Senator John Kerry served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1970. Kerry's time as commander of a Swift boat has received considerable attention during his political career.
Commission, training, and tour of duty on the USS Gridley
editright|Historian Douglas Brinkley wrote Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War.
On February 18, 1966, Kerry enlisted in the United States Naval Reserves [1]. He began his active duty military service on August 19. After completing sixteen weeks of Officer Candidate School at the U.S. Naval Training Center in Newport, Rhode Island, he received his commission on December 16.
On January 3, 1967 Kerry began a ten-week Officer Damage Control Course at the Naval Schools Command on Treasure Island, California. On March 22, he reported to the U.S. Fleet Anti-Air Warfare Training Center for training as a Combat Information Center Watch Officer.
Kerry began his first tour of duty June 8, 1967, serving as an ensign in the electrical department on the guided missile frigate USS Gridley. On February 9, 1968, the Gridley set sail for Western Pacific deployment. The next day, Kerry requested duty in Vietnam, listing as his first preference a position as the commander of a Fast Patrol Craft (PCF), also known as a "Swift boat." These 50-foot boats have aluminum hulls and have little or no armor, but are heavily armed and rely on speed. (Kerry's second choice was to be an officer in a river patrol boat, or " PBR", squadron.) "I didn't really want to get involved in the war," Kerry said in a book of Vietnam reminiscences published in 1986. "When I signed up for the swift boats, they had very little to do with the war. They were engaged in coastal patrolling and that's what I thought I was going to be doing."[2]
The Gridley traveled to several places, including Wellington in New Zealand, Subic Bay in the Philippines, and the Gulf of Tonkin off North Vietnam, where the ship supported aircraft carriers. The ship had no enemy contact during this time, and departed for the U.S. on May 27, returned to port at Long Beach, California on June 6.
Ten days after returning, on June 16, Kerry was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, junior grade; on June 20, Kerry left Gridley for special training at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado. After completing Swift boat commander training on November 17, Kerry reported for duty at Coastal Squadron 1 of Coastal Division 14 at the Cam Ranh Bay in South Vietnam, arriving on December 1.
Kerry's tour of duty as commander of a Swift boat
editThe two Swift boats that Kerry successively commanded took part in Operation SEALORD, the brainchild of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt. The goal was to project a U.S. military presence more aggressively into an area that had long been a Viet Cong stronghold. As part of that plan, the Swift boats were assigned to patrol the narrow waterways — inlets, canals, and coves — of the Mekong River delta, to monitor enemy movements, interdict enemy river-based supply lines, invite attack and otherwise draw out hostile forces.
During a four-month tour of duty as boat commander, Kerry led five-man crews on patrols into enemy-controlled areas near the Cua Long River. His first command was Swift Boat PCF-44. In late January 1969 Kerry was transferred to PCF-94, which he led on 18 missions over the next 48 days.
First Purple Heart
editOn the night of December 2, 1968, while Kerry and his crew were patrolling Cam Ranh Bay, they saw people running from a boat on a nearby shoreline, according to two crewmen who were on duty with Kerry that night. When the Vietnamese refused to obey an order to stop running, Kerry ordered the crew to open fire. During this encounter, Kerry suffered a shrapnel wound in the left arm above the elbow. The shrapnel was removed and the wound was treated with bacitracin antibiotic and bandaged. Kerry returned to duty the next day, conducting a regular Swift boat patrol. It was for this injury that Kerry was awarded his first Purple Heart.
Kerry's meeting with Zumwalt and Abrams
editAt the time, the U.S. military command in Vietnam had an established policy of "free-fire zones" — areas in which soldiers were to shoot anyone moving around after curfew, without first making sure that they were hostile. Such encounters could result in the deaths of innocent civilians. Kerry has stated that he never thought he or his crew were at fault: "There wasn't anybody in that area that didn't know you don't move at night, that you don't go out in a sampan on the rivers, and there's a curfew." Nevertheless, he soon concluded that the policy should be changed.
On January 22, 1969, Kerry and several other officers had an unusual meeting in Saigon with Zumwalt and with Army Gen. Creighton Abrams, the overall commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam. Kerry and the other officers reported their view that the "free-fire" policy was alienating the Vietnamese. In addition, Kerry (though only a lieutenant) bluntly told Vice-Admiral Zumwalt that the Swift boats' actions were not accomplishing their ostensible goal of interdicting Viet Cong supply lines.
According to some who retell the story, Kerry and the other visiting officers' concerns were dismissed with what amounted to a pep talk. One of the other officers who participated later recalled, "We all looked at each other and thought, 'What is this crap?'" Kerry later said that the Saigon meeting left him "more depressed than when I came." Nevertheless, he returned to his unit. Then, in late January, he was transferred to Swift Boat #94. This boat conducted 18 missions in the next 48 days, almost all of which were in the Mekong Delta.
Second Purple Heart
editKerry received his second Purple Heart for action on the Bo De River on February 20, 1969. The plan had been for the Swift boats to be accompanied by support helicopters. On the way up the Bo De, however, the helicopters were attacked. They returned to their base to refuel and were unable to return to the mission for several hours. Kerry recorded the situation in his notebook: "We therefore had a choice: to wait for what was not a confirmed return by the helos [and] give any snipers more time to set up an ambush for our exit or we could take a chance and exit immediately without any cover. We chose the latter."
As the Swift boats reached the Cua Lon, Kerry's boat was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade round, and a piece of hot shrapnel hit Kerry's left leg. Thereafter, they had no more trouble, and reached the Gulf of Thailand safely. Kerry still has shrapnel in his left thigh because the doctors tending to him decided to remove the damaged tissue and close the wound with sutures rather than make a wide opening to remove the shrapnel. Kerry received his second Purple Heart for this injury, but he did not take any time off from duty.
Silver Star
editOnly eight days later, on February 28, came the incident for which Kerry was awarded the Silver Star. On this occasion, Kerry was in tactical command of his Swift boat and two others. Their mission included bringing a demolition team and dozens of South Vietnamese soldiers to destroy enemy sampans, structures and bunkers. Along the Bay Hap River, they ran into an ambush. Kerry directed the boats “to turn to the beach and charge the Viet Cong positions,” and he “expertly directed” his boat’s fire and coordinated the deployment of the South Vietnamese troops, according to the Navy’s medal citation to Kerry. When Kerry heard that another Swift boat had been ambushed, he and his crew rushed to assist them. Kerry’s boat came under fire from several Viet Cong B-40 rockets, with one hitting and shattering the crew cabin windows. The normal procedure would have been to fire to shore and then retreat to an off-shore location.
Instead, while returning fire from both banks, Kerry ordered Del Sandusky, the second-in-command and navigator, to take the boat ashore, directly towards the enemy's position. As they reached the shore, a Viet Cong soldier jumped out of the brush, carrying a rocket launcher that could have seriously damaged the boat. With the enemy soldier only a short distance away from the boat and crew, forward gunner Tommy Belodeau shot him in the leg with the boat's 7.62x51 caliber M-60 machine gun. "Tommy in the pit tank winged him in the side of the legs as he was coming across," Fred Short said. "But the guy didn't miss stride. I mean, he did not break stride." According to crewmate accounts, Belodeau's machine gun jammed after he fired, and while fellow crewmate Michael Medeiros attempted to fire, he was unable to do so. Kerry leaped ashore and, followed by one of his crewmembers, pursued the man and killed him. The medal citation notes that Kerry "then led an assault party and conducted a sweep of the area" until the enemy, including snipers visible behind the tree line, had "been completely routed." As the Swift boats returned from the mission they again came under fire, but Kerry "maneuvered his craft through several strafing runs which completely silenced the enemy."
Kerry and Medeiros searched the soldier's corpse and took the rocket launcher, returning to the boat. The mission was judged highly successful for having destroyed numerous _targets, routed numerous VC, and confiscated substantial combat supplies while sustaining no casualties.
Kerry's commanding officer, Capt. George Elliott, joked that he didn't know whether to court-martial him for beaching the boat without orders or give him a medal for saving the crew. Elliott recommended Kerry for the Silver Star, and Admiral Zumwalt flew into An Thoi to personally award the medal to Kerry. The Navy's account of Kerry's actions is presented in his medal citation.
Sources close to Kerry say the incident had a profound effect on him: "It's the reason he gets so angry when his patriotism is challenged. It was a traumatic experience that's still with him, and he went through it for his country." It affects the way Kerry lives his life every day, the source said, since "he knows he very well would not be alive today had he not taken the life of another man [he] never ever met." [3]
Bronze Star and third Purple Heart
editOn March 13, Kerry's boat hit a mine while cruising the Bay Hap River. Army Lt. James Rassmann, a Green Beret who was sitting on the deck of the pilothouse eating a chocolate chip cookie, was knocked overboard as Kerry's arm was hit. Just afterwards, the boat came under attack from sniper fire on both sides of the bank.
Rassmann dived to the riverbottom as the Swift boats escaped. Coming back up for air, the enemy repeatedly fired at him. Rassmann was heading to the north bank, expecting to be taken prisoner, when Kerry realized he was gone and came back for him. Kerry rescued Rassmann under heavy fire, and the boat escaped to the Gulf of Siam. Rassmann later put Kerry in for a Bronze Star, which he was later awarded with Valor device. The Navy's account of Kerry's actions is presented in his medal citation:
- Lt. Kerry directed his gunners to provide suppressing fire, while from an exposed position on the bow, his arm bleeding and in pain, with disregard for his personal safety, he pulled the man aboard. Lt. Kerry then directed his boat to return and assist the other damaged craft and towed the boat to safety. Lt. Kerry's calmness, professionalism and great personal courage under fire were in keeping with the highest traditions of the US Naval Service. (Wikisource)
Kerry was again wounded in this incident, for which he also received his third Purple Heart. His injuries included several shrapnel wounds in his left upper buttock, which were treated with antiseptic lotion and bandaged. He also suffered bruising and contusions from hitting the bulkhead, which was treated with warm soaking. He spent two days out of service while recovering.
Kerry lost five friends in war, including Yale classmate Richard Pershing, who was killed in action on February 17, 1968.
An additional account of the incidents for which Kerry was decorated appears in Snopes. [4]
Return from Vietnam
editOn March 17, 1969, shortly after his third wound, on March 17, 1969, Commodore Charles Horne, the commander of Kerry's coastal squadron and a military administrator, filed a document allowing Kerry's reassignment to the U.S. He was entitled to this early departure from Vietnam (subject to approval by the Bureau of Naval Personnel), because those who had been wounded three times, "regardless of the nature of the wound or treatment required...will not be ordered to serve in Vietnam and contiguous waters or to duty with ships or units which have been alerted for movement to that area."
After a final patrol, Kerry was transferred to Cam Ranh Bay for five or six days. His tour of duty in Vietnam ended in early April. On April 11, he reported to the Brooklyn-based Atlantic Military Sea Transportation Service, where he would remain on active duty for one more year as a personal aide to an officer. On January 1, Kerry was promoted to full Lieutenant; on January 3, he requested discharge. After having been listed as completing his service on April 29, he officially left active duty on March 1.
In total, Kerry served on active duty for three and a half years, from August 1966 until March 1970. He was transferred to the Naval Reserve in 1970, and was later transferred to the Standby Reserve in 1972, where he no longer was required to participate in Reserve activities. He received his honorable discharge in 1978.
Criticism of military service and awards
editMain article: User:Kizzle/John Kerry Military Service Controversy
Critics have questioned several aspects of Kerry's military service. As the presidential campaign of 2004 developed, around 200 Vietnam-era veterans formed the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. SBVT held press conferences, ran ads, and endorsed a book questioning Kerry's service record and his military awards.