Hold the Mayo

August 28, 2004

CBS Has Kerry's Six

The story surrounding John Kerry's first Purple Heart crumbling as fast as the Christmas in Cambodia story.

Kerry's former commander RADM William L. Schachte, Jr. USN (Ret.) has released a statement

Upon returning to base, I informed my commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Grant Hibbard, of the events, informing him of the details of the operation and that we had received no enemy fire. I did not file an "after action" report, as one was only required when there was hostile fire. Soon thereafter, Lt. (jg) Kerry requested that he be put in for a Purple Heart as a result of a small piece of shrapnel removed from his arm that he attributed to the just-completed mission. I advised Lt. Cmdr. Hibbard that I could not support the request because there was no hostile fire. The shrapnel must have been a fragment from the M-79 that struck Lt. (jg) Kerry, because he had fired the M-79 too close to our boat. Lt. Cmdr. Hibbard denied Lt. (jg) Kerry's request. Lt. (jg) Kerry detached our division a few days later to be reassigned to another division. I departed Vietnam approximately three weeks later, and Lt. Cmdr. Hibbard followed shortly thereafter. It was not until years later that I was surprised to learn that Lt. (jg) Kerry had been awarded a Purple Heart for this night.

CBS News is trying to provide cover but given the Schachte statement, I don't think its going to help at all. From their timeline comparing George Bush's service with Kerry's:

While the campaign cannot locate a detailed report on the injuries that earn Kerry his first Purple Heart, a brief medical note in his personal files dated Dec. 3, 1968, reads, "Shrapnel in left arm above elbow. Shrapnel removed and appl (sic) bacitracin dressing. Ret to Duty." (emphasis mine)

This is the first reference I have heard to a claim that documents supporting Kerry's medals cannot be found. Perhaps they are lost in the 100 or so pages of documents that Kerry refuses to release.

Senator Kerry, sign form 180 and end this now.

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at 04:35 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment

1 "a brief medical note in his personal files dated Dec. 3, 1968"

Surely this is among the documents which Kerry has on his web site. Supposedly all the docs are there. Which document is this one? Hello, CBS?

Posted by: SEWilco at August 28, 2004 07:33 PM (FEdms)

2 If John Kerry told me his name I'd ask for a second opinion.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 30, 2004 07:55 AM (+S1Ft)

3 Kerry is the King of Pomposity and lying just comes naturally to people like him. He is no war hero.

Posted by: mguyton at September 04, 2004 04:08 AM (AfGIw)

4 His association with Jane Fonda and North Vietnamese is enough for me. Would be interesting to know how many other triple purple heart winners were only there for 4 months. Bet he is about the only one. Good thing his gums didn't bleed while brushing his teeth or he would be in international history books for sure.

Posted by: showmeprincess at September 04, 2004 04:51 AM (2iqS9)

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