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Home Front: Politix
Kerry's Fictional Dog?
2004-08-25
VC surfaces
A new four-legged angle -- actually a dog named "VC" -- has suddenly materialized surrounding Sen. John Kerry's swift boat service in Vietnam. In a 2004 presidential candidate questionnaire for Humane USA, Mr. Kerry was asked whether any pets have had an impact on his life. "I have always had pets in my life, and there are a few that I remember very fondly," Mr. Kerry replied. "When I was serving on a Swift Boat in Vietnam, my crewmates and I had a dog we called VC. One day as our Swift Boat was heading up a river, a mine exploded hard under our boat. After picking ourselves up, we discovered VC was MIA (missing in action). Several minutes of frantic search followed, after which we thought we'd lost him. We were relieved when another boat called asking if we were missing a dog." Said Mr. Kerry: "It turns out VC was catapulted from the deck of our boat and landed, confused but unhurt, on the deck of another boat in our patrol."

J.J. Scheele, program director of Humane USA, confirmed yesterday that her organization did, in fact, receive the above statement from the Kerry campaign. No military records on Mr. Kerry's Web site, which aides say is a complete accounting, mention a mine exploding under his boat or any dog. The only report of a mine detonating "near" Mr. Kerry's PCF 94 was March 13, 1969, when Mr. Kerry says he was injured and a man knocked overboard.
Posted by:HarryB

#34  Lol! I should've said Hank 5, to be more precise!

I had forgotten the "with advantages" - a classic tactic of his to mildly skewer and taunt, in his wonderfully subtle fashion, the foibles and arrogance of his royal audiences, when the occasion permitted, heh. Great fun - thanks for reminding me!
Posted by: .Abu Billy   2004-08-25 10:54:46 PM  

#33  Congratulations!
Posted by: True German Ally   2004-08-25 10:51:14 PM  

#32  Ah yes, old Hank on St Crispin's, ah, I remember it well... lol! Excellent choice of passage!
Posted by: .Abu Billy   2004-08-25 10:47:28 PM  

#31  "Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day..."
(Shakespeare)
Posted by: True German Ally   2004-08-25 10:44:03 PM  

#30  #12 -
"In the middle of an ambush, she'd start shaking and she'd pee on him."

He's even imagining being pee'd on. EGAD!

Fantasy stories about rescuing a dog from the BBQ pit, then Kerry gets pee'd on. Probably his crewmates bought the dog. Did Kerry contribute? Is he imagining spending money too?

Is he truly crazy -

In 1872, when defeated by Grant, Horace Greely, prone to strory telling, suffered a nervous breakdown, and died before the Electoral Vote was cast. Indiana Gov. Thomas Hendricks, got the bulk of the electoral votes which would have gone to Greeley, and most of the rest went to Greeley's VP candidate B Gratz Brown.
Posted by: BigEd   2004-08-25 7:37:50 PM  

#29  The period of the time for the above Nov 1968-Jan 1969, where Gardner said "no dog" he also heard of no dog elsewhere on a boat in his group.
Posted by: BigEd   2004-08-25 7:17:38 PM  

#28  Hugh Hewitt is talking to Steve Gardner, a crewman on Kerry's swiftboat, who says there was NO DOG while he was there.
Posted by: BigEd   2004-08-25 7:15:18 PM  

#27  "By the time I left" Vietnam, Kerry said, "there were 180 holes in my boat."


"I never did figure out how to throw a grenade farther than ten feet."
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2004-08-25 7:03:09 PM  

#26  "By the time I left" Vietnam, Kerry said, "there were 180 holes in my boat." "To be honest," Belodeau said, "it looked like Swiss cheese."

It looked like swiss cheese probably coz the f*cker put 'em there.
Posted by: badanov   2004-08-25 6:59:54 PM  

#25  By the time he left Vietnam he had 180 holes in his story!
Posted by: Sgt. D.T.   2004-08-25 6:54:00 PM  

#24  I did NOT have sex with that dog! Victoria Charlette!
Posted by: John F. Kerry   2004-08-25 6:20:22 PM  

#23  Big Ed - here's one for your collection...

BlogDog
Posted by: .com   2004-08-25 6:04:46 PM  

#22  Kerry did mention dogs in his dedication speech, but never specified one as "VC."

From that speech:

"[T]here were wonderful moments, not just from the gallows humor of the war but those that came from the special spirit of Swifties: the times we lobbed raw eggs from boat to boat; great flare fights that lit more than one life raft on fire; delivering lumber to Nam Can in the middle of the war; handing out ridiculous Psy-Ops packages that no one understood; and of course pet dogs that didn't understand English or Vietnamese for 'don't do it there.'"

And here's an amusing quote from JFingK's last ride on a swift boat:

Kerry cited luck yesterday for much of his success in Vietnam. As he steered the swift boat toward the Washington Navy Yard and a clutch of dignitaries, he noted how well-preserved the craft was in contrast to his former boat.

"By the time I left" Vietnam, Kerry said, "there were 180 holes in my boat."

"To be honest," Belodeau said, "it looked like Swiss cheese."
-- The Boston Globe, June 14, 1995, Wednesday, City Edition
Posted by: growler   2004-08-25 6:02:22 PM  

#21  This from Hugh Hewitt!

DID THE DOG GO INTO CAMBODIA? DID THE DOG BARK AT THE CIA MAN, THUS PROMPTING THE CIA MAN TO GIVE KERRY THE HAT? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DOG?




DID THE DOG BARK AT THE CIA MAN, THUS PROMPTING THE CIA MAN TO GIVE KERRY THE HAT?

So? Sue me, I have a weakness for Boxers. . .

Posted by: BigEd   2004-08-25 5:52:12 PM  

#20  

Happiness is a Warm Puppy!

Posted by: BigEd   2004-08-25 5:28:43 PM  

#19  VC B
Posted by: Half   2004-08-25 5:04:32 PM  

#18  He was only there for 4 months. What happened to the dog? Assuming that there was one.

Did he bring it home? Did he abandon it? What happened to the supposed dog?
Posted by: B   2004-08-25 4:48:00 PM  

#17  #12 Quote was found here.
Posted by: 2%   2004-08-25 4:42:31 PM  

#16  Ive searched google and know that I saw a pic somewhere. I even find reference to the pic but no pic is to be found. Hmmm... perhaps VC send Kerry a cease and desist order like the swifties.
Posted by: 2%   2004-08-25 4:38:37 PM  

#15  There was a post recently(can't remember where,it wasn't seared-seared-in my memory)that had a newspaper account of Kerry talking w/some of his crew at dedication(?) for retirement of US Navy's last patrol boat @1996/98.Mentioned was Kerry asking one crew member if he remembered when boat hit mine and dog flew thru air.
Posted by: Stephen   2004-08-25 4:34:17 PM  

#14  His crewmates bought it from villagers who were planning to cook it for dinner.

His crewmates bought it, so how did he rescue it?
Posted by: BigEd   2004-08-25 4:16:46 PM  

#13  I wonder if Kerry's journal mentions the dog VC?

Odds are VC is not mentioned.
Posted by: danking70   2004-08-25 4:13:05 PM  

#12  Ok, no picture... I thought Id seen one... but I did find mention of it:

Kerry even rescued a puppy, Victoria Charlotte, or VC. His crewmates bought it from villagers who were planning to cook it for dinner. "Once the bullets started flying, he'd put the dog in his flak vest against his tummy," said Sandusky. "In the middle of an ambush, she'd start shaking and she'd pee on him." Until today, the puppy stars in Kerry's war stories. Kerry's daughter, Vanessa, 27, explained: "He wanted there to be a good VC."

I wonder if he put in for a medal for the rescue.
Posted by: 2%   2004-08-25 4:13:03 PM  

#11  Nevermind... found vietnam. Dont see VC yet.
Posted by: 2%   2004-08-25 4:04:17 PM  

#10  I thought I remembered seeing a photo of Kerry and the dog on johnkerry.com in his vietnam service records which used to be front page. Now I dont see them (or any mention of vietnam) anywhere. Interesting.
Posted by: 2%   2004-08-25 4:03:05 PM  

#9  http://www.syrjon.com/blog/kerrydogtoss.jpg
Posted by: Anonymous4021   2004-08-25 3:37:11 PM  

#8  


I am not, nor was I ever John Kerry's dog in Vietnam. But I understand I resemble the dog. Poor dog. I am amazed he survived Kerry's piloting. . .

Posted by: BigEd   2004-08-25 3:16:08 PM  

#7   Thank God VC landed on another boat. After all, ever since he lost his front right paw during a firefight at Hue (during which Kerry saved his life...TWICE!) he never was the swimmer he once was.
Posted by: 98zulu   2004-08-25 2:57:47 PM  

#6  This story isn't new; it's just being brought up again, thanks to the swift ads.

Of course he lied. That's what he does.
Posted by: growler   2004-08-25 2:53:01 PM  

#5  Did this happen on December 25, 1968 on/in/near Cambodia? It would help his other stories. Talk about painting yourself into a corner! I knew that when John F Skerry opened his yap he would shove in both feet!
Posted by: Cyber Sarge   2004-08-25 2:43:55 PM  

#4  Licorice will be pissed...
Posted by: tu3031   2004-08-25 2:34:03 PM  

#3  Perhaps this pup VC was the source of the withering fire?
Posted by: Atropanthe   2004-08-25 2:27:51 PM  

#2  "There VC was..."
Posted by: badanov   2004-08-25 2:19:43 PM  

#1  The stories this man tells get more amazing every day. Are we sure this isn't Al Gore in a body suit? Kerry reminds me of a line I once read were a man was defending his brothers stories, "He don't lie, he just remembers big."
Posted by: Jim K   2004-08-25 2:15:47 PM  

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