Third swift boat captain goes public

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Dave Wilson <dave () wilson net>
Date: August 21, 2004 4:57:42 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Third swift boat captain goes public

 There were three boats in the unit Kerry was commanding on the day in  
dispute. I'd been wondering why we hadn't heard from the skipper of the  
third. Now I know: he's an editor at the Chicago Tribune, and he'd been  
trying to stay out of the controversy. On Sunday he went public, and  
he's supporting Kerry's version of events.
 Here's the story about the story:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/elections/chi 
-040821kerry,1,6814873.story?coll=chi-news-hed

 Here's a link to the editor's story, with an accompanying snippet.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/elections/chi 
-040821rood,1,1611037.story?coll=chi-news-hed

>
 > --------------------
 > Anti-Kerry vets not there that day
 > --------------------
 >
 > By William B. Rood
 > Chicago Tribune
 >
 > August 21, 2004
 >
 > There were three swift boats on the river that day in Vietnam more  
than 35
 years ago--three officers and 15 crew members. Only two of those  
officers
 remain to talk about what happened on February 28, 1969.
 >
 > One is John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate who won a  
Silver
 Star for what happened on that date. I am the other.
 >
 > For years, no one asked about those events. But now they are the  
focus of
 skirmishing in a presidential election with a group of swift boat  
veterans
 and others contending that Kerry didn't deserve the Silver Star for  
what he
 did on that day, or the Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts he was  
awarded
 for other actions.
 >
 > Many of us wanted to put it all behind us--the rivers, the ambushes,  
the
 killing. Ever since that time, I have refused all requests for  
interviews
 about Kerry's service--even those from reporters at the Chicago  
Tribune,
 where I work.
 >
 > But Kerry's critics, armed with stories I know to be untrue, have  
charged
 that the accounts of what happened were overblown. The critics have  
taken
 pains to say they're not trying to cast doubts on the merit of what  
others
 did, but their version of events has splashed doubt on all of us. It's
 gotten harder and harder for those of us who were there to listen to
 accounts we know to be untrue, especially when they come from people  
who
 were not there.
 > 

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