Swift Boat Veterans For Truth: Are They Going To Sink John Kerry?

Michael Wise wrote:

How could he not know what his citation said? How is it he can say in
the ABC interview your heard (do you know if a written transcript
exists?) that he knew what his citation stated and simply shrugged it
off?

I never claimed he stated he "shrugged it off", just that the impression I got
was that the citation containing enemy fire didn't seem like a surprise to him.

Thurlow said he would consider his award "fraudulent" if coming under
enemy fire was the basis for it. "I am here to state that we weren't
under fire," he said.

Sounds pretty definitive to me. Exactly what has this guy to gain by saying
this? Nothing.

This even further suggests he is claiming that we wasn't aware of what
his citation said...and now that he is aware (after having the text read
to him), he considers his own award to be fraudulent.

Sounds like that to me too.

Naturally, he
doesn't go on to say whether or not be will be petitioning to have his
"fraudulent" award revoked.

Lots of luck on that mission. A 35 year old Bronze Star doesn't jump to the top
of the list of a Board for the Correction of Military Records.

The only way this
is possibe is if he were awarded the Bronze Star after seperating and
received
it in the mail and never read the citation.


Could be. The same article states that Mr. Thurlow claims to have lost
his award 20 years ago. A different article (also in the W. Post, I
believe) stated that he received his award via mail in Kansas after
returning home.

So do you doubt this guy got his citation after seperating and just put it in a
trunk somewhere without reading it? Sounds very likely to me, especially since
he wound up losing it.

Fair enough, seems like an air-tight case of him not being aware of what
his Bronze Star was for. How to you reconcile that claim with his other
claim (which you yourself cite as evidence) that he knew what the award
was for all along and just "shrugged" it off?


I never claimed he made any statement about "shrugging it off", those were my
words. In the ABC interview he did not seem surprised that his award included
what he felt to be inaccurate information.


BUFDRVR

"Stay on the bomb run boys, I'm gonna get those bomb doors open if it harelips
everyone on Bear Creek"

In article ,
(BUFDRVR) wrote:

How could he not know what his citation said? How is it he can say in
the ABC interview your heard (do you know if a written transcript
exists?) that he knew what his citation stated and simply shrugged it
off?

I never claimed he stated he "shrugged it off", just that the impression I
got
was that the citation containing enemy fire didn't seem like a surprise to
him.


Hmmmm, in the last few posts, you use the word impression...but just
yesterday, in the post this sub-thread was in response to, you wrote:

-----------------------------------------------
"No, he was aware of it when he was awarded it.....it just didn't make
sense to him."
-----------------------------------------------


I don't see any mention there of that being merely your impression.

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Thurlow said he would consider his award "fraudulent" if coming under
enemy fire was the basis for it. "I am here to state that we weren't
under fire," he said.

Sounds pretty definitive to me. Exactly what has this guy to gain by saying
this? Nothing.

I wouldn't call attempting to influence the outcome of a presidential
election as "nothing."


This even further suggests he is claiming that we wasn't aware of what
his citation said...and now that he is aware (after having the text read
to him), he considers his own award to be fraudulent.

Sounds like that to me too.

Naturally, he
doesn't go on to say whether or not be will be petitioning to have his
"fraudulent" award revoked.

Lots of luck on that mission. A 35 year old Bronze Star doesn't jump to the
top
of the list of a Board for the Correction of Military Records.


Never the less, do you suppose we can expect the Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth also lobby to have Thurlow's medal revoked? After all, they just
want the "truth"...right?


The only way this
is possibe is if he were awarded the Bronze Star after seperating and
received
it in the mail and never read the citation.


Could be. The same article states that Mr. Thurlow claims to have lost
his award 20 years ago. A different article (also in the W. Post, I
believe) stated that he received his award via mail in Kansas after
returning home.

So do you doubt this guy got his citation after seperating and just put it in
a
trunk somewhere without reading it? Sounds very likely to me, especially
since
he wound up losing it.


No I don't doubt it, but it doesn't reconcile with your previous
contention of:

"No, he was aware of it when he was awarded it.....it just didn't make
sense to him."




--Mike

Michael Wise wrote:

Hmmmm, in the last few posts, you use the word impression...but just
yesterday, in the post this sub-thread was in response to, you wrote:

-----------------------------------------------
"No, he was aware of it when he was awarded it.....it just didn't make
sense to him."

I should have been more clear, however I never did claim he said anything
specifically. I was giving my impression of the interview.

Never the less, do you suppose we can expect the Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth also lobby to have Thurlow's medal revoked? After all, they just
want the "truth"...right?

The consequences of an "unearned" Bronze Star awarded 30+ years ago is hardly
as relevent (to the Swift Vets) as their percieved concerns about Kerry.
Personally I don't care about either issue and wish they would go away. The
problem is, Kerry won't let them go away.

"No, he was aware of it when he was awarded it.....it just didn't make
sense to him."

Again, my impression, not his words.


BUFDRVR

"Stay on the bomb run boys, I'm gonna get those bomb doors open if it harelips
everyone on Bear Creek"