Yeah- they were not on his boat so they did not ‘serve’ with him:
As described in the attached affidavits, Al French (Exhibit 2), Bob Elder (Exhibit 3), Jack Chenoweth (Exhibit 7), Larry Thurlow (Exhibit 10), and Bob Hildreth (Exhibit 14) were all officers in charge of Swift boats in Vietnam in Coastal Division 11 with John Kerry. Coastal Division 11 was a small naval unit with about one hundred sailors and fifteen or sixteen boats which operated in groups of two to six boats. Each of these boat officers operated directly with John Kerry on numerous occasions. Van Odell (Exhibit 6) is a retired Navy enlisted man who also served in Coastal Division 11 on the Chenoweth boat, a few yards from John Kerry during Kerry’s March 13, 1969 Bronze Star action.
Captain George Elliott, USN (retired), (Exhibit 4) was John Kerry’s direct commander in Coastal Division 11, while Captain Adrian Lonsdale, USCG (retired), (Exhibit 9) was Kerry’s administrative commander. Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann, USN (retired), (Exhibit 8) commanded all Swift boats (including Kerry’s) in Vietnam. Each of these commanders interacted on numerous occasions with Kerry and, for example, are discussed for many pages in Kerry’s own authorized book, Tour.
Dr. Louis Letson (Exhibit 5) was the doctor in Cam Rahn Bay who treated Kerry’s first Purple Heart “wound,” while Commander Grant Hibbard (Exhibit 11) was John Kerry’s commander at Coastal Division 14 where Kerry claimed to have suffered the wound. Finally, Joe Ponder (Exhibit 13) and Shelton White (Exhibit 12) are veterans of Coastal Division 11 who were badly wounded near the Song Bo De River where Kerry served most of his short tour.
The Kerry campaign has utilized a revolving group of eight veterans from Coastal Division 11 (none of whom served with Kerry as much as two months). In stark contrast to this small stable of supporters, the veterans on “Any Questions?” have intimate knowledge of John Kerry or (in the case of Ponder and White) of the falsehood and injury of his false war crimes charges. Although many more of the over 250 signers of the Swiftvets’ letter served directly with John Kerry, it would be hard to locate people with more detailed and first-hand knowledge of John Kerry’s short Vietnam stay than those in the advertisement. They are well-suited to respond with first-hand knowledge to Edward’s invitation. Their sworn affidavits are attached (in order of appearance in the advertisement) as Exhibits 2 through 14.
That will leave a mark.
Pat in NC
I think the opinions of the group are more believable than Kerry. Most people who do heroic deeds do not toot their own horn.
Bloggerhead
What’s up with the title of this post, John? Are you saying that all these fellows are liars? As events presently stand, that seems a little premature. Granted, Elliot has retracted and retracted again; Lonsdale is contradicting previous praises sung of Kerry’s heroism; and Hoffman never had occasion to observe Kerry in battle, and is known to carry a long-standing grudge for his protests against the war. But even hyper-partisan me is not prepared to call them all liars, yet. Sure, bitter, manipulated, manipulative, what have you, but I guess I just don’t share your apparent compulsion to insert the word, “liar,” into every other post or comment.
As for leaving a mark, how’s this for a stains-on-the-underwear statement: “it would be hard to locate people with more detailed and first-hand knowledge of John Kerry’s short Vietnam stay than those in the advertisement.” Yeah, it would be hard, if you filtered from your search those who actually served in the same boat under him and whose lives he safeguarded, and on one occasion at least, saved.
In light of your seeming to come to your senses here, John, I hereby pledge to cease and desist from putting together my CAWOLT 527, notwithstanding my feeling that this what you guys have wanted all along.
John Cole
Yeah, it would be hard, if you filtered from your search those who actually served in the same boat under him and whose lives he safeguarded, and on one occasion at least, saved.
Update your talking points. I nailed that one already. That you continue to use it is a sign of serious intellectual dishonesty.
https://balloon-juice.com/archives/004197.html
Bloggerhead
John:
I’m not saying that it is some sort of physical impossibility for the (not so) Swift Boat Vets to have observed Kerry under fire. I’m saying that those with the most “detailed and first-hand knowledge” of Kerry’s heroism were those who stood side-by-side with him on the same boat during the same battles for which he was awarded his medals. And none of these guys, as far as I can tell, have joined this crusade. To me, that’s significant.
Here you have a group of guys (SBVFT) who feel betrayed by Kerry’s actions upon his return stateside, and perhaps justifiably, though in my opinion Kerry showed just as much courage in opposing the war as he did in volunteering to fight it. I would imagine that some of his crewmates may have felt the same sense of betrayal at times in the past, but in light of the fact that he courageously shepharded them through these battles, they are not prepared to slime the man for mere disagreements in policy. Not owing their very lives to Kerry’s bravery, the Swifties on other boats are naturally not so scrupulous.
Oh, and thanks for calling me dishonest. I feel like I did when I first broke cherry: dirty and brand new all at once.
John Cole
Actually, one is against him.