In article , jherring$$@
$$cox**.net says...
On Wed, 21 Apr 2004 17:34:10 -0700, jps wrote:

In article , says...

"Curtis CCR" wrote in message
om...
"Jim" wrote in message
...
http://www.johnkerry.com/about/military_records.html

Does anyone think Bush will do the same?

You mean see what little he can release and not get called for it?
Kerry didn't release anything until he was beat up to do so. Not that
I think Bush and anything closed to a stellar miltary record... but
Bush released more military records that Kerry did... and Bush did it
over two months ago.

Kerry still hasn't released his medical report for his first Purple Heart.

Listen to you crybabies. Three Purple Hearts isn't indication enough to
you that the guy has balls? Is Kerry a pussy until he releases his
medical records?

Are you insane or just insanely petty?

Golly, I wonder if Bush is going to release the records of the teeth
cleaning he got down there in Alabama????

That'll make the difference for me, 'cause you can tell a lot by whether
a man flosses or not. I'm betting he didn't.

jps

The receipt of a Purple Heart is no indication of "balls." Even females receive
them. Receipt is also no indication of courage. Shrapnel can hit one who is
asleep in a pup tent.

Except it's well known that his injuries weren't sustained while "asleep
in a pup tent." Here, let me help you with the well-corroborated
facts...

April 22, 2004
Kerry Highly Praised in Military Records
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 1:00 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Records of John Kerry's Vietnam War service released
Wednesday show a highly praised naval officer who volunteered for a
dangerous assignment and at one point was ``unofficially credited with
20 enemy killed in action.''

With conservative critics questioning his service, the Democratic
presidential candidate posted more than 120 pages of military records on
his campaign Web site. Several describe him as a gutsy commander and
detail some of the actions that won him three Purple Hearts, a Bronze
Star and a Silver Star.

Kerry's most harrowing experience came during the nearly five months
when he commanded a swiftboat along Vietnam's Mekong Delta. The future
Massachusetts senator was commended for gallantry, heroism and valor
during the tour, which was cut short when Kerry was wounded three times
and sent back to the United States.

``He frequently exhibited a high sense of imagination and judgment in
planning operations against the enemy in the Mekong Delta,'' wrote Lt.
Cmdr. George Elliott, Kerry's commanding officer. ``Involved in several
enemy initiated fire fights, including an ambush during the Christmas
truce, he effectively suppressed enemy fire and is unofficially credited
with 20 enemy killed in action.''

Talk radio conservatives and some veterans have questioned whether Kerry
was wounded severely enough to leave combat, but Democratic National
Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe said he is eager to compare Kerry's
record to President Bush's. McAuliffe accused Bush of using family
connections to avoid service overseas and failing to show up for duty
while in the National Guard.

``Simply put, Kerry has a proud record of sacrifice and service whereas
Bush has a record of cashed-in connections and evasion,'' McAuliffe said
in a statement Wednesday.

Republican National Committee spokeswoman Christine Iverson said, ``Like
so many of Terry McAuliffe's comments, this one is not worthy of the
dignity of a response.''

Kerry's medical records from the Navy were not included in the materials
released. Campaign spokesman Michael Meehan did not return telephone
messages left Wednesday for comment.

Kerry's records show that throughout his four years of active duty,
superiors gave him glowing evaluations, citing his maturity,
intelligence and immaculate appearance. He was recommended for early
promotion, and when he left the Navy in 1970 to run for Congress, his
commanding officer said it was the Navy's loss.

The lowest marks Kerry earned were the equivalent of average -- in
military bearing, reliability and initiative. But narrative comments
from his commanding officers said he was diplomatic, charismatic,
decisive and well-liked by his men.

The records cited Kerry's education at Swiss boarding school, his
speaking and debating awards and his role as class orator at Yale
University's commencement. He lettered in varsity soccer and lacrosse,
fenced, had a private pilot's license and had experience sailing and
ocean racing.

Kerry traveled throughout Europe in his youth and spoke fluent French
and some German. His supervising officer later commended him for taking
it upon himself to learn Vietnamese.

Kerry cited his sailing experience before the Navy when he volunteered
to command a swiftboat, a 50-foot-long craft that could operate at high
speeds in the rough waters of Vietnam's rivers and tributaries.

Some critics have questioned whether Kerry's injuries were severe enough
to warrant reassignment to the United States. His records briefly
describe shrapnel wounds to his arm and thigh for the first two Purple
Hearts, but they don't detail the severity of the wounds.

According to a naval instruction document provided by Kerry's campaign,
anyone serving in Vietnam who was wounded three times, regardless of the
nature of the wound or treatment required, ``will not be ordered to
service in Vietnam and contiguous waters.''

On Feb. 28, 1969, Kerry's and two other boats came under heavy fire from
the riverbanks. Kerry ordered his units to turn into the ambush and sent
men ashore to charge the enemy. According to the records, an enemy
soldier holding a loaded rocket launcher sprang up within 10 feet of
Kerry's boat and fled. Kerry leapt ashore, chased and killed the man.

Kerry and his men chased or killed all enemy soldiers in the area,
captured enemy weapons and then returned to the boat only to come under
fire from the opposite bank as they began to pull away. Kerry again
beached his boat and led a party ashore to pursue the enemy, and they
successfully silenced the shooting. Later, with the boats again under
fire, Kerry initiated a heavy response that killed 10 Viet Cong and
wounded another with no casualties to his own men.

He won the Silver Star ``for gallantry and intrepidity in action'' that
day. Two weeks later, another fire fight led to a Bronze Star for heroic
achievement and the third Purple Heart that would result in his
reassignment out of Vietnam.

Kerry was commanding one of five boats on patrol on March 13, 1969, when
two mines detonated almost simultaneously -- one beneath another boat
and one near Kerry's craft. Shrapnel hit Kerry's buttocks, and his right
arm was bleeding from contusions, but he rescued a boatmate who had been
thrown overboard by the blast and was under sniper fire from both banks.
Kerry then directed his crew to return to the other damaged craft and
tow it to safety.

In April 1969, Kerry was sent stateside to the Military Sea
Transportation Service, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, in Brooklyn, N.Y. On Nov.
21, 1969, Kerry requested that he be released from his commitment to
serve actively until August 1970 so he could run for Congress.

He was promoted to full lieutenant on Jan. 1, 1970, and soon after was
discharged from active duty and became a reservist.