Honorable Discharge?

The Black Flag Cafe is the place travelers come to share stories and advice. Moderated by Robert Young Pelton the author of The World's Most Dangerous Places.

Moderator: coldharvest

Honorable Discharge?

Postby Piggs » Thu Oct 14, 2004 12:12 am

Story Here

Honorable Discharge?
In today's New York Sun, Thomas Lipscomb reports on the latest mystery involving the Vietnam service of John Kerry, who by the way served in Vietnam:

An official Navy document on Senator Kerry's campaign Web site listed as Mr. Kerry's "Honorable Discharge from the Reserves" opens a door on a well-kept secret about his military service.

The document is a form cover letter in the name of the Carter administration's secretary of the Navy, W. Graham Claytor. It describes Mr. Kerry's discharge as being subsequent to the review of "a board of officers." This in itself is unusual. There is nothing about an ordinary honorable discharge action in the Navy that requires a review by a board of officers.

According to the secretary of the Navy's document, the "authority of reference" this board was using in considering Mr. Kerry's record was "Title 10, U.S. Code Section 1162 and 1163." This section refers to the grounds for involuntary separation from the service. What was being reviewed, then, was Mr. Kerry's involuntary separation from the service. And it couldn't have been an honorable discharge, or there would have been no point in any review at all. The review was likely held to improve Mr. Kerry's status of discharge from a less than honorable discharge to an honorable discharge.

A Kerry campaign spokesman, David Wade, was asked whether Mr. Kerry had ever been a victim of an attempt to deny him an honorable discharge. There has been no response to that inquiry.

In the absence of an explanation from the Kerry camp, Lipscomb offers some speculation:

There are a number of categories of discharges besides honorable. There are general discharges, medical discharges, bad conduct discharges, as well as other than honorable and dishonorable discharges. There is one odd coincidence that gives some weight to the possibility that Mr. Kerry was dishonorably discharged. Mr. Kerry has claimed that he lost his medal certificates and that is why he asked that they be reissued. But when a dishonorable discharge is issued, all pay benefits, and allowances, and all medals and honors are revoked as well. And five months after Mr. Kerry joined the U.S. Senate in 1985, on one single day, June 4, all of Mr. Kerry's medals were reissued.

We're not sure what to make of all this, but certainly the story of John Kerry and Vietnam is more nuanced than the simple tale of heroism he sold his party and is trying to sell the country.
Image
ImageImage
User avatar
Piggs
BFCus Regularus
 
Posts: 267
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 3:03 am
Location: Milwaukee WI

Postby goat balls » Thu Oct 14, 2004 12:17 am

Piggs .. who cares if he was honorably discharged or not.

He's just this side of being a commie. End of story.

Image
User avatar
goat balls
BFCus Regularus
 
Posts: 2965
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 1:12 pm
Location: Mexico

Postby DawnC71 » Thu Oct 14, 2004 12:32 am

I thought he was medically discharged anyways and that is why he only served 4 months of his year tour in 'Nam? Dont read too much into one phrase than neccessary...i know plenty of disabled vets who have medical discharges and had to go through review boards to have their DD214's reflect that there was an honorable discharge given....medical discharges were classified in that way during that era but they did not think back then that the words "honorable" were that important to include under the section of the DD214 which states "Reason for Discharge". I think this has been corrected int he last 30 years but I do know vets who I talked to today who heard this same story and said it is rubbish and just one more attempt to smear the guy who is running against someone who did not even show up to the war AT ALL....at least kerry showed up and got his ass in the grass with everyone else.
Calling him a commmie is a knee jerk reaction mean to classify someone who had the balls to go to war and then came back and, in my opinion earned the right from that day forward to throw his medals whereever he wanted to. Let George W. say whatever he wants to about Texas ...he bravely defended that state against communist invasion (from...hmmm..Mexico I guess??)....so i think Kerry has earned the right to say what he wants to as well.
Passion is necessity. It is not diligence, or simply being committed to a goal. Passion consumes you while you chase down your goal. Passion should always be your natural state of mind for it is what sparks momentum and sets the pace.
User avatar
DawnC71
BFCus Regularus
 
Posts: 578
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 11:17 pm
Location: stickitupyourarsenya

Postby goat balls » Thu Oct 14, 2004 12:45 am

Dawn..look at the guys voting record. He's a hard core socialist.
User avatar
goat balls
BFCus Regularus
 
Posts: 2965
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 1:12 pm
Location: Mexico

Postby unklenastie » Thu Oct 14, 2004 1:38 am

The Army Times has a list of sites that one can visit to see the records of Bush, Kerry, and those involved in the whole swiftboat controversy. I know this has probably been posted before, but just in case it hasnt, then here it is. I am not going to try to change anyone's mind here. Make you own conclusions. I know I still am trying to make my own mind up. Anyway, here is the link.

http://armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-363379.php
You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everyone else, and we are all part of the same compost pile.

Image
User avatar
unklenastie
 
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 2:39 am
Location: NC/SC border

Postby DawnC71 » Thu Oct 14, 2004 2:08 am

hmmmm...very interesting reading...as a person who is voting for niether man, I still think the John Kerry, regardless of assumptions that he went to combat because he secretly thought it would help him become president one day, has a stellar and unquestionable military record, especially when viewed against the record of George W Bush which shows obviously that he simply was looking for a way to continue partying and avoid getting shot at.
I fully respect Kerry as a former sailor, and though I dont want him or Georfe as President, I do have more respect for Sen Kerry. Socialism is a far cry really from communism though.
But yeah I would agree socialism is still pretty sucky as well.
Oh and George W. Bush is lying his ass off about the VA budget in tonights debate....I dont know where he is getting his numbers at (in his clandestine earpiece or whatever) but as someone who has to rely on the VA medical system, there has been nothing but cut after cut within the VA system. Right now Tripler has a total of only 14 inpatient beds available for veterans....down from 68 four years ago...not only that but many of the social workers and doctors who work for the VA dont even have offices anymore because the VA could not afford to continue paying rent to the Army for use of the offices which were in the past on Tripler Army Medical centers property.
So, Bush saying he supports veterans at all is a complete misstatement.
Anyways, interesting reading, although it still did not change the fact that I am probably voting Libertarian....unless they keep Badnarik's behind in jail..then I guess I will vote for Kerry. Just because I respect his personal values more than I do someone who spouts about values and acts in complete opposite fashion to what he says he believes in.
Just my opinon of course......but I still say
FREE BADNARIK!
Passion is necessity. It is not diligence, or simply being committed to a goal. Passion consumes you while you chase down your goal. Passion should always be your natural state of mind for it is what sparks momentum and sets the pace.
User avatar
DawnC71
BFCus Regularus
 
Posts: 578
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 11:17 pm
Location: stickitupyourarsenya

Postby Texas Carnie Roadshow » Thu Oct 14, 2004 2:19 am

Goat, that is one hell of an awesome render.
When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? To surrender dreams - -this may be madness; to seek treasure where there is only trash. Too much sanity may be madness! But maddest of all - -to see life as it is and not as it should be.
User avatar
Texas Carnie Roadshow
Rainbow Fucking Randolph
 
Posts: 3294
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2004 9:59 pm
Location: A bar in illinois with unprotected wifi

Honorable discharge.

Postby Q » Thu Oct 14, 2004 5:11 am

Kerry's got two kids doesn't he?

Sounds like he got atleast 2 Honorable discharges.
User avatar
Q
Al-Aqua Teen Martyr's Brigade
 
Posts: 7832
Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2004 6:29 am
Location: Piss off


Return to Black Flag Cafe

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 23 guests