Exploding the myth that brave Kerry said "send me!" to the fight... in his own words!
Various sources
John Kerry has made a number of contradictory claims about what exactly he signed up for when he signed up for the Swift boats. Cited are various primary sources in an attempt to discover what it was that Kerry actually signed up for.
In summary, when Kerry signed up for the Swift boats, they were used as coastal patrol boats and were one of the safest assignments in Vietnam. Two weeks into Kerry's Swift Boat assignment, they decided to use the boats on the Mekong river. Kerry and his supporters have made multiple contradictory claims about his Swift boat service and what exactly he signed up for.
Clinton lionized Kerry's service in his DNC address, in which Kerry's service was a major theme of the speech:
"During the Vietnam War, many young men, including the current president, the vice president and me, could have gone to Vietnam and didn't. John Kerry came from a privileged background. He could have avoided going, too. But instead he said, "Send me." (Cheers, applause.)"
"When -- when they sent those swift boats up the river in Vietnam, and they told them their job was to draw hostile fire, to wave the American flag and bait the enemy to come out and fight, John Kerry said, "Send me." (Cheers, applause.)"
Welllll.... Not exactly, as you will soon find out......
From the John Kerry website ( http://www.johnkerry.com/about/john_kerry/service.html ):
In 1968, John Kerry began his second tour of duty, and volunteered to serve on a Swift Boat, one of the most dangerous assignments of the war. Swift Boats patrolled the narrow inlets and canals around the Mekong Delta "to draw fire and smoke out the enemy," according to the The Boston Globe.
Well........... Not exactly!
As it turns out, Kerry joined the Swift boats hoping for an easy assignment where he would see little risk. Not quite the same as saying you were volunteering for one of "the most dangerous assignments of the war."
As he usually does, Kerry wants to have it both ways.
According to our favorite Boston Globe reporter Michael Kranish on 6/16/03, Kerry said...
"I didn't really want to get involved in the war," Kerry said in a little-noticed contribution to a book of Vietnam reminiscences published in 1986. "When I signed up for the swift boats, they had very little to do with the war. They were engaged in coastal patrolling and that's what I thought I was going to be doing."
"But two weeks after he arrived in Vietnam, the swift boat mission changed -- and Kerry went from having one of the safest assignments in the escalating conflict to one of the most dangerous. Under the newly launched Operation SEALORD, swift boats were charged with patrolling the narrow waterways of the Mekong Delta to draw fire and smoke out the enemy. Cruising inlets and coves and canals, swift boats were especially vulnerable targets."
Kerry has claimed both that he joined the Swift boats because he wanted to serve in combat, and that he joined them because he didn't want to serve in combat.
Furthermore, there are serious questions about Kerry's war record. He claims in recent interviews he enlisted in the Navy out of a sense of civic duty. Yet, in 1970, he told the Harvard Crimson he first appealed to the draft board to allow him to study in France for a year. Only after he was turned down did he enlist.
Which is it, John Kerry?
Related site: www.swiftvets.com
Various sources
John Kerry has made a number of contradictory claims about what exactly he signed up for when he signed up for the Swift boats. Cited are various primary sources in an attempt to discover what it was that Kerry actually signed up for.
In summary, when Kerry signed up for the Swift boats, they were used as coastal patrol boats and were one of the safest assignments in Vietnam. Two weeks into Kerry's Swift Boat assignment, they decided to use the boats on the Mekong river. Kerry and his supporters have made multiple contradictory claims about his Swift boat service and what exactly he signed up for.
Clinton lionized Kerry's service in his DNC address, in which Kerry's service was a major theme of the speech:
"During the Vietnam War, many young men, including the current president, the vice president and me, could have gone to Vietnam and didn't. John Kerry came from a privileged background. He could have avoided going, too. But instead he said, "Send me." (Cheers, applause.)"
"When -- when they sent those swift boats up the river in Vietnam, and they told them their job was to draw hostile fire, to wave the American flag and bait the enemy to come out and fight, John Kerry said, "Send me." (Cheers, applause.)"
Welllll.... Not exactly, as you will soon find out......
From the John Kerry website ( http://www.johnkerry.com/about/john_kerry/service.html ):
In 1968, John Kerry began his second tour of duty, and volunteered to serve on a Swift Boat, one of the most dangerous assignments of the war. Swift Boats patrolled the narrow inlets and canals around the Mekong Delta "to draw fire and smoke out the enemy," according to the The Boston Globe.
Well........... Not exactly!
As it turns out, Kerry joined the Swift boats hoping for an easy assignment where he would see little risk. Not quite the same as saying you were volunteering for one of "the most dangerous assignments of the war."
As he usually does, Kerry wants to have it both ways.
According to our favorite Boston Globe reporter Michael Kranish on 6/16/03, Kerry said...
"I didn't really want to get involved in the war," Kerry said in a little-noticed contribution to a book of Vietnam reminiscences published in 1986. "When I signed up for the swift boats, they had very little to do with the war. They were engaged in coastal patrolling and that's what I thought I was going to be doing."
"But two weeks after he arrived in Vietnam, the swift boat mission changed -- and Kerry went from having one of the safest assignments in the escalating conflict to one of the most dangerous. Under the newly launched Operation SEALORD, swift boats were charged with patrolling the narrow waterways of the Mekong Delta to draw fire and smoke out the enemy. Cruising inlets and coves and canals, swift boats were especially vulnerable targets."
Kerry has claimed both that he joined the Swift boats because he wanted to serve in combat, and that he joined them because he didn't want to serve in combat.
Furthermore, there are serious questions about Kerry's war record. He claims in recent interviews he enlisted in the Navy out of a sense of civic duty. Yet, in 1970, he told the Harvard Crimson he first appealed to the draft board to allow him to study in France for a year. Only after he was turned down did he enlist.
Which is it, John Kerry?
Related site: www.swiftvets.com
He did his part to end the fighting, and put down a few cold ones while he was at it. 
