Article

2004-03-15 Home Front: Politix

Kerry rejects claims that he was a coward

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Posted by Steve 2004-03-15 12:05:12 PM|| || Front Page|| [1 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 More from UK Telegraph:
John Hurley, the national director of Vietnam Veterans for Kerry, told the Telegraph: "John was shocked by this. Gardner said that John used to take the boat four or five miles offshore 'every single night' so that it would be out of harm's way. John doesn't remember that and neither does the rest of the crew. They all think he's way off base."
Relations between the two men reached their low point after a Vietnamese boy was killed in an encounter with a fishing boat. The Kerry crew opened fire believing their craft was under attack. According to Mr Gardner, Lt Kerry blamed him for the tragedy. "Kerry threatened me with a court-martial, screaming: 'What the hell do you think you're doing?' " said Mr Gardner. "Thankfully the whole crew verified there were weapons being shot at us. That was the end of it."
Sen Kerry described Mr Gardner's version of events as "made up". "It's sad," he told his biographer, Douglas Brinkley, "but that's the way it goes in war, and especially in politics," a reference to Mr Gardner's apparently Republican sympathies. "I've spent hours on the phone to him [Gardner]," said Mr Hurley. "But he won't back down on his story, even though the crew disagree with him." Mr Brinkley, who interviewed Mr Gardner for an hour last week, said afterwards: "It essentially boils down to one word: politics. Gardner is sickened by the idea of Kerry as president." An angry Mr Gardner, however, insisted: "I never made the first call to anyone. Until someone called me, I kept it all to myself."

More from Mens News Daily:
But, according to the Boston Globe, one of Kerryâs former crewmembers, Steven M. Gardner, does not see the former lieutenant as ever being heroic. âHe absolutely did not want to engage the enemy when I was with him,â said Gardner. âHe wouldnât go in there and search. That is why I have a negative viewpoint of John Kerry.â Gardner, who served with three additional skippers on Swift boats, felt he had seen enough to make such a comparison. Gardner also recalls a shooting incident when his Swift boat came across a sampan in the darkness. There was a curfew and sampans were not allowed on the rivers at night. Gardner, who was in a machine gun 'tub', shined a spotlight on the sampan and was answered with gunfire. He fired his machinegun at the boat and saw one person fall overboard. All of the Swift boat crewmembers fired upon the sampan, with the exception of Kerry. When the firing ceased the crew examined the sampan and found one woman alive and a boy who was dead. Kerry started âscreaming at the top of his lungsâ, says Gardner. âHe threatened me with a court martial. âWhat the hell do you think youâre doing? I ought to have you court-martialedâ, he yelled.â Gardner claims the only thing, which quieted the incident, was the other crewmembers telling Kerry that the sampan had been firing upon themâ¦and that they too had returned fire.

Story is spreading in overseas press, but no "major" US media. Well, it's not like he missed a Guard meeting or anything.

Posted by Steve 2004-3-15 12:22:08 PM|| 2004-3-15 12:22:08 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 I am still waiting for Kerry to open up his military record. Some questions I ~~dare~~ to have are:

1) How did Kerry manage to get three purple hearts in the 5 months he was there?

2) What were the specifics of the wounds which earned him is purple hearts.

3) What exactly happened that earned him his silver star? Did he get it for rushing and finishing on an already dead VC?

Posted by CrazyFool 2004-3-15 1:04:18 PM|| 2004-3-15 1:04:18 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Are you questioning his patriotism?

/sarcasm off

Posted by Frank G 2004-3-15 1:26:01 PM|| 2004-3-15 1:26:01 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Crazyfool, I'm pretty sure he took one in the head. Latter he took a chest wound and still latter, while hard charging, he got another slug in the gut.

Luckily they had band-aids on board each time and no scaring took place.

Posted by Lucky 2004-3-15 2:26:38 PM|| 2004-3-15 2:26:38 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 Newsflash -- Kerry ~~rejects~~ [scared of] claims that he was a coward

Posted by cingold 2004-3-15 3:15:42 PM|| 2004-3-15 3:15:42 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 I love the headline!! That's what the Big Media has been doing to the right for YEARS - it's about time we do it back. Hey, you don't even have to lie - afterall- it's just reporting the FACT that the accused rejects the premise.

Big Media rejects it's funded by Saudi Money.
Katie Couric rejects she is annoying.
Democrats reject that they are logically challenged.

Posted by B 2004-3-15 8:06:12 PM|| 2004-3-15 8:06:12 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 B - Lol! And now I find the same game afoot in the Skeery story about Logan Airport, but there may just be fire behind the smoke in that one... and that story could have Congressional Inquiry legs... Perhaps the Bush people have decided to actually fight back - after all the BS spewed on them in the Jackass primaries...

Posted by .com 2004-3-15 9:19:26 PM|| 2004-3-15 9:19:26 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 No, John Kerry is not a coward. Remember, he actually served in Viet Nam, unlike just about everyone in the Bush Administration (with the exception of Powell, who really doesn't count as a Bushie anymore). Also, Kerry got his Purple Hearts for minor wounds caused by shrapnel. He got his Silver Star for beaching his boat and rushing into the jungle and killing a Viet Cong who was firing rockets at his boat. Oh, and he got his Bronze Star for turning his boat around in the middle of a firefight in order to personally fish a member of another crew out of the water.

Posted by Thomas Pruitt 2004-3-15 9:23:18 PM|| 2004-3-15 9:23:18 PM|| Front Page Top

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