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| Fmr Lt Cmdr says Kerry Purple Heart "minor" |
| 2004-04-14 |
| Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry insisted on being awarded his first Purple Heart in Vietnam event though his injury amounted to no more than a "fingernail scrape," his commanding officer at the time now says. Retired Lieutenant Commander Grant Hibbard tells the Boston Globe that he can still recall Kerry’s wound, and that "it resembled a scrape from a fingernail," the paper said. "I’ve had thorns from a rose that were worse," Hibbard insisted. Still, the former Navy man remembered that Kerry insisted on receiving a Purple Heart for the wound he said was incurred during a Dec. 3, 1968 skirmish with Viet Cong near Cam Ranh Bay. "He had a little scratch on his forearm, and he was holding a piece of shrapnel," Hibbard told the Globe. "People in the office were saying, `I don’t think we got any fire,’ and there is a guy holding a little piece of shrapnel in his palm." |
| Posted by:Unmutual |
| #23 I'd leave it alone; look at Kerry's voting record - that's enough right there to screw him. If he debate's Bush all they have to do is pull up every bill Kerry f*cked up on when he voted over the past 19 years. The war record has too much risk for back firing imho on the Republicans. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-04-14 9:46:01 PM |
| #22 Jen...re: Rantburgers screwed...it was a joke... but I do have to agree, it's best to leave this to the shadowy types to get the word out and let the Administration keep from getting any little fingernail scratches from the crossfire. If they get three of them, Bush might get sent home to Texas. |
| Posted by: B 2004-04-14 9:00:47 PM |
| #21 1968: The Sequel |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-04-14 8:57:10 PM |
| #20 Well Mr Hairdo's network friends will have to report discontent with a lot of Vets come July when the DNC is in Boston. There is a large protest being planned by Vets Against Kerry. Though I hope no violence occurs this thing will bring up NAM again. The Teamsters and other Dimmy thugs will be just hanging around to see what happpens. It seems like a "Perfect Storm" for something to happen. |
| Posted by: Bill Nelson 2004-04-14 8:51:06 PM |
| #19 Let's all gather around Dem. Rep. Lucky and Mucky and just admit... it was a damn fine Botox job on the jr. Senator from MA. No? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-04-14 6:16:52 PM |
| #18 There are two phrases that come to mind, dating back to the Vietnam War when I was in the Army: glory grabber and buddyfucker. Both are applicable to Kerry, the latter phrase to his post-Navy career as a Jane Fonda suckup and all-around turncoat. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2004-04-14 6:09:49 PM |
| #17 No, RBers aren't "screwed" on this one. All 3 of Kerry's Purple Hearts were for scratches. None of his "war wounds" put him in sickbay even overnight. He awarded these medals to himself as his own CO and then opted for the "3 Purple Hearts and you're out" rule so he could go home. All told, his "heroic service" in Vietnam lasted all of 4 months on a "swift boat" that rarely went near any enemy action. Many of us think that Kerry served, however briefly, in Vietnam for just such a time as right now--so he'd look good running for the presidency. He was being groomed, almost from birth, for high political office by both his own Forbes family and by the Mass. Kennedy political machine. (There are photos of Kerry on JFK's yatch so that puts his chumminess with the Kennedys before 1963 and it probably goes back a lot farther than that.) Even so, any "heroic" service he rendered in Vietnam was cancelled out by his craven behavior after the war, his heavy involvement in the antiwar movement as head of VVAW and his subsequent record as a Senator of treating with the (North) Vietnamese and basically endorsing all that Ho Chi Minh wanted. As a Senator, he sold out the rights of his fellow "baby killers" by leaving POWs and MIAs still in Vietnam to their fate and by turning a blind eye to human rights abuses of the Vietnamese people. "Net positive for Kerry" my ass! |
| Posted by: Jen 2004-04-14 5:55:15 PM |
| #16 wKtW - I tend to agree with Sawt that for the Bush people to bring this up would be bad politics. We bloggers & Rantburgers, on the other hand, can rant and rave and make all the jokes we want about it nonetheless. Regardless, it still speaks to Kerry's character as, um, less than forthright and as a self-important opportunist, not exactly the character traits that endears to the electorate. |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-04-14 5:32:07 PM |
| #15 Sawat - you are right. I'm going to spread this story to everyone I know!! You are right - net positive for Kerry all the way around. Boy you rantburgers have been screwed on this one. |
| Posted by: wants Kerry to Win 2004-04-14 5:20:17 PM |
| #14 Supposedly Kerry's looking for a Catholic archbishop to ex-communicate him as well. Kerry knows that there are plenty cult of the victim members in the middle. If I were him, I'd say, "Look at these Republicans, trying to trash my war service when, as Cheney said or his non-service, 'I had better things to be doing.'" And then he trots out the veterans who served with him and they say, 'He pulled me out of the Mekong Delta, saved my life.' And it's a net loss for the Republicans. I agree, the first time I heard this story, I thought - gosh, if that's true kerry's screwed. But I thought the same about the cheating on his wife story. On more reflection, I think breaking this story would end up a net positive for Kerry. |
| Posted by: Sawt al-Shebaab 2004-04-14 5:03:26 PM |
| #13 I've a pup with a purple ear, which comes of being over agressive with angry male racoons. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-04-14 4:53:02 PM |
| #12 No, you won't hear about this on ABC/CBS/NBC/CNN/BBC/etc... even though they went apeshit because someone on the planet did not see Bush in Alabama. I wonder about his other purple hearts. Were they also 'fingernail scratches'? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-04-14 4:37:18 PM |
| #11 I too think that Kerry should demand air time to get this story out there. Good idea Sawt al-Shebaab!! Quick, somebody call AAR and see if you can get them to highlight this!!! |
| Posted by: B 2004-04-14 4:33:26 PM |
| #10 If I were Kerry, I'd take on this story at some point just to make his service an issue as much as possible. Sawt al-Shebaab, oooooooohhhh! Perhaps you're right . . . I think we better just keep it all hush, hush; so, maybe if we're lucky noone will realize what a mess up of a President we have and how great Kerry is . . . //sarcasm off. |
| Posted by: cingold 2004-04-14 4:24:38 PM |
| #9 I think breaking this story would be a mistake for Republicans and bad for the USofA. I saw it in an email from Free-Lebanon a week ago and I've liked it less and less ever since. Suppose it's true: 1) It doesn't mean Kerry was a bad soldier - just a glory hog. He still has plenty of war stories to say he was a solid soldier. 2) It calls attention to the gap between Bush's and Kerry's service 3) No need to break another public figure's myth - better to focus on his policies and let him say stupid things, like Sadr is a "legitimate voice" than to call attention to where he's strongest. That is, unless you want him to win. If I were Kerry, I'd take on this story at some point just to make his service an issue as much as possible. |
| Posted by: Sawt al-Shebaab 2004-04-14 4:04:45 PM |
| #8 The rules and regulations regarding the Purple Heart are here. I found this interesting and whether or not Kerry actually met the criteria is doubtful. While clearly an individual decoration, the Purple Heart differs from all other decorations in that an individual is not "recommended" for the decoration; rather he or she is entitled to it upon meeting specific criteria. See link for details. |
| Posted by: GK 2004-04-14 2:15:46 PM |
| #7 Steve: Kerry's not digging his own grave, because you're never going to hear about this from the major media. Their take is still, and always will be, that Kerry's a "decorated war hero." You won't hear that he put himself in for the Silver Star, either. With luck, it'll get on Fox, but that's as far as it will go. Jennings, Rather and Brokaw love this guy, not to mention "journalists" like Katie C. and Chris ("I started as a speech writer for Jimmy Carter") Matthews. Theyll do anything to get him elected. |
| Posted by: Infidel Bob 2004-04-14 1:50:01 PM |
| #6 Sounds like Hibbard didn't grasp that Kerry considered three Purple Hearts to be his ticket home. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-04-14 12:31:24 PM |
| #5 I thought he took that first slug in the head. Had to pry it out while in the field using the famous K-bar. Also heard that he refused morphine. There was a shortage from all the other more seriously wounded as the battle was very intense. One young man actually got hit in the buttochs! Shame on the Globe for shining any light on this subject. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-04-14 12:04:50 PM |
| #4 ROTFLMFAO! Kerry's digging his own political grave! This goes in the Classics! |
| Posted by: Steve from Relto 2004-04-14 11:58:50 AM |
| #3 Hmmm. Why am I not surprized by this? |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2004-04-14 11:45:23 AM |
| #2 Nyuk nyuk nyuk nyuk....."War Hero" my ass. Opportunist ya. |
| Posted by: Bill Nelson 2004-04-14 11:38:24 AM |
| #1 snicker |
| Posted by: B 2004-04-14 11:33:24 AM |