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Kerry rejects claims that he was a coward
US SENATOR John Kerry last night fought off accusations he was a coward and had made strategic mistakes in battle during the Vietnam War. The Democratic challenger for the White House was embroiled in fresh controversy after one of his former crew members accused him of being someone "who ran from the enemy". Itâs that french blood of his. It was reported last night that Steven Gardner, a gunnerâs mate on the first patrol boat commanded by Kerry in the Mekong Delta, contradicts accounts of the senatorâs military career that depict him as a brave and aggressive lieutenant who won three Purple Hearts, which are a key element of his campaign against George Bush. He personally killed a Viet Cong fighter in one action and was wounded three times, though not seriously. Or, so he says. He was ranking officer and wrote his own award nomination. However, in an interview with the Boston Globe, which contacted him about the presidential candidate, Gardner claimed: "He [Kerry] absolutely did not want to engage the enemy when I was with him. "He wouldnât go in there and search. That is why I have a negative viewpoint of John Kerry. "His initial patterns of behaviour when I met him and served under him were of somebody who ran from the enemy, rather than engaged it." Gardner also claimed that in an incident in 1968 in which he was slightly wounded, causing Kerry to abort the boatâs mission, he said: "Lt Kerry, Iâm fine, nothingâs wrong. I got a little flesh wound here. "But Kerry was already backing out of the canal, getting ready to run for it." "Evinrude, donât fail me now!" Gardner has refused to join the tight-knit group of Vietnam veterans who are staunch supporters of their former comradesâ White House bid. Kerry had his boat crew, his "Band of Brothers", appear with him in the past. Boston Globe, a liberal paper if I ever read one, counted heads and came up one crewman short. They went looking for him, not the other way around. However, Kerry has described his the former crewmanâs version of events as "made-up". "Itâs sad," he told his biographer, Douglas Brinkley, "but thatâs the way it goes in war, and especially in politics." If you disagree with Sen. Kerry, you must be wrong. Right? Gardnerâs portrayal of a timid Kerry are at odds with the accounts of other crew members. Yes, we noticed. Either Gardner is just a troublemaker who doesnât like Kerry, or Gardner may have been a hard-charger who wanted to fight. Kerryâs crew may have been a group who wanted to stay as far away from any real fighting as possible. It would not have been hard, small crew on a small boat, cruising off by themselves. Patrol reports could have been "enhanced", decorations awarded for actions that didnât happen, etc. John Hurley, the national director of the Vietnam Veterans for Kerry, said: "John was shocked by this. They all think heâs way off base. What about the Vietnam Veterans against Kerry? Anyone in the media ask them? Posted by: Steve 2004-03-15 |
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