Kerry Medal Fraud Under Navy Investigation

Well, now it isn't just the Swift Boat Heroes raising questions of John Kerry's fraudulent medals. Now it is the US Navy. And since we've been told by Kerry apologists that we must accept the Navy's decision on the question of awards, this makes it clear that we "mean-spirited partisan Republicans" are absolutely right to question Kerry about the awards he won and the circumstances under which he got them.

This relates to potential fraudulent claims about the medals listed on his DD214. A Navy spokesman confirms that Kerry's Silver star should not have the combat V decoration listed in the (three different) citations he has for it. According to the Navy,

The Navy has never issued a Combat V at any time for the Silver Star.

Whose responsibility was it to make sure the the form was correct? John Kerry's, before he signed it to attest that it was accurate at the time of his discharge. That he did not raises a question of either carelessness or deliberate fraud. Similarly, the Vietnam Service Medal listed on his DADDY should include only one campaign star, because he was not in Vietnam long enough to serve in five of the seventeen campaigns eligible for the medal and the stars listed on the form. Again, it was Kerry's responsibility to have checked the document and seek correction.

What he has done instead is posted multiple citations for the incorrect Silver Star and for his Bronze Star with Combat V (apparently accurate), and documentation claiming the inaccurate Silver Star and the inaccurate Vietnam Service Medal with four stars. Either he as negligent in doing so, or he is committing fraud. What's more, his decision to keep the documents posted in the face of questions indicates a continued pattern if deception.

When Admiral Mike Boorda committed suicide over the wearing of an improper award, Kerry is quoted as follows:

“Is it wrong? Yes, it is very wrong. Sufficient to question his leadership position? The answer is yes, which he clearly understood,” said Sen. John Kerry, a Navy combat veteran who served in Vietnam.

It is therefore reasonable now for Americans to question Kerry's fitness for leadership, in light of this medal fraud. He also made a statement especially relevant to the election choice we now face, given his heavy reliance upon his Vietnam service and claims of heroism.

“The military is a rigorous culture that places a high premium on battlefield accomplishment,” said Sen. John F. Kerry, who received numerous decorations, including a Bronze Star with a "V" pin, as a Navy lieutenant in Vietnam.

“In a sense, there's nothing that says more about your career than when you fought, where you fought and how you fought,” Kerry said.

“If you wind up being less than what you’re pretending to be, there is a major confrontation with value and self-esteem and your sense of how others view you.”

Of Boorda and his apparent violation, Kerry said: “When you are the chief of them all, it has to weigh even more heavily.”

John Kerry is seeking to be the true "chief of them all," the Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces. How much more heavily should these demonstrably false awards weigh in selecting our nation's leader?

I have no doubt that Kerry will continue to shame himself and the heroes of Vietnam (and all who served in the military) by laying claims to fraudulent and unearned decorations. They are no more than props to him, and have never been anything else. His actions in 1971, when he claimed to have "given back" his medals by throwing them over a fence is the first example. His display of these same medals in his Senatorial office and frequent reference to them in Senate speeches is a second use of them as props. Today they are props for a Presidential campaign, designed to shield all post-Vietnam actions from question or attack.

We now know that the claimed medals are, in part, a fraud. Admiral Boorda's erroneous wearing of a medal led to suicide as a method of redeeming himself from the dishonor he had brought upon himself and the Navy. But we all know that Kerry will not take such a course of action, for he has proved time and again that he is a man without honor. The American people must tell him that we recognize this character flaw in November.