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Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT), formed in 2004, is an organization of American Swift boat veterans of the Vietnam War registered under Section 527 of the U.S. tax code to oppose John Kerry's U.S. presidential aspirations.
SBVT has challenged the legitimacy of some of Kerry's medals and his accounts of the Vietnam war, particularly the veracity of his 1971 testimony before Congress. These charges have appeared in a book, in television advertisements that the group has run in "swing" states, and in the widespread media coverage some SBVT members received. Other Vietnam veterans, a number of whom served directly under Kerry, have disputed the charges and supported Kerry. SBVT has also been the target of complaints from the Kerry campaign (alleging that SBVT illegally coordinated with the Bush campaign) and independent groups (alleging improper fundraising).
Membership in SBVT is restricted to veterans of the Vietnam War who served in Swift boat units. Senator Kerry also served aboard Swift boats, a class of patrol boat used by American forces in Vietnam. Founding members of SBVT include Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann (retired), a former commander of Swift boat forces; Houston attorney John O'Neill, the officer who had replaced Kerry as commander of Swift Boat PCF 94 in 1969 and who appeared opposite Kerry in a televised 1971 debate between them on The Dick Cavett Show; and 13 other named veterans. Many current SBVT members are officers who had previously praised Kerry's conduct during the Vietnam War. These include Division Commander Grant Hibbard, who wrote positive evaluations of Kerry, and Commander George Elliott, who submitted Kerry for a Silver Star. SBVT counts, in total, 16 of the 23 surviving officers who served with Kerry in Coastal Division 11 as members.
Of the 3,500 Swift boat sailors who served in Vietnam, the names of some 250 appeared on the group's statement against Kerry. Later, two of the veterans whose names appeared on the letter denied giving permission for their names to appear and alleged that SBVT would not remove their names when requested by them to do so. Afterwards, SBVT removed the contested names..
The group's initial letter against Kerry stated "It is our collective judgment that, upon your return from Vietnam, you grossly and knowingly distorted the conduct of the American soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen of that war (including a betrayal of many of us, without regard for the danger your actions caused us). Further, we believe that you have withheld and/or distorted material facts as to your own conduct in this war." In response to this latter charge, Kerry posted a partial collection of these military records to his campaign site.
Of those who served in Kerry's boat crew, only Stephen Gardner belongs to SBVT. All other living members of Kerry's crew support his presidential bid, and some frequently campaign with him. Kerry crewmembers have disputed some of SBVT's various allegations: "pure fabrication" (Jim Rassmann), "totally false" (Drew Whitlow), "garbage" (Gene Thorson), and "a pack of lies" (Del Sandusky). No members of SBVT were aboard Kerry's boat during any of the incidents for which he was decorated. For his part, Gardner - who claims to have served on Kerry's boat longer than any of the others - appeared in the group's third television advertisement, contending that Kerry's "Christmas in Cambodia" story is categorically false (see below).
SBVT first went public with a May 4, 2004 press conference declaring opposition to Kerry. When the press conference garnered little attention, the organization decided to produce television advertisements. On August 5, 2004, SBVT began airing a one-minute television spot in three hotly contested states in the ongoing presidential election. The advertisement, entitled "Any Questions?", is a collage of short clips of thirteen SBVT members, many who state they "served with John Kerry" or had direct contact with Kerry during his service in Vietnam. The veterans appearing in the ad say John Kerry was dishonest, unreliable, unfit to lead, and had dishonored his country and fellow veterans. None of the men in the advertisement served on the same Swift boat as John Kerry, but some patrolled and sailed along side with Kerry's Swift boat on multi-boat patrols. The advertisement generated tremendous media attention and debate about the group and its cause. For more information on these allegations and other controversial aspects of SBVT, see below.
On 20 August, 2004, SBVT released a second television advertisement featuring a portion of Kerry's April 1971 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee based on the Winter Soldier Investigation. The investigation had been carried out by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), of which Kerry was a member, and used the testimonies of over a hundred soldiers and civilians that spoke of atrocities carried out by US forces in Vietnam. Kerry's Senate testimony presented a summary of these men's testimonies; he did not, however, claim any personal knowledge of these atrocities. The SBVT advertisement alternated clips of Kerry's summary of this testimony Fulbright Hearing.
A third television advertisement began airing on August 26, 2004, attacking Kerry's past statements that he was in Cambodia on Christmas Eve, 1968 (see "Cambodia Mission" below). This advertisement featured Stephen Gardner stating, "John Kerry claims that he spent Christmas in 1968 in Cambodia and that is categorically a lie. Not in December, not in January. We were never in Cambodia on a secret mission, ever." Gardner was part of Kerry's crew from November, 1968 to January 23, 1969.
On August 31, 2004, a fourth advertisement was released by SBVT. The advertisement describes Kerry as a man who "renounced his country's symbols," a reference to a Vietnam War protest where Kerry threw war decorations over the fence of the U.S. Capitol building on April 23, 1971. The advertisement also contains video clips of Kerry from a WRC-TV program called Viewpoints, in which he states he gave back "six, seven, eight, nine medals." For more detail on this incident, see John Kerry VVAW controversy.
SBVT founder and spokesman John O'Neill wrote Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry with co-author Jerome Corsi. The book was published by the conservative Regnery Publishing. A best-seller upon release in August 2004, it criticized Kerry's judgment in battle, his truthfulness, his entitlement to certain medals, and his later anti-War activities. The book is based in part on interviews with some 60 Swift boat veterans who served in Kerry's division. Several members of Kerry's crew state that O'Neill failed to interview them; some who were interviewed assert that O'Neill edited their statements to strip out material favorable to Kerry. Neither author claims any firsthand knowlege of Kerry's service. O'Neill served on the Swift boats only after Kerry left; Corsi never served in Vietnam.
Grant Hibbard, Kerry's former commander, and other SBVT members have questioned Kerry's first Purple Heart, received for a wound sustained on December 2 1968. They assert that the injury was much too minor to merit a citation since the only treatment Kerry received was bacitracin and a bandage, and that he returned to service immediately. SBVT also claims that the wound was not from enemy fire but was from shrapnel of a grenade he fired himself.
The criteria for the Purple Heart specify citation for any injury received during combat requiring treatment by a medical officer. Under military regulations, the Purple Heart is awarded for "friendly fire" wounds in the "heat of battle", so long as the fire is targeted "under full intent of inflicting damage or destroying enemy troops or equipment."
An article in the Boston Globe described the circumstances in which Purple Hearts were given to wounded soldiers in Vietnam:
In Douglas Brinkley's book Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War, Brinkley notes that Purple Hearts were given out frequently:
In the SBVT advertisement, Dr. Lewis Letson asserted "I know John Kerry is lying about his first Purple Heart because I treated him for that injury," but did not specify what the alleged lie was. Kerry's medical records list a medic, J. C. Carreon, as the "person administering treatment" for this wound. Dr. Letson's name does not appear on the record, but he claims that it was common for medics to sign the paperwork even though Letson would treat the patient. However, the claim cannot be verified as Carreon died in 1992.
On the night in question, Kerry's skimmer opened fire on suspected guerrillas on the shore. During this encounter, Kerry suffered a shrapnel wound in the left arm above the elbow. Accounts differ over the crew aboard the skimmer, the source of Kerry's injury, and several other major details. No after-action report for this incident is known to exist.
SBVT's claims about the incident are primarily based on an account by retired Rear Admiral William Schachte, then a Lieutenant. Schachte regularly led training missions for recently arrived officers such as Kerry. Schachte has stated he was the senior officer on Kerry's skimmer on the night of Kerry's injury, and had participated in all previous skimmer missions up to and including that evening. Schachte stated that the skimmer opened fire because of suspicous movement on the shore. In an August 2004 interview, Schatche stated there was no hostile return fire, and Kerry was "nicked" by a fragment from an M-79 grenade launcher he fired himself. In an April 2003 interview, Schachte had described the action as a "firefight" and said of Kerry: "He got hit."
Kerry crewmates Bill Zaladonis and Patrick Runyon dispute Schachte's account. Zaladonis stated that "Myself, Pat Runyon, and John Kerry, we were the only ones in the skimmer." Runyon added, "Me and Bill aren't the smartest, but we can count to three." They recounted that the skimmer opened fire on suspected guerrillas attempting to evade the patrol, as they ran from sampan boats onto the shore. Both Runyon and Zaladonis believe, but are not completely certain, that the skimmer received return hostile fire; Runyon commented, "It was the scariest night of my life." Runyon also stated that he is "100 percent certain" that no one on the boat fired a grenade launcher. Zaladonis has noted that Schachte went on "a bunch of" other skimmer missions and speculated that Schachte might have inadvertently mixed up his dates.
SBVT also points to the narration of a subsequent event in Tour of Duty (pp. 188-189). Brinkley opens the account of a four-day cruise by telling us how "Kerry —who had just turned 25 on December 11, 1968— was a fine leader of his men". He goes on to quote Kerry's reflections in his notebook: "A cocky feeling of invincibility accompanied us up the Long Tau shipping channel because we hadn't been shot at yet, and Americans at war who haven't been shot at are allowed to be cocky." SBVT argues that this journal entry shows that the incident could not have involved enemy fire. Others argue that Kerry was referring to ambushes, a common misfortune for Swift boats which Kerry had not yet suffered.
Kerry's Bronze Star has been criticized by former Swift boat commander Larry Thurlow. During the incident leading to the medal, Thurlow was in overall command of a five-boat fleet including Kerry's. In 2004 Thurlow, along with two other SBVT members, alleged that Viet Cong casualties from the incident.
Kerry's Silver Star medal has been called into question by George Elliott, Kerry's former commanding officer and a SBVT member. Elliott's stated position on the award changed during the course of the 2004 Presidential campaign.
1996 re-election campaign, Elliott responded to criticism of the medal, "The fact that he chased armed enemies down is not something to be looked down on." In June 2003, Elliott was quoted as saying the award was "well deserved" and that he had "no regrets or second thoughts at all about that."
More recently, however, Elliott has signed two affidavits that criticize the award. The first, in July 2004, stated in part, "When Kerry came back to the United States, he lied about what occurred in Vietnam..." After the release of this first affidavit, Michael Kranish of the Boston Globe quoted Elliott saying, "It was a terrible mistake probably for me to sign the affidavit with those words. I'm the one in trouble here...I knew it was wrong...In a hurry I signed it and faxed it back. That was a mistake." Elliott contended that Kranish had substantially misquoted him, but the Globe stood by its account, calling the disputed quotes "absolutely accurate".
The story prompted Elliott to release a second affidavit, in August 2004, in which he stated, "Had I known the facts, I would not have recommended Kerry for the Silver Star for simply pursuing and dispatching a single wounded, fleeing Viet Cong." . The second affidavit made what Elliott called an "immaterial clarification", in that he admitted that he had no personal knowledge of the circumstances of the shooting. Rather, his initial statement that Kerry had been dishonest was based on unspecified sources and a passage contributed by Kranish to a biography of Kerry.
Kerry?s crew members who were there that day do not agree with Elliott?s characterization of the event. They contend that the enemy soldier, although wounded, was still a threat. For example, one of them, Fred Short said, "The guy was getting ready to stand up with a rocket on his shoulder, coming up. And Mr. Kerry took him out ... he would have been about a 30-yard shot. ... [T]here's no way he could miss us." Del Sandusky, Kerry?s second in command, described the consequences to the lightly armored Swift boat: "Charlie would have lit us up like a Roman candle because we're full of fuel, we're full of ammunition."
Another eyewitness, William Rood, now a Chicago Tribune editor, recently gave an account that supports Kerry's version of the events of that day. Rood was commander of PCF-23, which was one of the two Swift boats that accompanied Kerry's PCF-94.
Rood discounted several specific charges made by SBVT about the incident. In his (second-hand) book account, O'Neill implied that Kerry chased down a lone "teenager in a loincloth clutching a grenade launcher which may or may not have been loaded," without coming under enemy fire himself. In contrast, Rood stated that there were multiple attackers, there was heavy hostile fire, and the guerilla Kerry shot was "a grown man, dressed in the kind of garb the Viet Cong usually wore" armed with a "loaded B-40 rocket launcher". Also, O'Neill called Kerry's tactic of charging the beach "stupidity, not courage." Similarly, Hoffman characterized Kerry's actions as reckless and impulsive. However, Rood stated that Kerry's tactic of charging the beach was discussed and mutually agreed with the other boat commanders beforehand. He also notes that, at the time, Hoffman praised all three boat commanders and called the tactics developed "a shining example of completely overwhelming the enemy" and that they "may be the most efficacious method of dealing with small numbers of ambushers." O'Neill responded that Rood's criticism was "extremely unfair" and stated that Rood's account of events is not substantially different from what appeared in his book, for which Rood had declined an interview.
Commenting on the Silver Star issue, Republican Sen. John Warner, who was Under Secretary of the Navy at the time, stated "We did extraordinary, careful checking on that type of medal, a very high one, when it goes through the secretary...I'd stand by the process that awarded that medal, and I think we best acknowledge that his heroism did gain that recognition."
One chapter of SBVT's forthcoming Unfit for Command questions Kerry's repeated statement that he was sent on an illegal, secret mission into Cambodia during Christmas December 25, 1968. On March 27, 1986, Kerry made Lyndon Johnson had falsely denied military incursions across the Cambodian border. SBVT points out that, in a 1979 article in the Boston Herald, Kerry mistakenly identified the president in question as Richard Nixon. Nixon was actually president-elect at the time, and he had not yet issued his own false denial.
None of Kerry's crewmates has confirmed ever being sent to Cambodia. Some have, however, stated that they may at some point have entered Cambodia without knowing it. James Wasser, who was on PCF-44 on that December mission, while saying that he believes they were "very, very close" to Cambodia, does not recall actually crossing over. Wasser acknowledged uncertainty, stating "I don't know exactly where we were. I didn't have the chart," and "It is very hard to tell. There are no signs."
Michael Meehan, a spokesman for the Kerry campaign responded to SBVT's charges with a statement that Kerry was referring to a period when Nixon had been president-elect and before he was inaugurated. Meehan went on to state that Kerry had been "deep in enemy waters" between Vietnam and Cambodia and that his boat came under fire at the Cambodian border. Meehan also said that Kerry did covertly cross over into Cambodia to drop off special operations forces on a later occasion, but that there was no paperwork for such missions and he could not supply dates.
Based on examination of Kerry's journals and logbook, historian Douglas Brinkley placed the missions soon after Christmas. In an interview with the London Daily Telegraph, Brinkley stated "Kerry went into Cambodian waters three or four times in January and February 1969 on clandestine missions. He had a run dropping off U.S. Seals, Green Berets and CIA guys." Brinkley added, "He was a ferry master, a drop-off guy, but it was dangerous as hell. Kerry carries a hat he was given by one CIA operative. In a part of his journals which I didn't use he writes about discussions with CIA guys he was dropping off."
In the book, O'Neill argued that a Swift boat commander would have been "seriously disciplined or court-martialed" for crossing the Cambodian border. The book also asserts that border was impassible — posted with a large warning sign and patrolled by several PBR's precisely to prevent such crossings. Critics point out the inconsistency between this description and O'Neill's own claims documented in a conversation with President Nixon in 1971. O'Neill: "I was in Cambodia, sir. I worked along the border on the water." Nixon: "In a Swift boat?" O'Neill: Yes, sir."
In September 2004, Vice Admiral Ronald A. Route, the Navy inspector general, completed a review of Kerry's combat medals, initiated at the request of Judicial Watch. In a memo to the Secretary of the Navy Gordon England, Route stated
A major part of the SBVT controversy centers around what some believe is inconsistent and misleading testimony. Among the first to question SBVT's veracity was Republican Senator John McCain, a Bush supporter and a Vietnam veteran, who stated "I condemn the [SBVT] ad, it is dishonest and dishonorable, I think it is very, very wrong." Several major newspapers were also skeptical of the SBVT allegations. For example, a New York Times news article stated "on close examination, the accounts of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth prove to be riddled with inconsistencies." ABC News's The Note opined "the Swift Boat ad and their primary charges about Kerry's medals are personal, negative, extremely suspect, or false." A Los Angeles Times editorial stated "Not limited by the conventions of our colleagues in the newsroom, we can say it outright: These charges against John Kerry are false."
Adm. Schachte said that he supports SBVT as "men that are willing to stand up and put up with what they've been putting up with just to tell the truth ? of what they know to be the truth".
An August 28 Time magazine poll surveyed public credence in the SBVT advertisements among those who viewed them. The poll showed that about one-third of viewers believed there is at least "some truth" to the allegations. Among swing-voters, only about one-fourth felt there was any truth to the ads.
SBVT characterized itself as a non-partisan group both in the legal sense and in spirit. But critics have alleged partisanship, pointing out that several prominent individuals who assisted the SBVT also had close ties to the Republican Party. For example, SBVT's chief financiers, according to the group's last quarterly IRS filing, are Houston builder Bob J. Perry and the Crow family, both major Republican donors from Texas. Perry is a long time Bush supporter who has donated $200,000 to fund the SBVT ads. SBVT's media representative, Merrie Spaeth, was a Reagan administration press officer and an advisor to Ken Starr in the Clinton impeachment. Spaeth's late husband, Tex Lezar, ran for Texas lieutenant governor on George W. Bush's ticket in 1994. John E. O'Neill — the primary author of Unfit for Command and a key player in the formation of SBVT — donated over $14,000 to Republican candidates, was a partner in Lezar's law firm, and co-operated with the Nixon White House in opposing Kerry in 1971. Adm. Schachte, upon whose account many of the SBVT allegations are based, has donated to both of Bush?s presidential campaigns. Chris LaCivita, director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2002, works as a private contractor providing media advice for SBVT. The SBVT postal address was registered to Susan Arceneaux, treasurer of the Majority Leader's Fund, a PAC closely tied to the archconservative former Congressional leader Dick Armey.
These ties, along with others (see below), have led to accusations that SBVT is a front group for Republicans and has caused SBVT to take considerable heat from some observers in the popular press. Slate's editor Jacob Weisberg, wrote that SBVT is part of the "right-wing slime machine."
The Bush campaign became part of the general SBVT controversy when Senator John McCain condemned the first SBVT ad, and said, "I hope that the president will also condemn it." To date, the Bush campaign has not specifically condemned SBVT or the SBVT ads, but has stated "We have not and we will not question Senator Kerry's service in Vietnam." Kerry has been dismissive of this statement, saying "Of course, the President keeps telling people he would never question my service to our country. Instead, he watches as a Republican-funded attack group does just that." More recently Senator Kerry alleged that SBVT is "a front for the Bush campaign. And the fact that the President won’t denounce what they’re up to tells you everything you need to know — he wants them to do his dirty work".
Critics and the Kerry campaign point to several specific connections between SBVT and the Bush campaign that they contend are improper. The Kerry campaign asserted that Bush campaign headquarters in Florida distributed fliers promoting SBVT events, a charge the Bush campaign denies. Ken Cordier, former vice-chair of Veterans for Bush/Cheney (in 2000) and volunteer member of the Bush campaign veterans steering committee, appeared in the second SBVT advertisement. The Bush campaign asked him to resign and stated they had been unaware of his SBVT involvement.
On August 25, 2004, Federal Election Commission (FEC), alleging that the advertisements promoted by SBVT were inaccurate and illegally coordinated with Republicans and the Bush-Cheney campaign. Under federal election law, the SBVT is designated as a nonpartisan 527 group and is barred from coordinating with political campaigns. The complaint, citing the "ties" noted above, claims a "web of connections to the Bush family, high-profile Texas political figures, and President Bush's chief political aide, Karl Rove".
The Bush campaign dismisses complaints of ties and asserts there is no co-ordination between SBVT and the campaign. Editorial opinion on the evidence for co-ordination varies. ABC News's The Note stated, "There is no evidence that the Bush campaign is orchestrating the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." In contrast, the New York Times characterized the SBVT attacks as "orchestrated by negative-campaign specialists deep in the heart of the Texas Republican machine."
On August 10, 2004, three campaign finance watchdog groups — Democracy 21, the Campaign Legal Center, and the Freedom of Information Act request was filed on August 24 by Wall Street Journal.
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