Did John Kerry enlist in the navy to avoid ground combat?

DamnYankee said:
Actually, the point being that someone who touts himself as a fucking hero was too frightened to sign for a role where he might see combat.
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he signed for swiftboats... Much more dangerous than cruisers (or frigates, for that matter) and he did serve in country and he was a war hero. The armed forces do not give out silver stars and bronze stars to anyone who didn't perform acts of heroism. And armchair warriors like YOU who are paralyzed by fear, really have no standing to denigrate those who put themsleves in harm's way in any fashion. Doing so only serves to highlight your own cowardice and further elevates the service of those you so cowardly seek to villify
 
DamnYankee said:
Actually, the point being that someone who touts himself as a fucking hero was too frightened to sign for a role where he might see combat.
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Anybody who has served in the military is a hero. As opposed to chicken hawks, who've never service d and are traitorous cowards. Like you.
 
maineman said:
he signed for swiftboats... Much more dangerous than cruisers (or frigates, for that matter) and he did serve in country and he was a war hero. The armed forces do not give out silver stars and bronze stars to anyone who didn't perform acts of heroism. And armchair warriors like YOU who are paralyzed by fear, really have no standing to denigrate those who put themsleves in harm's way in any fashion. Doing so only serves to highlight your own cowardice and further elevates the service of those you so cowardly seek to villify
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He signed for swiftboats because at that time they didn't serve a combat role. He was awarded medals through political connections. He got out after four months by using a little-used 'three Purple Hearts and out' rule, and at least two of the Purple Hearts were for self-inflicted or injuries requiring nothing more than a band-aid.
 
And it's not about signing up to be a hero. Clearly, everyone would prefer to NOT find themselves in situations where their lives were in serious jeopardy. Serving with honor and, if necessary, being heroic, requires that when, for whatever reason, one DOES find themselves in that situation, one rises above one's own trepidation, plunges into the fray, and does what needs to be done. For those too frightened to even sign up, that concept is completely foreign.
 
maineman said:
...Serving with honor and, if necessary, being heroic, requires that when, for whatever reason, one DOES find themselves in that situation, one rises above one's own trepidation, plunges into the fray, and does what needs to be done.
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He got out after four months by using a little-used 'three Purple Hearts and out' rule, and at least two of the Purple Hearts were for self-inflicted or injuries requiring nothing more than a band-aid. That doesn't quite meet your definition of honor and heroism. Wouldn't you agree?
 
DamnYankee said:
He got out after four months by using a little-used 'three Purple Hearts and out' rule, and at least two of the Purple Hearts were for self-inflicted or injuries requiring nothing more than a band-aid. That doesn't quite meet your definition of honor and heroism. Wouldn't you agree?
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I most definitely would not. His silver star and bronze star citations speak for themselves. Heroic actions by an heroic man.
 
Dumbyanky is a sofa general, he can mock a war hero with a remote in his hand.
Shit he could have out ski'd the Vietnamese.
 
I'm not understanding why this is something controversial.

Kerry enlisted; his second tour he asked to be assigned somewhere different.

And this is somehow dishonorable?

HE FOUGHT IN THE MILITARY SERVICES.

Who knows his motivations and who cares? HE SIGNED UP FOR A SECOND TOUR OF DUTY.

So where's the beef?
 
I just read John Kerry's Silver Star citation and almost fell out of my chair. Having served at one time as an "awards and decorations officer", which is an additional duty assignment for staff officers, I know full well how these citations can be colored and worded to change an "oh no!" into a "attaboy." That is what happened with Kerry's situation. He probably would have been disciplined for endangering his boat and crew, but instead, because of his political connections, they gave him what is known as a "coverup award." One of the oldest tricks in the military book is that if you have a "favorite son" or coat-tail hangar and he screws up, rewrite the reports and give him an award before he gets court-martialed. That appears to be what happened here.
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http://www.newswithviews.com/Craig/roberts1.htm
 
Based on the after-action report filed by Lt. (jg.) Kerry, he was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds resulting from a mine explosion and a Bronze Star with a "V" for rescuing Lt. Rassmann, U.S. Army, who fell overboard when Kerry's PCF-94 abruptly fled the scene of action.

Contrary to the false after-action report citing automatic weapons and rifle fire from both banks for 3.1 miles, there were six on-scene witnesses who have stated that there was no enemy fire from either bank. Kerry did return to the scene and pick up Rassmann after it was evident that there was no hostile fire. There was nothing heroic about rescuing Rassmann, who was about to be picked up by another PCF. Had the truth been known, Kerry would have been disqualified from being awarded the Bronze Star.
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http://www.swiftvets.com/article.php?story=20040919115800332
 
Another troubling sequence involves Kerry's first Purple Heart. Exactly two weeks after arrival in Vietnam, Kerry was involved in a scenario in which he was "wounded" by a small fragment, about the size of a rose thorn - a self-inflicted wound resulting from the careless use of his own M-79 grenade launcher. According to the testimony of the attending physician, Dr. Louis Letson, the fragment barely penetrated the skin of his right arm and was easily removed with tweezers and dressed with a Band-Aid. Despite the minor nature of the injury, Kerry still requested a Purple Heart from Division Commander Grant Hibbard. Commander Hibbard denied, noting that there was no hostile fire involved in the incident, no casualty report, and no after-action report - all requisites for a Purple Heart medal.

Still, somehow Kerry circumvented the system and somehow was awarded the Purple Heart some three months after Lt. Commander Hibbard denied the award. Who initiated the award remains a mystery and will remain so until Kerry authorizes the full release of his military and medical records, complete and unaltered.
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http://www.swiftvets.com/article.php?story=20040919115800332
 
tekkychick said:
I'm not understanding why this is something controversial.

Kerry enlisted; his second tour he asked to be assigned somewhere different.

And this is somehow dishonorable?

HE FOUGHT IN THE MILITARY SERVICES.

Who knows his motivations and who cares? HE SIGNED UP FOR A SECOND TOUR OF DUTY.

So where's the beef?
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I don't understand it. Usually serving is enough to get you kudos with the conservatives, but when it is a Democrat, like Kerry or Cleland, it is ridiculed.
 
None of us really care to refute or confirm them. Not sure why you're so frantic about it today. Did you get a mass-email from some bizarre group that got you all fired up?
 
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