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| Kerry's 1968 Christmas in Cambodia |
| 2004-08-06 |
| This is from Unfit for Command, the new book by John O'Neill, the man who took over John Kerry's Swift Boat, and co-author Jerome Corsi: Kerry also described, for example, for the Boston Herald his vivid memories of his Christmas Eve spent in Cambodia: "I remember spending Christmas Eve of 1968 five miles across the Cambodian border being shot at by our South Vietnamese allies who were drunk and celebrating Christmas. The absurdity of almost being killed by our own allies in a country in which President Nixon claimed there were no American troops was very real." Problem One: Nixon hadn't taken office yet. Problem Two: "During Christmas 1968, he was more than fifty miles away from Cambodia. Kerry was never ordered into Cambodia by anyone and would have been court-martialed had he gone there. During Christmas 1968, Kerry was stationed at Coastal Division 13 in Cat Lo. Coastal Division 13's patrol areas extended to Sa Dec, about fifty-five miles from the Cambodian border... All the living commanders in Kerry's chain of command—Joe Streuhli (Commander of CosDiv 13), George Elliott (Commander of CosDiv 11), Adrian Lonsdale (Captain, USCG and Commander, Coastal Surveillance Center at An Thoi), Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann (Commander, Coastal Surveillance Force Vietnam, CTF 115), and Rear Admiral Art Price (Commander of River Patrol Force, CTF 116)—deny that Kerry was ever ordered to Cambodia... At least three of the five crewmen on Kerry's PCF 44 boat—Bill Zaldonis, Steven Hatch, and Steve Gardner—deny that they or their boat were ever in Cambodia. The remaining two crewmen declined to be interviewed for this book. The Cambodia incursion story is not included in Tour of Duty [the book on Kerry's war years by Douglas Brinkley]. Instead, Kerry replaces the story with a report about a mortar attack that occurred on Christmas Eve 1968 "near the Cambodia border" in a town called Sa Dec, some fifty-five miles from the Cambodian border. Somehow, Kerry's secret illegal mission to Cambodia, which he recounted on the floor of the U.S. Senate in 1986, is now a firefight at Sa Dec and a Christmas day spent back at the base writing entries in his journal. Unless O'Neill and Corsi have made some major error in their reporting, this is pretty stunning. Either Kerry is a pathological liar, or every man in his chain of command is. Er, I guess it depends on your definition of "Cambodia" |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #8 Can you imagine a newly retired 1st LT coming forward tomorrow to denounce the war in Iraq and announce they he had been across the border into Syria or Iran to hunt terrorists. I personally would immediately get out the checkbook and write a fat one to GW's campaign. Interdicting enemy supply lines and attacking his bases is a good thing. If Kerry were correct about us being in Cambodia in X-mas 68, wouldn't it mean that Johnson was playing to win - unfortunately that wasn't the case. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-08-06 5:10:30 PM |
| #7 Tom Daschele, Barbara Boxer, and John Kerry? Not enough brain cells there to form a coherent thought, let alone take action. But there is hope! Tommy boy and Babs are both up for elections and maybe they won’t face any of these hard decisions anymore. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2004-08-06 4:19:32 PM |
| #6 By Kerry's own words, he and his fellow senators sat there for forty minutes, realizing 'nobody could think.'" Between him, Tom Daschele and Barbara Boxer, I don't think it is news that they can't think. |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-08-06 3:35:04 PM |
| #5 Here's another interesting Kerry tidbit (from NRO's The Corner): WHAT KERRY DID [KJL] Listen, he wasn't president on Sept. 11, and I am not questioning his reflexes or reactions, but it is worth noting what Kerry did do on Sept. 11, 2001. Here's what he told Larry King: "...And as I came in [to a meeting in Sen. Daschle's office], Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid were standing there, and we watched the second plane come in to the building. And we shortly thereafter sat down at the table and then we just realized nobody could think, and then boom, right behind us, we saw the cloud of explosion at the Pentagon..." Kudos to Red State for finding that. And for noting: "It should be noted that the second plane hit the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m., and the plane hit the Pentagon at 9:43 a.m. By Kerry's own words, he and his fellow senators sat there for forty minutes, realizing 'nobody could think.'" |
| Posted by: Tibor 2004-08-06 3:18:39 PM |
| #4 Christmas in Cambodia? Didn't the Dead Kennedy's do that one? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-08-06 2:29:02 PM |
| #3 The DNC and media is focusing exclusively on the fact that noboby who authored the book served *under* Kerry. (All the people served WITH Kerry - on other boats on IN HIS CHAIN OF COMMAND). |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-08-06 1:53:50 PM |
| #2 I'm eager to see what else is in the book. I read the first chapter online (can dig up the URL if anyone cares). It's all about Kerry's unearned Purple Hearts. It closes with the Christmas story. Even if all the swift boat stuff gets torn to shreds (which I don't think it will), there's still this and, I imagine, plenty of other lies and flip-flops that will be exposed. Expect the media to focus on other stuff, and pray that people ignore them and find out the truth on their own. |
| Posted by: growler 2004-08-06 1:48:29 PM |
| #1 He was in Cambodia before he wasn't. |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-08-06 1:43:52 PM |