29 January 2010
Golden Rope
(Rear Admiral Walter Schlech presenting the golden aiguillette- The Rope- to his new Aide, LTJG John Kerry, 1970)
It is said some places that you should never marry a woman who is worth less than $300 million dollars, like John Kerry.
There are others who respond that, regardless of gender, anyone who marries for money winds up having to earn it.
I am not going to pussyfoot around the business of John Kerry’s service in Vietnam. Whether he was doing it as a sort of calculated homage to John Kennedy, whose reckless heroism in small fast patrol boats enshrined him as an American hero, or if it was just something that happened on the way to something else is not my call.
On November 17, 1968, Kerry reported for duty at Coastal Squadron 1 at Cam Ranh Bay, Republic of Vietnam. His first command was Swift boat PCF-44, from December 6, 1968 to January 21, 1969, stationed in Coastal Division 13, and for a period in CD-11 at An Thoi.
On January 30, 1969, Kerry took charge of PCF-94 and its crew, which he commanded until he departed Vietnam.
Rex was busy in Saigon before and after Kerry’s presence, implementing the SEALORDS integrated strategy to disrupt North Vietnamese supply lines into the Delta and deny them sanctuary through aggressive forward employment of small fast patrol boats and establishment of floating bases deep in Viet Cong-held areas.
On January 22, 1969, Kerry and several other officers had a meeting in Saigon with RAINY DAY Actual, who liked to stay in touch with his men. Joining them was the supreme commander in the war, General Creighton Abrams. Kerry and the other officers reported that the "free-fire zone" policy was alienating the Vietnamese and that the Swift boats' actions were not accomplishing their ostensible goal of interdicting Viet Cong supply lines.
Kerry’s notes from the period indicate that the considered opinions of the JO’s were ignored, and Admiral Zumwalt gave them a pep talk.
After Kerry's third qualifying wound, he was entitled per Navy regulations to re-assignment away from combat duties. Navy records show that Kerry's preferred choice for re-assignment was as a Flag aide in Boston, New York or Washington, D.C.
On March 26, 1969, after a final patrol the night before, Kerry was transferred to Cam Ranh Bay to await his orders. He was there for five or six days and left Vietnam in early April. On April 11, 1969, he reported to the Brooklyn-based Atlantic Military Sea Transportation Service, to wear the Golden Rope that marked him as a personal aide to MSTS Commander, Rear Admiral Walter Schlech.
In January, 1970, he requested early discharge in order to run for Congress the following fall. The Admiral endorsed his request. Kerry was discharged from active duty on March 1, 1970.
I’ll leave it at this: in a four-month period, John Kerry had three minor wounds which were recognized by the award of the Purple Heart. The severity of those wounds is only of concern to those who are in a position to judge these things, and I will leave that to others who have earned them.
The Silver and Bronze Stars awarded for heroism under fire were awarded in accordance with existing regulation. RAINY DAY Actual himself choppered in to present the former to LTJG Kerry, and thus I consider the matter of the quality of his service to be of interest only to those who can compare and contrast sacrifice actually made.
There are men like retired Colonel David Hackworth, winner of nine Silver Stars, among nearly a hundred others, who made a post-retirement career of unmasking those who he considered to be frauds or poseurs in uniform. "Hack" was working off some demons, bless him, and he had the zeal of the righteous.
One of his targets was Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Boorda. “Hack” claimed that Boorda wore the Combat V device on his Vietnam ribbons, which Admiral Zumwalt vaguely recalled authorizing for all personnel who operated in the theater. RAINY DAY Actual didn’t think it was a particularly big deal, even if CINCPAC or Pentagon had not approved his decision.
Mikey Boorda took it personally, and he took his life over the matter of what he considered dishonor. That is the thing about military people. They take this stuff seriously.
Hack had left the military under peculiar circumstances himself that I don’t need to go into here- suffice it to say that comparisons with Conrad’s Heart of Darkness are not far off the mark.
The passions are still very much alive about that war. They burn white hot for some. But I doubt anyone ever would have made an issue of John Kerry’s medals except men who demons to fight like Hackworth except for what came next.
We’ll get to that tomorrow, and what Rex did about it.
Copyright 2010 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
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