John (Hanoi) Kerry political cartoon.
"While in Cam Rahn Bay, he trained on several
24-hour indoctrination missions, and one special
skimmer operation with my most senior and trusted
Lieutenant. The briefing from some members of that
crew the morning after revealed that they had not
received any enemy fire, and yet Lt.(jg) Kerry
informed me of a wound -- he showed me a scratch
on his arm and a piece of shrapnel in his hand
that appeared to be from one of our own M-79s. It
was later reported to me that Lt.(jg) Kerry had
fired an M-79, and it had exploded off the
adjacent shoreline. I do not recall being advised
of any medical treatment, and probably said
something like 'Forget it.' He later received a
Purple Heart for that scratch, and I have no
information as to how or whom.
Lt.(jg) Kerry was allowed to return to the good old USA after 4 months and a
few days in-country, and then he proceeded to betray his former shipmates,
calling them criminals who were committing atrocities. Today we are here to
tell you that just the opposite is true. Our rules of engagement were quite
strict, and the officers and men of Swift often did not even return fire
when they were under fire if there was a possibility that innocent people --
fishermen, in a lot of cases -- might be hurt or injured. The rules and the
good intentions of the men increased the possibility that we might take
friendly casualties."
-- Commander Grant Hibbard, USN (retired)
[to read more from those who commanded and served with John Kerry, click
HERE]