tour in Vietnam as a junior grade Lieutenant. We speak from personal experience -- our group includes men who served beside Kerry in combat as well as his commanders. Though we come from different backgrounds and hold varying political opinions, we agree on one thing: John Kerry misrepresented his record and ours in Vietnam and therefore exhibits serious flaws in character and lacks the potential to lead.

We regret the need to do this. Most Swift boat veterans would like nothing better than to support one of our own for America's highest office, regardless of whether he was running as a Democrat or a Republican. However, Kerry's phony war crimes charges, his exaggerated claims about his own service in Vietnam, and his deliberate misrepresentation of the nature and effectiveness of Swift boat operations compels us to step forward.

Senator John Kerry has made his 4-month combat tour in Vietnam the centerpiece of his bid for the Presidency. His campaign jets a handful of veterans around the country, and trots them out at public appearances to sing his praises. John Kerry wants us to believe that these men represent all those he calls his "band of brothers."

For more than thirty years, most Vietnam veterans kept silent as we were maligned as misfits, addicts, and baby killers. Now that a key creator of that poisonous image is seeking the Presidency we have resolved to end our silence.

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has contacted surviving members of this group to find out how many actually support John Kerry, and discovered that of 19 Swift boat skippers pictured other than Kerry, 12 consider him unfit, 4 are neutral, two have died, and 1 is working with the Kerry campaign. Four other officers were not present for the photo session; all oppose Kerry.

Only 1 of John Kerry's 23 fellow Swift boat commanders from Coastal Division 11 supports his candidacy today.

These are people that served our country as well as Kerry and Bush. What are you going to say to them... That they are lying.

Constructing a complete picture of Kerry's service is difficult due to gaps in the Naval records provided by the Kerry campaign. These gaps include missing and incomplete fitness reports, missing medical records and missing records related to his medal awards.

For this reason we call upon Senator Kerry to authorize complete access to all his military records by filing a standard Form 180, a simple two-page release form.

Are you going to call these guys wackos also because they want Kerry to sign the 180?

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Whoops, sorry Jamato, but that story has proven WRONG....

They were fired upon by small arms fire earlier in the day, which is where one boat got 3 bullet holes in it, but there is absolutely NO corraborating evidence for Kerry's story.

The facts are still in the air, the Swifboats all of them that were there and are still alive, wear that there was NO enemy fire during the mine incident, but Kerry and Rasman, the ONLY ones that claim that there was enemy fire, are still changing their stories. ROFLMAO!!

I just love it...

Whoops....ROFLMAO!!!

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You can't really accept Rassmann's version because he admits that he spent most of the time underwater trying to avoid the boats from hitting him, and then trying to avoid "enemy fire."

I don't fault Rassmann; I just think that he was disoriented from being thrown into the river. What he heard was probably suppression fire coming from the boats aimed at both shores. He probably thought they were incoming fire as he was frantically taking deep breaths and diving back under the water.

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This is a handout that a Congressional medal of Honor has written, and will be handing out, and will go out Nationally, if it is picked up and ran with, like a lot of the stuff the Swiftboat vets are doing.

Considering their apallingly small budget, started with 2 $100,000 donations, and has been kept running via smaller donations, it is incredible the impact that they are making on this campaign.

Here is the Handout, I removed his name, for his protection.

quote:

Senator John KerryÔÇÖs False War Crime Charges Against the Vietnam Vets

In 1971, Senator John Kerry made unsubstantiated allegations of war crimes, claiming that he and his fellow Vietnam Veterans, including the Swift Boat veterans, committed atrocities against the civilian population of Vietnam. KerryÔÇÖs dishonest and dishonorable allegations were given in testimony before the U.S. Senate in 1971, and repeated again during an interview on the Dick Cavett show.

KerryÔÇÖs statements were taped and used by the North Vietnamese in efforts to further demoralize American POWs. Painfully, some of these POWS are now listening again to KerryÔÇÖs fabrications, that our military behaved like ÔÇ£Genghis KhanÔÇØ ÔÇô after first hearing years the words years ago during captivity in Hanoi.

Please read the statement below by Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Major General Patrick H. Brady.

Excerpted from a Statement by Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady Congressional Medal Of Honor Recipient (From Northwest Veterans Newsletter)

ÔÇØKerry defines patriotism as "keeping faith with those who wear the uniform of this country." He also brags that he "defended this country as a young man". If Missouri is the show me state, Veterans are the show me voters - we are not much for words, deeds are our stock in trade. Lets look at Kerry's deeds.

ÔÇØBefore Kerry played his "hero" card, he played the atrocity card. When Kerry came back from Vietnam he joined with Jane Fonda and in 1971 denounced "those who wear the uniform" as terrorists-like rapists and assassins who "cut off heads, taped wires ... to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, shot at civilians, razed villages, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks" ... and said he "committed the same kinds of atrocities as thousands of others". He made these charges under oath. Kerry says today that he would have framed some of what he said in 1971 differently. But he does not say he lied, which he did, nor does he apologize. How can one properly frame the denunciations of ones comrades in arms as modern day ÔÇ£Genghis KhansÔÇØ?

ÔÇØHe could have attacked the war without attacking the warrior. He could have questioned policy without supporting the communists' claim that our soldiers were war criminals. He could have kept faith with those who wore the uniform with him. But he did not and he should be held accountable.

ÔÇØBy every measure, the Vietnam veteran has been an exceptional citizen; but there is one disturbing statistic -- their suicide rate. In the first 5 years after discharge the rate was 1.7 times higher than non-veterans. After 5 years it was less. This may have been due to the treatment the Vietnam veteran received from the media - and the anti war movement led by Kerry -- in the early years after the war. Living with the scars of war is difficult, for some unbearable, but all veterans suffer. The Vietnam veteran suffered physically as much, perhaps more than any veteran of the past century, but no veteran has suffered the mental agony of that veteran.

ÔÇØKerry's "hero" card is based on medals he received in Vietnam and is much celebrated, and unchallenged, by the mainstream media. I know many Medal of Honor recipients who have received less publicity for their medal than Kerry has for his. But medals don't make a hero. It is how one uses medals that make a hero. Every honest soldier knows that medals are a function of circumstance, even happenstance, but most of all the support of ones fellow warriors.

ÔÇØI was awarded the Medal of Honor; but my fellow soldiers who supported me in the actions and took the time to write it up earned it. I wear it for them, they own my medals. And every Medal of Honor recipient and hero I know believes as I do. Medals should be a sign of patriotism, a symbol of sacrifice, support and defense of a great nation. The highest form of patriotism is service to our youth; heroes also wear their medal for them to signal the importance of courage. Heroes do not use their medals for personal political gain. As I said they are not theirs to use.

ÔÇØSenator Kerry threw his medals away (or ribbons, they are symbolically the same), a political act very difficult for any veteran to understand. He must have been proud of them for he wore them even on his fatigues, in violation of all regulations. But they were not his. They belonged to those who he served. By that act he symbolically denounced his fellow veterans -- again. Does one keep faith with those who wear the uniform by throwing away their medals?

ÔÇØBut perhaps most telling of his leadership qualities is his use of his Purple hearts to abandon his band of brothers, his command, on a technicality. Kerry may be the only person in history who took advantage of a Navy regulation that allowed him to leave his command after 4 months for 3 purple hearts none of which ever caused him to miss a day of duty. In my experience men fought to stay with their band of brothers, especially commanders. All the commanders I know would get out of a hospital bed to be with their men. Some one had to take his place; someone probably less experienced who would have to learn the ropes. That put his command more at risk than if he stayed. It is not hard to understand why those who stayed in combat for the full year are upset with Kerry.

ÔÇØHe is not fit for command.


No, he is not fit for command of a garbage scow, let alone the lone superpower of the world.

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quote:

No, he is not fit for command of a garbage scow, let alone the lone superpower of the world.

And what makes, YOU qualified, to make such a judgement?. Nevermind, I dont really need your answer. I just REALLY start questioning someone, who attacks the character, of people, they do not know "squat" about; but purely, based on politically biased campaign attacks.....geese!!

quote:

who - wanting the control of a superpower - is fit to command it?


REALLY!! Control Freaks need be eliminated...but then, who would there be to put in their place?..... Robin Williams?

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Guest Shingen

quote:

Originally posted by street:

REALLY!! Control Freaks need be eliminated...but then, who would there be to put in their place?..... Robin Williams?

Hell no! I say we elect Alice Cooper for President!

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