Come Now John, A BANDAID?!

Kerry Purple Heart Doc Speaks Out

I have a very clear memory of an incident which occurred while I was the Medical Officer at Naval Support Facility, Cam Ranh Bay.
John Kerry was a (jg), the OinC or skipper of a Swift boat, newly arrived in Vietnam. On the night of December 2, he was on patrol north of Cam Ranh, up near Nha Trang area. The next day he came to sick bay, the medical facility, for treatment of a wound that had occurred that night.

The story he told was different from what his crewmen had to say about that night. According to Kerry, they had been engaged in a fire fight, receiving small arms fire from on shore. He said that his injury resulted from this enemy action.

Some of his crew confided that they did not receive any fire from shore, but that Kerry had fired a mortar round at close range to some rocks on shore. The crewman thought that the injury was caused by a fragment ricocheting from that mortar round when it struck the rocks.

That seemed to fit the injury which I treated.

What I saw was a small piece of metal sticking very superficially in the skin of Kerry's arm. The metal fragment measured about 1 cm. in length and was about 2 or 3 mm in diameter. It certainly did not look like a round from a rifle.

I simply removed the piece of metal by lifting it out of the skin with forceps. I doubt that it penetrated more than 3 or 4 mm. It did not require probing to find it, did not require any anesthesia to remove it, and did not require any sutures to close the wound.

The wound was covered with a bandaid.

Not [sic] other injuries were reported and I do not recall that there was any reported damage to the boat.

A what?
A Bandaid?!
And this was one of the so-called 'wounds' that got him a total of three Purple Heart's, allowing him to go back to the States....a 'wound' that was covered by a freakin' BANDAID?


On top of that, a selected and censored disclosure of his military records to boot? Good grief.....



seekerof

[Edited on 4-5-2004 by Seekerof]

Bush, Kerry, Bush, Kerry, Bush, Kerry, Bush, Kerry, Bush, Kerry, Bush, Kerry,


oh gawd i cant take it!!!!

*runhs to mommy

Maybe it was for a really big boo-boo like this one???

National Review? HERE'S a more balanced article.
He didn't award it to himself.

Ha! That baby pic looks like Bush when they said he might go to Vietnam! Or it could of been when they said he'd have to report for work at the National Guard! "Daddy! Make them stop asking me to serve my country!"

From your article Curme:

The Purple Heart regulation in effect at that time said that a wound must "require treatment by a medical officer."

What a joke! All for a wound that was covered by a Bandaid....I hear ya, technicalities, eh? Wow.
Sadly....I....can't....stop.....laughing....cause.....I'd....be.....ashamed.....to...tell.....anyone....I....got....a....Purple Heart....for....a.....wound....that ....required.....only....a.....BANDAID!

No wonder Vietnam Vets are eating his arse alive.



seekerof

From my article: "The incident that led to Kerry's first Purple Heart was risky, and covert. He and his crew left the safe confines of the huge US base at Cam Ranh Bay, climbing aboard a "skimmer" boat -- a craft similar to a Boston Whaler -- to travel upriver in search of Viet Cong guerrillas. At a beach that was known as a crossing area for enemy contraband traffic, Kerry's crew spotted some people running from a sampan, a flat-bottomed boat, to a nearby shoreline, according to two men serving alongside Kerry that night, William Zaladonis and Patrick Runyon. When the Vietnamese refused to obey a call to stop, Kerry authorized firing to begin."

Sadly....I....can't....stop.....laughing....cause.....I'd....be.....ashamed.....to...tell.....anyone....I....got....a....Purple Heart....for....a.....um....oh, yeah. I guess that would be something to get a medal for.

EDIT: No wonder Bush or Cheney didn't go, it's dangerous!

EDIT: How many band-aids did Bush or Cheney get in 'Nam?
[Edited on 4-5-2004 by curme]

[Edited on 4-5-2004 by curme]

Finish it off properly Curme, I know you can say it.....2 or 3 mm in diameter 'wound' that required only a BANDAID!




seekerof

In case you missed my EDIT (I don't want it to appear that I'm mining for points) How many band-aids did Bush or Cheney get in 'Nam? There is always going to be people that say either Bush or Kerry are the greatest people or the worst people alive. If, IF, they ever found anyone that Bush served with in the National Guard, I'm sure you could find people that supported your case that he was either great or a jerk.
But the facts don't lie. Kerry volunteered to be knee-deep in the rice paddies. Bush and Cheney were draft dodgers. Maybe Kerry wasn't smart enough to dodge the draft? So leaving out personal recollections, that either side could use, the facts are that Kerry has more medals from Vietnam than Bush.

EDIT: Spelling. I'm typing too fast.

[Edited on 4-5-2004 by curme]

How many band-aids did Bush or Cheney get in 'Nam?

None.

Here's a question for you Curme....
Whose President of the United States and didn't goto Vietnam? Does it matter.....? Did it matter then when Gore and Clinton tried to use it against Bush?
I hear ya.
Two names for the rest of your rebuttal's:
U.S. Navy Adm. Roy Hoffman
John O�Neill




seekerof

Just goes to show how crap your country really is? your president is a lying moron with antiquidated (is that even a word?) ideals, and his biggest oponent is a crybaby...

does it say that this is one of the wounds he got a purple heart for?

Seekerof,

Great freaking post

It sickens me that democrats and liberals in this country have the nerve to call this guy a "war hero." This was the same guy that shot wounded men dead while they tried to escape. Some war hero

Yes, the 'war hero' that also self-rightously admitted that he committed war crimes......talk about putting "foot-in-mouth"......

But wait...I haven't gotten over that Bandaid Purple Heart yet.



seekerof

You know, you guys laugh at Kerry (as well as I do!), but it really isn't amazing.
A friend was a member of a LRRP team. During a firefight, a hot brass ejected from a rifle landed on his ass on a spot where his fatigues had rotted a hole. The hot brass gave him a nasty burn and a royal pain in the ass. The company tried to give him a Purple Heart over the wound!!! He refused it, wouldn't go to formation, and generally showed his ASS!!!!!
(Sorry for the language, but the irony and paly on words was more than I could pass up!)

Not only did he know that volunteering for the Navy & requesting the front line in Vietnam would make him a political star, he knew that his likely wounds would all be superficial!
He thankfully stayed an active reservist until the late 70's too, just in case another conflict broke out & he could get a splinter or something after requesting another front line tour & get some more medals.
Too bad Ron Reagan was busy having the tail wag the dog with that Grenada invasion after doing nothing & letting 100's of Marines perish ( without any retaliation ) in Beruit; if Kerry stayed longer he could have gotten a medal for that too.

* These syncophantic ramblings are brought to you by channeling the logic of 'Seekerof', where the National Review is credible & all things Bush are holy*