Navy Says Kerry's Service Awards OK'd

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-05-2004
Navy Says Kerry's Service Awards OK'd
19
Sat, 09-18-2004 - 3:56pm
Here's the orginial link: http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040917_1894.html

WASHINGTON Sept. 17, 2004 — The Navy's chief investigator concluded Friday that procedures were followed properly in the approval of Sen. John Kerry's Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals, according to an internal Navy memo.

Vice Adm. R.A. Route, the Navy inspector general, conducted the review of Kerry's Vietnam-ear military service awards at the request of Judicial Watch, a public interest group. The group has also asked for the release of additional records documenting the Democratic presidential candidate's military service.

Judicial Watch had requested in August that the Navy open an investigation of the matter, but Route said in an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press that he saw no reason for a full-scale probe.

"Our examination found that existing documentation regarding the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals indicates the awards approval process was properly followed," Route wrote in the memo sent Friday to Navy Secretary Gordon England.

"In particular, the senior officers who awarded the medals were properly delegated authority to do so. In addition, we found that they correctly followed the procedures in place at the time for approving these awards."

Some veterans have challenged Kerry's version of the circumstances surrounding the incident that led to his Silver Star award for battlefield heroism, as well as his three Purple Heart medals.

The Silver Star was awarded for his actions in pursuit of enemy forces while commander of swift boat unit PCF-94 in Vietnam in February 1969.

Judicial Watch also asked the Navy inspector general to investigate Kerry's anti-war activities after he returned from Vietnam and left active duty.

Route concluded that there was no justification for looking further into the decisions to award the medals or the anti-war activities.

"Conducting any additional review regarding events that took place over 30 years ago would not be productive," he wrote. "The passage of time would make reconstruction of the facts and circumstances unreliable, and would not allow the information gathered to be considered in the context of the time in which the events took place.

"Our review also considered the fact that Senator Kerry's post-active duty activities were public and that military and civilian officials were aware of his actions at the time. For these reasons, I have determined that Senator Kerry's awards were properly approved and will take no further action in this matter."

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
I just wanted to bump this up to the top, so the results get as much hoopla as the inquiry.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-31-2003
Sun, 09-19-2004 - 12:40am
I'm just hoping that this means that the discussion on the medals is over.
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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-06-2004
Sun, 09-19-2004 - 12:29pm
Neither candidate's service has been much of an issue for me, but it's nice to see SOMETHING get some closure-------from the Navy, anyway.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-05-2004
This just means all the paperwork for his medals was filed properly and went thru the proper chain of command. If he really did deserve them, then good for him. Then, he should have no problem releasing the rest of his files including the medical records for his first wound. It still doesn't erase what he did when he came back. Even heroes can become traitors.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-28-2004


The Navy has spoken, time to start looking at the REAL problem: GWB

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-05-2004
Hopefully anyways. Maybe Bush can be next? XOXO.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-05-2004
There was an American Marine who was in Iraq who has spoken with BBC News and you can hear him here: http://www.bushflash.com/wmf/beeb.mp3 Is he a traitor too?? XOXO.


Edited 9/19/2004 3:08 pm ET ET by crownotangelgrl
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-05-2004
Testifying and telling lies to Congress and those lies were in turn used against our POWs held in Vietnam and meeting with the enemy in Paris makes Kerry a traitor to his fellow Vietnam vets and the United States.

Nothing this Marine said is traitorous. It's just an interview. Besides he separated from the military last November and this interview was given after he got out. John Kerry was still technically in the military when he gave his testimony and went on his little trips to Paris.






Edited 9/19/2004 5:31 pm ET ET by jma927

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-07-2004
Then why wasn't Kerry ever brought up on charges of being a traitor? Seems to me the military would not hesitate to charge him if they agreed with you. Apparently they did not agree with you at back then & still don't now. So why don't you try talking about a CURRENT & relevant issue?
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-05-2004
I'm not the only one who feels this way. Thousands of Vietnam Vets feel that Kerry betrayed them and is a traitor. I am referring to Kerry's Senate testimony to the atrocities he claimed American soldiers were committing in Vietnam. His words and footage of the testimony were used against the men who were held as POWs. Many Vietnam veterans contend that he greatly exaggerated the isolated horrendous actions there and painted the US soldier as a blood thirsty baby killer. His testimony was used against American POWs and according to General Vo Nguyen Giap of the NVA the Winter Soldier Testimony of Kerry and other members of VVAW (Vietnam Veterans Against the War) and the disunity it created in the US furthered their resolve. Giap has admitted that Hanoi was on the verge of surrender. The blood of American POW/MIAs tortured and killed after the Winter Soldier Testimony is on the hands of John Kerry.

The testimony was used as fodder and justification for the torture of Americans held as POWs. They would play the footage for the POWs and then torture them both physically and mentally. They tried desperately to convince the men that this is what their fellow military members (because he was still a member of the military) and veterans thought of them. I think this quote sums it up pretty well ""John Kerry gave the enemy for free what I and my comrades in the North Viet Nam prison camps took torture to avoid saying!" Paul Galanti Former POW.

What I have never understood about the left wing whack jobs is these people were so up in arms about prisoners being paraded around naked in dog collars yet seem to turn a blind eye to the horrendous torture done to AMERICANS!!! Torture that was increased after John Kerry testified and the NVA realized that if they kept up the fight a while longer,the divide in America would continue grow and we would have no choice but to pull out.

The most likely reason charges were not brought against John Kerry is because the UCMJ does not apply to inactive reserve officers. This technicality does NOT change the fact that his actions hurt his fellow Vets and the POWs in Vietnam!

BTW, on that same token, then why are we discussing Bush's National Guard service on this board when it is neither a CURRENT nor a RELEVANT issue?


Edited 9/19/2004 7:41 pm ET ET by jma927

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