Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[Chris McConnel]

From the SBV site


3. KERRY'S SILVER STAR

3.1 Kerry "simply" shot the guy or not? Heroic or not? Regrets or not? What's the prevailing mood today, Mr. Elliott?

[NOW]

George Elliott, now : "...[Kerry] 'lied about what occurred in Vietnam . . . for example, in connection with his Silver Star, I was never informed that he had simply shot a wounded, fleeing Viet Cong in the back."

[A LITTLE LATER]

George Elliott, a little later : ''I still don't think he shot the guy in the back," Elliott said. ''It was a terrible mistake probably for me to sign the affidavit with those words. I'm the one in trouble here." Elliott said he was no under personal or political pressure to sign the statement, but he did feel ''time pressure" from those involved in the book. ''That's no excuse," Elliott said. ''I knew it was wrong . . . In a hurry I signed it and faxed it back. That was a mistake."

[A DAY OR SO LATER]

George Elliott, a day or two after the previous statement : "...On Friday, a member of that group who was one of Kerry's supervisors in Vietnam, George Elliott, appeared to back off an earlier affidavit in which he suggested Kerry did not deserve the Silver Star. In the affidavit, he said, "I was never informed that he had simply shot a wounded, fleeing Viet Cong in the back."
...
Elliott later issued another affidavit -- witnessed and notarized -- this time saying he was misquoted by the Globe and reaffirming his belief that Kerry has "not been honest about what happened in Vietnam."..."

George Elliott on his revised affidavit/statement : "I do not claim to have personal knowledge as to how Kerry shot the wounded, fleeing Viet Cong.
...
I have chosen to believe the other men. I absolutely do not know first hand"

[THEN]

George Elliott, not too long ago : "John was one of 50 young officers who performed extremely well," Elliott said in an interview in May. "I wrote his fitness report, and I stand by that."

George Elliott, years ago : "When [Kerry] came back from the well-publicized action where he beached his boat in middle of ambush and chased a VC around a hootch and ended his life, when [Kerry] came back and I heard his debrief, I said, 'John, I don't know whether you should be court-martialed or given a medal, court-martialed for leaving your ship, your post,'" Elliott recalled in an interview.
"But I ended up writing it up for a Silver Star, which is well deserved, and I have no regrets or second thoughts at all about that," Elliott said. A Silver Star, which the Navy said is its fifth-highest medal, commends distinctive gallantry in action.
Asked why he had raised the issue of a court-martial, Elliott said he did so "half tongue-in-cheek, because there was never any question I wanted him to realize I didn't want him to leave his boat unattended. That was in context of big-ship Navy — my background. A C.O. [commanding officer] never leaves his ship in battle or anything else. I realize this, first of all, it was pretty courageous to turn into an ambush even though you usually find no more than two or three people there. On the other hand, on an operation some time later, down on the very tip of the peninsula, we had lost one boat and several men in a big operation, and they were hit by a lot more than two or three people."
Elliott stressed that he never questioned Kerry's decision to kill the Viet Cong, and he appeared in Boston at Kerry's side during the 1996 Senate race to back up that aspect of Kerry's action.
...
Indeed, the Silver Star citation makes clear that Kerry's performance on that day was both extraordinary and risky. "With utter disregard for his own safety and the enemy rockets," the citation says, Kerry "again ordered a charge on the enemy, beached his boat only 10 feet from the Viet Cong rocket position and personally led a landing party ashore in pursuit of the enemy . . . The extraordinary daring and personal courage of Lt. Kerry in attacking a numerically superior force in the face of intense fire were responsible for the highly successful mission."

George Elliott, 1996 : "The fact that he chased an armed enemy down is not something not to be looked down upon but it was an act of courage. And the whole outfit served with honor..."[T]here was no question that it was above and beyond anything that we had seen down there in that case at that time frame...It just so happened that this one was so outstanding that the Silver Star was eventually awarded." [eRiposte note: More here .]
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3.2 Medal based simply on "Kerry's" report or not?

[NOW]

SBV, today : "The group says Mr. Kerry himself wrote the reports that led to the medal [Silver Star]."

[THEN]

George Elliott and Adrian Lonsdale, today : "But Mr. Elliott and Mr. Lonsdale, who handled reports going up the line for recognition, have previously said that a medal would be awarded only if there was corroboration from others and that they had thoroughly corroborated the accounts.
"Witness reports were reviewed; battle reports were reviewed," Mr. Lonsdale said at the 1996 news conference, adding, "It was a very complete and carefully orchestrated procedure." In his statements Mr. Elliott described the action that day as "intense" and "unusual."..."

Roy Hoffmann, years ago : "...Hoffmann said...he supported the actions on the day Kerry won the Silver Star. "It took guts, and I admire that," Hoffman said."

[NOW]

Larry Clayton Lee, today : "..."I have no problems with him getting the Silver Star," said Lee...
Rood wrote that Kerry gave the order to turn into the fire and charge the Viet Cong, who were dug in along the river.
"That was the first time it had been done that I know of, and I don't think it was ever done after that," Lee said of the tactic. "I think it was great."..."
—————————————————————————————————————————
3.3 Enemy fire or not?

[NOW]

O'Neill, today : "...[O'Neill] said the congratulatory note from Hoffmann was based on the belief that Kerry was under heavy fire from the Viet Cong. But O'Neill claimed that "didn't happen."..."

[NOW]

Larry Clayton Lee, today : "..."I have no problems with him getting the Silver Star," said Lee...
Rood wrote that Kerry gave the order to turn into the fire and charge the Viet Cong, who were dug in along the river.
"That was the first time it had been done that I know of, and I don't think it was ever done after that," Lee said of the tactic. "I think it was great."..."
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3.4 SBV member saw teenager in "loincloth" being shot or not?

[NOW]

O'Neill, today : "The account in our book is very similar to Bill Roods article except that Bill Rood's article makes the Vietcong killed by John Kerry into an adult clothed in pajamas whereas our book describes him as a young Vietcong in a loincloth...Mr. Larry Lee on Bill Rood's boat confirmed our description."

[NOW]

Larry Clayton Lee, today : "...Lee said he didn't see Kerry chase a soldier behind a hooch — a thatched hut — and kill him, but he said he doesn't question the account. "I was too busy firing my gun," Lee said. "I didn't have time to check and see what he was doing."..."

http://swiftvets.eriposte.com/sbv_v_sbv.htm