House Chaplin Rev. Daniel P. Coughlin delivers benediction on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 13, 2008, during a congressional ceremony to honor those who've served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
by Frank James
All the right words were spoken at today's event to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War, an event that was also billed as an acknowledgement of the Afghan War.)
The four congressional leaders praised the troops now serving, and those who've lost their lives, as well as veterans. In the spirit of what was advertised beforehand as a bipartisan event, the lawmakers checked any unseemly finger-pointing at the door.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), whose office had the idea for the ceremony, said: "After five years of the war on in Iraq and more than six in Afghanistan, the selflessness of our heroes continues to make us proud."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (D-Ky.) did, however, acknowledged how divisive the Iraq War has been.
Today our nation is engaged in a great debate about the future course of that war and the greater war of which it is a part. There is passion and seriousness and patriotism on both sides. Yet one thing is certain. The men and women of our military have done their jobs. Their purpose is just.
Here's the transcript of the ceremony:
SPEAKER PELOSI: Here in this beautiful Rotunda we solemnly remember the service of the men and women of our armed forces on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the initiation of hostilities in Iraq, and we pay tribute to all of those serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout the world. When our nation called, the brave men and women of our armed forces responded without delay. When sent into battle, they performed their duties effectively with bravery, dignity and honor that are the hallmark of American soldiers, sailors, air men, Coast Guardsmen and Marines. After five years of the war on in Iraq and more than six in Afghanistan, the selflessness of our heroes continues to make us proud.
War extracts a terrible price. Just in the past three days, 12 more of our heroes have fallen in Iraq. Every loss brought pain to our hearts. Few understood the price and pain of war more deeply than America's most celebrated soldier, Dwight David Eisenhower. The statue is the most recent addition to the Rotunda. As you can see, as you leave, as you noticed coming in, when his statute arrived many of us were surprised to see the great man depicted not as the president of the United States, but as a five-star general. His family told us that is how President General Eisenhower wanted to be presented. Everyone knew he was president; he wanted everyone to know of his military service to our country as a five-star general.
Having seen the deadliest combat in human history as well as the new destructive force which ended World War II, Eisenhower devoted his presidency to reducing the risk of war. Upon leaving office, President Eisenhower concluded his farewell address with a prayer that in, quote, "in the goodness of time all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love."
In the spirit of General Eisenhower, under the gaze of his statue's watchful eye, we honor the service of our men and women in uniform of our armed services, those who have returned home, and their brothers and sisters in arms we've lost. We mourn every day. In the spirit of his farewell prayer, we seek to end conflict, to promote peace and to build a future worthy of the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform.
ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, majority leader of the United States Senate, the honorable Harry Reid.
SEN. REID: One hundred and forty-two years ago in this hall, where we now sit and stand, laid in state a martyred body of President Abraham Lincoln. Americans came from every corner of our country that day to grieve the president and honor the ideals expressed in his second inaugural address, where he said, "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
Today we stand together, not as Democrats or Republicans but as Americans, all to honor every airman, soldier, sailor and Marine who has served and every American hero who has perished in that far-off land of Iraq.
We pay special tribute to the more than 30,000 gallant Americans wounded in battle and to the 3,987 who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. We honor their parents, children, husbands, wives and friends, those they loved and those who loved them. They too bear a heavy burden in service to the ideals we cherish.
While today's focus is on the five-year war in Iraq, we do not forget the men and women who have sacrificed in Afghanistan. We could not possibly honor our troops with words to match the honor of their brave action. But let it be known to all, from the beaches of America to the sands of Iraq, that they're in our hearts and in our prayers; that in their honor and in their memory we will, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, always cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, Republican leader of the United States Senate, the Honorable Mitch McConnell.
SEN. MCCONNELL: Five years ago next week in the sands of Kuwait, a captain in the U.S. Army spoke some very American words to the soldiers in his command. "Do your job," he said, "so we can all go home." An army advanced. The war in Iraq had begun.
Today our nation is engaged in a great debate about the future course of that war and the greater war of which it is a part. There is passion and seriousness and patriotism on both sides. Yet one thing is certain. The men and women of our military have done their jobs. Their purpose is just.
And on this day of remembrance, in this place of honor, we thank all who have served. We commend all who have sacrificed to protect our nation from the cruel designs of evil men. Some have returned with wounded bodies and shaken souls. Some have not come home. Many mothers and fathers and husbands and wives and children have kept lonely vigil for loved ones. And many have wept bitter tears over a long-delayed reunion or a shattering loss of life. We have been grief-stricken in the face of injury and death. And in quiet prayers we've asked the Lord of Mercy to embrace the fallen in a kingdom where, as we read, every tear is wiped away.
Sixty-nine Kentuckians have given their lives in this fight. Their stories have a common theme. They loved their families and they believed their service would keep their families safe. The widow of one Kentucky soldier was asked how her husband wished to be remembered. She did not hesitate. "He loved his country," she said. "He really believed in what he was doing in Iraq." We have felt a solemn pride in men and women like these, in the great feats of bravery and in the small acts of kindness of our troops that we've heard from the front.
We've been humbled by the sacrifice of so many Americans. And today we recommit ourselves to their service, to the care of those who have returned and to the full support of those who fight.
We pray for those who are in the field to be strong and confident and safe from all harm, and we pray this morning also for the strength to bear new burdens that will come.
In the summer of 1861, Abraham Lincoln came to this building to speak about another war. The dome above us was half-finished, and Confederate soldiers were in striking distance of the capital city. Lincoln said that Americans had already shown they could establish and administer a government of the people. Now they had to prove that this government could be maintained in the face of an internal revolt. In the crucible of a bloody civil war, America proved it could withstand that threat.
In the century that followed, millions of Americans would rise up to beat back the threat of despots who mocked the rights of men. And in this third American century, we will prove that America is stronger than the fanatics who want to destroy it.
These years have not been easy, but we are reminded, in the words of an ancient writer, that the purpose of war is peace. And on this day of remembrance, we can be sure that as long as good and generous souls rise up to defend America, the world can hope for days of peace to come.
ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, Republican leader of the United States House of Representatives, the Honorable John Boehner.
REP. BOEHNER: America is a nation defined by its unfailing commitment to freedom and liberty. Throughout our nation's history, freedom and liberty have been repeatedly challenged. And throughout our nation's history, the men and women of our military have always answered the call. And we gather today beneath the Rotunda of our Capitol to say thank you. We gather to honor the five years of service and sacrifice our troops and their families -- that have made for the war in Iraq, and we gather to remember those who are serving our nation in Afghanistan and throughout the world.
Under this Rotunda, we honor our nation's greatest heroes and we celebrate their accomplishments. The men and women of our military and their families are our nation's greatest heroes, and their incredible accomplishments are indeed a cause for celebration. Across the globe, bolstered by their faith in God and the love of their families, American soldiers have performed heroic deeds -- in Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout the world. They've built schools, they've -- protected communities, they've built bridges and infrastructure, they've liberated the women of Kabul, they've liberated nations.
Their achievements are too numerous to count and too widespread to fully catalogue. The least we can do is to take time from our daily routine to stop, to think, and to express our thanks and gratitude for the sacrifices of our military families and continue -- the sacrifices they continue to make.
The life of every American soldier is a precious gift. You are the pride of America. A grateful nation says thanks. And we will never, ever forget.
ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, please stand for a moment of silence and the benediction.
(A moment of silence is observed, followed by the benediction.)
END.
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Comments
This was a nice and appropriate bipartisan show of support.
Posted by: Steve Hussein S | March 13, 2008 2:50 PM
Prepare for the rabid right to start slinging the surrender, hate the troops, and defeatist manure on these pages. Maybe they ought to realize when they do this, they degrade the service of democrats, many such as myself, who have served this country. To call someone these names who have fought for their rights, should be ashamed and glad they are on a blog and not saying it to their faces.
Posted by: bill "hussein" r. | March 13, 2008 2:57 PM
The Republic Party is so proud of the military that John W McBush want's to keep sending them off to die in Iraq for the next 100 years:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0PysDhbvwA
Posted by: John Hussein E | March 13, 2008 3:04 PM
Actually, Bill Hussein, it looks like it was your pal John E. who started the name-calling and mudslinging. But don't let that get in the way of your rant.
Posted by: Jeff | March 13, 2008 3:07 PM
With all due respect the word hero gets thrown around too much nowadays. If everyone in the military is a hero, then no one is.
Posted by: jackson | March 13, 2008 3:30 PM
Heroes? What heroes?
Breaking international law by attacking countries who have not attacked you doesn't make you a hero.
Torturing prisoners doesn't make you a hero.
Killing civilians doesn't make you a hero.
When is the U.S. going to grow out of this insane worship of the military?
It's sick.
Posted by: John Chuckman, Toronto, Canada | March 13, 2008 3:55 PM
Actually, Bill Hussein, it looks like it was your pal John E. who started the name-calling and mudslinging. But don't let that get in the way of your rant.
Posted by: Jeff | March 13, 2008 03:07 PM
C'mon Jeff,
I'm just a tree hugging, latte sipping liberal and your team can't handle little ol' me?
I learned from your "ilk", Jeffy. You never should have swiftboated John Kerry in 04, you can laugh about it all you want but that fired up ALOT of people.
Posted by: John Hussein E | March 13, 2008 4:00 PM
John Chuckman of Toronto... are you still talking, you CBC brainwashed bum? Go back to your molson and players and get off our American site. You guys are just kinda like our retarded little cousin anyways - everybody else might like you more, but its because you're cute and don't really do anything.
Our soldiers are heroes for the dedication to their nation, just like Canadian soldiers are for their dedication to their country. Our soldiers don't target civilians and only a select numbskulled few would torture anybody. They are well trained and noble individuals. Now get back across your line.
Even John E would have to agree with that!
Posted by: Steve Hussein S | March 13, 2008 4:07 PM
I learned from your "ilk", Jeffy. You never should have swiftboated John Kerry in 04, you can laugh about it all you want but that fired up ALOT of people.
Posted by: John Hussein E | March 13, 2008 4:00 PM
John Weiner E
has anybody ever figured out if the swift boat allegations were invalid? Its a fair question! If the gobs of soldiers that signed onto the allegations were telling the truth, then its a worthy story. If it was all a big lie, then blast the person that made it up and those that knowingly stood behind it.
Posted by: Steve Hussein S | March 13, 2008 4:10 PM
I didn't swiftboat anyone, John, and I have no desire to fight with you over it here. I was just alerting Bill R. to your post
Although I would like to see Bill R. try to sanction or give credence to the canadian's post. There's something sick about that post, alright, and it's the ability to judge the entirety of the US military by a few bad apples.
Seriously, though, John, I don't want to fight with you. You and I are a lot more alike than you'd like to admit. You even once said I come from a "good working class background."
If you didn't have me you'd have to invent me, and likewise here.
All I'm saying is there is mudslinging going on on this post and it's not from the right. I thought maybe Bill Hussein R would recognize that. That's all.
Posted by: Jeff | March 13, 2008 4:15 PM
All I'm saying is there is mudslinging going on on this post and it's not from the right. I thought maybe Bill Hussein R would recognize that. That's all.
Posted by: Jeff | March 13, 2008 4:15 PM
I've already told you this, Jeff.
I'm your teams worst nightmare, I'm the guy that Karl Rove told you about in all of his little secret GOP meetings the last seven years and I'm going to be around right up until Jan 20, 09 when Prez Obama is sworn into office.
There's no crying in politics, Jeff.
Posted by: John E | March 13, 2008 4:31 PM
Steve S,
Not one of the Swift Boat Veterans was on the boat with John Kerry, not one. So what you seem to be saying is that if they are telling the truth than the US Navy hands out Purple Hearts for dubious reasons. You don't just say, "look Sarge, i'm hurt now where's my medal". Unless you and the Swift Boat Veterans are to be belived.
Posted by: jethro | March 13, 2008 4:36 PM
John Weiner E
has anybody ever figured out if the swift boat allegations were invalid? Its a fair question! If the gobs of soldiers that signed onto the allegations were telling the truth, then its a worthy story. If it was all a big lie, then blast the person that made it up and those that knowingly stood behind it.
Posted by: Steve Hussein S | March 13, 2008 4:10 PM
Special-ed Stevie,
I've already told you this a thousand times, how many times do I have to beat you over the head with it until you get it?
You won't get any respect from me until you and Jeff drop your warmongering pom poms and sign up for the clusterfreak in Iraq that you both support:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFGit_tZDqs
Posted by: John Hussein E | March 13, 2008 4:37 PM
The Republic Party is so proud of the military that John W McBush want's to keep sending them off to die in Iraq for the next 100 years:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0PysDhbvwA
Posted by: John Hussein E | March 13, 2008 3:04 PM
Actually, Bill Hussein, it looks like it was your pal John E. who started the name-calling and mudslinging. But don't let that get in the way of your rant.
Posted by: Jeff | March 13, 2008 3:07 PM
I'm not one to spend a whole lot of time defending John E, but what did he say that was "name-calling and muslinging?"
George W Bush endorsed John McCain and McCain is explicitly running for Mr. Bush's third term. I don't see any problem with linking the two.
Posted by: Everything Looks Like a Nail | March 13, 2008 4:39 PM
Seriously, though, John, I don't want to fight with you. You and I are a lot more alike than you'd like to admit. You even once said I come from a "good working class background."
If you didn't have me you'd have to invent me, and likewise here.
All I'm saying is there is mudslinging going on on this post and it's not from the right. I thought maybe Bill Hussein R would recognize that. That's all.
Posted by: Jeff | March 13, 2008 4:15 PM
Jeff,
I expect more from you than I do the other Wingnuts, you seem a little smarter...which brings me to question that I just can't make any sense of. How can you possibly support a guy (McCain) who just like the Bush team, want's to continue and escalate and a stupid pre-emptive war and then in these uncertain economic times he admits (and you can see it) that he knows nothing about economics.
The Soviet Union collapsed because of their economy, NOT because of their military.
I know you're going to spin this McCain's way but you're wrong and you know you're wrong but somewhere along the line you've become enamored with this McCain guy, it reminds me of a high school crush or something, it's beyond reason.
Posted by: John Hussein E | March 13, 2008 4:47 PM
Special-ed Stevie,
by John E
john little Weiner E
You like mocking learning disabled people, huh? big man!!! You're showing yourself for the measly chickenhawk that you are! Maybe they shouldn't even be allowed to live. Go back to your pot, you loser hippy.
you don't even know how old I am. I know people like you and they are actually physically revolting... so burned out on drugs that they can hardly walk straight. You think they are considered credible by any rational human being... and having allies doesn't make them rational allies as we have discovered.
I think I've made my point that I wish we werent in Iraq, but since we happen to be there, we can't just pussy up and run away. The dedicate troops need to finish for the well being of the people whom they are designated to protect. Doesn't mean I have to wear the fatigues to respect and support them. I know you'd love to actually label me something, but the fact is you don't have a clue and I am a loyal troop supporter, just like you claim to be. Get that thru your hazy, stringy haired head!
Posted by: Steve Hussein S | March 13, 2008 4:58 PM
Everything said about Kerry was true, you don't have to be on a boat with somebody to know he's a sandbagger. He only had a couple of people in his corner and one was his brother-in -law, everybody else told a different story. John Kerry was a liar and a person who just wanted to embellish his life story for political gain. I'm sure he went to Cambodia too ! Not !
Posted by: Don B. | March 13, 2008 5:09 PM
I think I've made my point that I wish we werent in Iraq, but since we happen to be there, we can't just pussy up and run away. The dedicate troops need to finish for the well being of the people whom they are designated to protect. Doesn't mean I have to wear the fatigues to respect and support them. I know you'd love to actually label me something, but the fact is you don't have a clue and I am a loyal troop supporter, just like you claim to be. Get that thru your hazy, stringy haired head!
Posted by: Steve Hussein S | March 13, 2008 04:58 PM
Special-ed Steve,
Sign up or shut up!
Posted by: John Hussein E | March 13, 2008 5:22 PM
Everything said about Kerry was true, you don't have to be on a boat with somebody to know he's a sandbagger. He only had a couple of people in his corner and one was his brother-in -law, everybody else told a different story. John Kerry was a liar and a person who just wanted to embellish his life story for political gain. I'm sure he went to Cambodia too ! Not !
Posted by: Don B. | March 13, 2008 05:09 PM
Donny Bin Laden,
Really? Did you dig up this info in the National Enquirer too?
Give it up Donnyboy, even most of the guys who were in the swiftboat ads have now admitted it was a lie...I guess that still doesn't stop the maginally stupid like you.
I'm surprised that you haven't been arrested for hate crimes yet...
What's up with that?
Posted by: John Hussein E | March 13, 2008 5:29 PM
Don B,
So the United States Navy just hands out Purple Hearts for dubious reasons? So do you question whether every Veteran you meet deserved their medal? Scumbag.
Posted by: jethro | March 13, 2008 5:33 PM
even most of the guys who were in the swiftboat ads have now admitted it was a lie..
John Everdumb
I must of missed that retraction Johnny Everdumb, perhaps you can cite an article or story to validate your claims...I won't hold my breath Hussein lover.
Posted by: Don B. | March 13, 2008 5:42 PM
Don B,
So the United States Navy just hands out Purple Hearts for dubious reasons? So do you question whether every Veteran you meet deserved their medal? Scumbag.
Posted by: jethro | March 13, 2008 5:33 PM
He got 3 in 4 months the last one required a band aid on his forearm the attending medic did not ok it. If you read more Jethro you wouldn't come off as cracker moron.
Posted by: Don B. | March 13, 2008 5:45 PM
I must of missed that retraction Johnny Everdumb, perhaps you can cite an article or story to validate your claims...I won't hold my breath Hussein lover.
Posted by: Don B. | March 13, 2008 5:42 PM
Donny Bin Laden,
I'm not doing your homework for you, you clown.
John Kerry showed up for Nam.
The guys you voted for, Bush and Cheney, dodged the draft.
End of story...
PS - Donnyboy I found a picture of you from a recent "escalate the war" rally:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/_elemenoh_/149928399/
Nice sign, Donny!
Posted by: John Hussein E | March 13, 2008 5:59 PM
But don't let that get in the way of your rant.
Posted by: Jeff | March 13, 2008 3:07 PM
I'm sorry that you feel a vet would have to be "ranting" to ask the respect one would be due same as the troops now in Iraq.
Posted by: bill "hussein" r. | March 13, 2008 6:02 PM
Don B,
You might quite possibly be the dumbest peron who has ever posted on this sight.
It's common knowledge now days that the swiftboaters were full of crap, even among the most hardcore of Wingnuts....
From McClatchy News Service:
On Aug. 19, Navy records came to light also contradicting the accusers. One of the veterans who says Kerry wasn't under fire was himself awarded a Bronze Star for aiding others "in the face of enemy fire" during the same incident."
So this guy either accepted a medal himself for being under fire when he wasn't, or he lied about Kerry not being under fire.
Also, people who were actually there (unlike all but one of the SBVT) said their allegations were "totally false" (Drew Whitlow), "garbage" (Gene Thorson), and "a pack of lies" (Del Sandusky).
But in GOP world, I guess absent actual videotape (which doesn't exist), the words of the people who WERE there calling the charges (made by people who weren't there) false, doesn't "show" anything. Thus his self-comforting assertion that "none were shown to be false."
Posted by: Elaine | March 13, 2008 7:06 PM
I'm not doing your homework for you, you clown.\
Posted by: John Hussein E | March 13, 2008 5:59 PM
Johnny Everdumb : I'll take that to mean you can't prove it, It's a little hard to prove a lie. Your disappointing your DNC hacks with that weak singing. Johm Kerry still stands as a liar and a coward.
Posted by: Don B. | March 13, 2008 7:11 PM
Johnny Everdumb : I'll take that to mean you can't prove it, It's a little hard to prove a lie. Your disappointing your DNC hacks with that weak singing. Johm Kerry still stands as a liar and a coward.
Posted by: Don B. | March 13, 2008 7:11 PM
Kewpie doll Donny,
Elaine just Punk'd you.
This case is closed..
You lose....AGAIN!
Posted by: John Hussein E | March 13, 2008 7:50 PM
When is the U.S. going to grow out of this insane worship of the military?
It's sick.
Posted by: John Chuckman, Toronto, Canada | March 13, 2008 3:55 PM
I will have to say John, you may have a twisted view on the military. We do what we are told. We serve the people of the US and hope our leaders are doing the right thing. Whether we agree with the mission or not, we do what we're told. I'm not sure why you would feel serving one's country is wrong. I would say that your writing that you are from Canada would be an indication that you are proud of your country. That's a good thing.
Posted by: bill "hussein" r. | March 13, 2008 8:42 PM
Elaine
You might quite possibly be the dumbest peron who has ever posted on this sight.
It's common knowledge now days that the swiftboaters were full of crap,
Oh really Elaine
New Document Indicates Kerry Wrote Disputed Vietnam Report
Author:
Dated: Friday, October 01 2004 @ 06:00 AM PDT
Viewed: 9880 times
-- by Thomas Lipscomb
A faded 35-year-old operations order recovered from the Naval Historical Center in Washington bears directly on the ongoing dispute between Senator Kerry and the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth about who wrote the key after-action report that ended Mr. Kerry's service in Vietnam. The report appears in the official Navy records and is posted on Mr. Kerry's campaign Web site.
It details Mr. Kerry's participation in a naval operation on the Bay Hap River on March 13, 1969, in such glowing terms that Mr. Kerry was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for pulling Special Forces officer James Rassman out of the water while under heavy enemy fire. This third Purple Heart award allowed Kerry to cut short his tour in Vietnam after only four months.
The report in question described a mission of five Swift boats ambushed on their way to the sea by a mine explosion that seriously damaged one boat while simultaneously the Swift boats received "heavy A/W [automatic weapons] and S/A [small arms] [fire] from both banks. Fire continued for about 5,000 meters," a little over three miles. The admiral who commanded the Swift boats in Vietnam, Roy Hoffman, finds that detail alone absurd. Admiral Hoffman points out "There was never an incident under my command in all of Vietnam where my boats were engaged by continuous fire from both banks of a half-mile in length, much less three."
The report mentions two other mines detonating as well. So according to this report, which now stands as the official Navy record, this Swift boat mission concluded by running a veritable gauntlet of almost 3 miles of enemy fire from both banks, the detonation of three mines, and yet the only casualties occurred on the boat that hit the first mine. The Swift boats managed to escape and even more miraculously retrieve the sinking PCF-3 without getting a single bullet hole in any vessel or crewmember.
"It is miraculous all right, because it never happened," recalls Larry Thurlow, who commanded the mission."PCF-3 hit a mine, all of my boats directed supressing fire on both banks expecting the mine to be followed up by gunfire.
"But after a couple of minutes we ceased firing and took steps to aid the sinking PCF-3 and its injured crewmembers. There was never a shot fired at us and no additional mines went off either. And if we had been facing gunfire from both sides of three miles of riverbank, I would have called in the standby air support. I didn't. All I called for was damage control to be brought to us so we could keep the PCF-3 afloat."
After he returned to the United States the following month, Mr. Thurlow was surprised to find that he had received a Bronze Star himself because of his activities described in the after action report.
When Mr. Thurlow first saw the report last July he didn't recognize the mission it contained. The Kerry campaign pointed to Mr. Thurlow's own citation referring to his being "under constant enemy small arms fire" as well when the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth first contested Mr. Kerry's account in August.
As the commander of the mission, normally Mr. Thurlow would have filed the disputed after-action report. But he denies writing it. And the "MARKET TIME Spot Report" supports his denial. It was written by someone designated "TE 194.5.4.4/1." An operations order re-sent two months earlier, on January 3, by Admiral Hoffman, set the format for the designation. The operations order procedures, originated by the operational commander of the Coastal 11 An Thoi unit Mr. Kerry served with, Commander Adrian Lonsdale, were the basis for the terms of designation used in this kind of report subsequently. Upon seeing the report Mr. Lonsdale recognized it and recalled the procedures it required as being followed in his command.
"TE" for example refers to a "task element," which is defined by the numbers to the right that shows the command structure over the task element in action. "194" is Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, commander of U.S. naval forces in Vietnam; "5" is Admiral Roy Hoffman's Swift boat command; "4" is Commander Adrian Lonsdale's command; the last "4" is Captain George Elliot's Swift boat base at An Thoi, where the boats on this mission were based. And the final "/1" indicates someone other than the commander of the mission. If the report had been submitted by the mission commander, in this case Larry Thurlow, according to the operations order, it would have begun with a "C" for commander of the Task Element, and the sender would have been "CTE 194.5.4.4."
According to a Navy communications expert, Troy Jenkins, who has examined the message traffic, the report in question was sent from the USCGC Spencer, Commander Lonsdale's command ship, at 11:20 that night. Only three of the officers on the mission that day were on the Spencer: John Kerry, Dick Pease, and Donald Droz. Droz took the wounded from the mine explosion to be examined and treated at the Spencer, including the third officer, the severely wounded Dick Pease. Since the Spencer had no helipad for the evacuation of the wounded, Mr. Droz then had to return to the USS Washtenaw County, an LST stationed about 25 nautical miles away, for medevac, leaving only Mr. Kerry aboard the Spencer at the time the message was sent at 11:20 that night.
Could Mr. Droz have somehow written the report? Mr. Lonsdale said he thinks that command precedence of days in Swift boat service alone rules this out: "According to the command procedure I set down, Kerry would have been the only logical candidate. Kerry had been in Viet Nam since November. Droz just arrived at An Thoi in February."
Larry Thurlow adds, "I never liked the paperwork anyway. I was happy to have Kerry write them up."
And there is another factor. Mr. Thurlow ordered Mr. Droz to take care of the wounded after the action on the Bay Hap. Mr. Droz had ferried them 40 miles out to the Spencer and now had to take them 25 miles back to the LST. Moving wounded on and off a 327-foot- long Coast Guard cutter from a 50-foot Swift boat on the open sea was not something Mr. Droz was likely to leave unsupervised long enough to dash off a report. Mr. Kerry had no duties other than reporting to the sick bay, where according to his doctor recently he was seen at 7 that night. And he spent the night on the Spencer.
The head of the Operational Archives Branch of the Naval Historical Center in Washington, Kathy Lloyd, has verified the operations order of January 3, 1969. Neither the Kerry campaign nor its Swift Boat Veteran critics contest the validity of the after-action report by "TE 194.5.4.4/1."
Kerry spokesmen have repeatedly insisted that Mr. Kerry denies writing the report and that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were arguing with the official Navy record. But if "the official Navy record" now turns out to have been written by Mr. Kerry himself, the principal beneficiary of its glowing references to his performance, the Swift Boat critics' charges look far more consequential.
After all, the report completely leaves out how Kerry's own boat, PCF 94, ran downriver, leaving James Rassman overboard and the other three boats to deal with the ambush and the sinking PCF 3. All the living boat commanders on that mission are in firm agreement on that action by Kerry and agree that the report is a fraudulent misrepresentation of an action they remember well.
This article was published by The New York Sun.
Posted by: Don B. | March 14, 2008 12:04 AM
Don B. brings out the word from a fruitcake as truth. They stop at nothing in their march to lie about anyone against their American hating politics.
The Right-wing Blogosphere’s (and Lipscomb’s own) Wildly Exaggerated Claim that Lipscomb Was Nominated for a Pulitzer for his “Kerry” Reporting…
Thomas Lipscomb is an independent investigative reporter who was nominated for a Pulitzer for his reporting on Kerry during the 2004 elections. He is a senior fellow at the Annenberg Center for the Digital Future (USC).
Funny thing about that claim that Lipscomb was nominated for a Pulitzer — Pulitzer.org provides lists of all nominees and winners on their website - Lipscomb’s name is NO WHERE TO BE FOUND in 2004 or 2005.
If Thomas Lipscomb would lie about being nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, ask yourself this question… “What else would he lie about?” Here’s the answer - John Kerry’s military service.
Posted by: bill "Hussein" r. | March 14, 2008 8:19 AM
Sign up or shut up!
By John E
Are you still talking, you pot smoking, latte sippin, pathetic little infidel? I see your lips movin, but don't hear any sounds.
John Kerry had enough foresight to know politics was in his future. That and he was always a poser in the first place. That gives me enough probably cause to believe a lot of the swift boat claims were at least partially valid.
Posted by: John little Weiner E | March 14, 2008 9:22 AM
Donny B-a-Coward, where's your Purple Heart, tough guy? If they were so easy to get, I'm sure a genuine American Hero like you has a whole drawer full.
Posted by: JT | March 14, 2008 9:41 AM
Don B,
So you can write your own reports in the US Navy? Cool!!! I'm gonna join and write that I saved an entire civilization by disarming an invisible Pulse Neutron Bomb and travelled into the Future to save us from invading Space Aliens. I bet I could get the Medal of Honor with my imagination and spelling abilities, right Donny B? You just spit in the face of everyone who ever earned a medal with your garbage belief that you can write your own reports to award yourself medals. If you had a soul you would be ashamed.
Posted by: jethro | March 14, 2008 10:16 AM
If you had a soul you would be ashamed.
Posted by: jethro | March 14, 2008 10:16 AM
what a classy thing to say, you mongrel. I think its fair to say calling out somebodies integrity and whether or not they have a soul means you're taking this site a little too seriously. grow up and get a new hobby.
Posted by: Steve Hussein S | March 14, 2008 11:04 AM