Unfit For Command

weedwacker, In my opinion, when a man accepts command of troops, in combat especially, he owes something to his men. Loyalty is something kerry knows nothing about. The way I see it he used a loophole to run out on his men. As for his medals, as has been pointed out, he started all of this to make himself a hero, buy doesn't want to tell all. I had read that his silver star citation goes like this. His boat was fired on by a vc with an rpg. The 50 gunner shot the vc. kerry beached the boat, shot the vc with an m16, grabbed the weapon, thats about it. In my experience over there, you didn't get a silver star for shooting a dead vc, and believe me, if he was shot with a 50, well he pretty much had it. As for the purple hearts, I believe the band aid thing was mentioned. And yes, I do believe he contrived all of this to further his ambitions. just like clinton would do. these people have no sense of morals.
Barry
 
From what I can tell from reading the various accounts it went something like this. Kerry ordered the boat beached into fire, a surprised VC stood up too close to fire his grenade at the boat, the gunner on the 50's could not get an angle at him over the side because the bow was up with the boat beached. The forward gunner who apparently has a mounted M-60 shot him in the leg, he dropped, the 60 jams, the VC gets back up and runs behind a hootch, this is where it gets fuzzy. Kerry is running after him and, at some point the 50 gunner also opens up on the hootch. So yes, maybe there was nothing left by the time Kerry shot him, I honestly can't tell from what I've read.

Whether or not he actually deserves the silver star is probably a matter of opinion. I would trust your opinion over mine in that regard. I'm sure it could be debated till the end of time. But his CO while he thought it was risky and wreckless he saw fit to write it up for the silver star. Maybe he's an idiot, I don't know.

I guess my point is that I seriously doubt he planned it that way knowing he would get a medal. Are you saying he should have declined it?

On the bronze star he pulled a guy out of the water under fire. Did he do that to get a medal?
Like if he didn't think there was a medal in it he would have high-tailed it?

I can see how using his minor-wound purple hearts to leave early is a weasle-move, especially for someone in command. But it really would not look that bad if it was anybody other that John Kerry would it? This was when thousands went to college, got married, drove to Canada, went into the national guard, did all kinds of stuff to avoid the war. He did volunteer and go. I don't give him credit for being slick enough to actually have planned it all. Clinton maybe. Not Kerry.

There's stuff from both sides of this at this linkif anybodies interested.
 
weedwacker no I'm not saying he should have declined the silver star, but maybe on at least one of the purple hearts. I do know for a fact that alot of medals were awarded that should never have been. Esp. officers recommending each other. It just really sticks in me the way he ran out on his "men". In my personal opinion that makes him a coward. I won't argue anymore, people like him just sicken me. But I firmly believe everything he has ever done was to lead to just where he is now.
Barry as a ps, there was the story going around in my time there about the cook who got a purple heart. Seems he went to a medic for an egg shell piece stuck in his eye. Was written up as shell fragment in eye, purple heart. I had always believed there was some truth in this story.
Originally posted by Weedwacker:
[qb]From what I can tell from reading the various accounts it went something like this. Kerry ordered the boat beached into fire, a surprised VC stood up too close to fire his grenade at the boat, the gunner on the 50's could not get an angle at him over the side because the bow was up with the boat beached. The forward gunner who apparently has a mounted M-60 shot him in the leg, he dropped, the 60 jams, the VC gets back up and runs behind a hootch, this is where it gets fuzzy. Kerry is running after him and, at some point the 50 gunner also opens up on the hootch. So yes, maybe there was nothing left by the time Kerry shot him, I honestly can't tell from what I've read.

Whether or not he actually deserves the silver star is probably a matter of opinion. I would trust your opinion over mine in that regard. I'm sure it could be debated till the end of time. But his CO while he thought it was risky and wreckless he saw fit to write it up for the silver star. Maybe he's an idiot, I don't know.

I guess my point is that I seriously doubt he planned it that way knowing he would get a medal. Are you saying he should have declined it?

On the bronze star he pulled a guy out of the water under fire. Did he do that to get a medal?
Like if he didn't think there was a medal in it he would have high-tailed it?

I can see how using his minor-wound purple hearts to leave early is a weasle-move, especially for someone in command. But it really would not look that bad if it was anybody other that John Kerry would it? This was when thousands went to college, got married, drove to Canada, went into the national guard, did all kinds of stuff to avoid the war. He did volunteer and go. I don't give him credit for being slick enough to actually have planned it all. Clinton maybe. Not Kerry.

There's stuff from both sides of this at this linkif anybodies interested.[/qb]
Click to expand...
 
I remember the writers of M*A*S*H took that story and wrote it into one of the episodes. Of course, the kitchen purple heart went to Frank Burns.
 
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