Another Swift Boat Vet Supports Kerry Account

Today in our local paper, the Metrowest News (Central Massachuetts), we have an article about Swift Boat Vets who "served" with John Kerry (they also were on Swift Boats in Vietnam, though they never saw him personnally -- just like John O'Neill), support the Kerry position.

Some swift boat veterans support Kerry

Since this link will only work for a few days, here's the article:

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Vietnam veteran Del Sandusky, speaking at a news conference in Pennsylvania, said he personally witnessed the battle action for which Kerry received Silver and Bronze stars and two of his three Purple Hearts. (AP photo)

Some swift boat veterans defend KerryBy Jon Brodkin / News Staff WriterTuesday, August 24, 2004

Michael Alogna says he knows what it's like to serve on a swift boat in Vietnam. And he doesn't think it's possible John Kerry fabricated the events for which he was awarded war medals.
"They're only 51 feet long," Alogna, a Waltham resident, said of the swift boats. "You're totally visible, and everybody can see what's going on....You can't claim you did something (you didn't do)."
Alogna said he was a naval officer in charge on a swift boat during two tours of duty in 1966 and 1967.
He didn't serve with Kerry, but believes attacks on the presidential candidate by the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are unwarranted. Alogna said accounts given by those who served with Kerry prove he deserved the medals.
He also compared the Swift Boat Veterans group's claims to previous Republican attacks on Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia, a triple amputee Vietnam veteran.
"This is a pattern of not just misbehavior, but low behavior," Alogna said.
Kerry, who was awarded a Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts for his service in Vietnam, has been forced to fight off charges he did not deserve the medals. Veterans who served with Kerry have come to his defense, and the anti-Kerry group has been accused of distorting facts to cast the senator in a bad light.
The New York Times reported Friday the accounts given by group members are "riddled with inconsistencies" and that material they offer as proof of their claims is discredited by their own previous statements and official Navy records.
Still, there's reason to be skeptical of Kerry, believes Bob Harris, a Vietnam veteran who is also Hudson's veterans agent. He noted there is controversy over whether Kerry's account that he spent Christmas Eve 1968 in Cambodia is true, and also said he was offended by Kerry protesting the war upon returning home.
"He's got a lot of explaining to do on the screw-ups in his story," Harris said. "He's given different versions. I have a problem with him throwing his medals away. You can argue medals, ribbons, or what. If anybody was ever awarded a medal, it comes with a ribbon. If you throw one away, you throw them all away."
Harris, who said he fought for the U.S. Army in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968, said he is leaning toward voting for President George Bush, but criticized the president for sending Americans to war when he wasn't willing to serve overseas himself.
"Anybody that joined the National Guard was trying to avoid Vietnam," Harris said.
Bush himself has faced questions about whether he fulfilled his National Guard service requirements during the Vietnam war.
Harris said the accusations against both candidates "tells you a lot about their character."
While polls have shown most military veterans favor Bush over Kerry, not all think the candidates' Vietnam records should be election issues.
"They were different people back then," said Fred Otten, an Ashland man who served in the Air Force in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. "As far as running a country, I don't think what they did back in those days should have anything to do with the election."

( Jon Brodkin can be reached at 508-626-4424 or jbrodkin@cnc.com. )