Dave Eberhart and Chuck Noe, NewsMax.com
Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Kerry emphatically told Tim Russert on NBC's “Meet the Press” last weekend that “people” could come on down to his campaign headquarters to eyeball his full file of military records.

“They’re available to you to come and look at. People can come and see them at headquarters and take a look at them,” Kerry told Russert.

Russert had asked Kerry if he would release his complete file, as President Bush did after Democrats raised questions about his service in the Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.

Kerry shot back to Russert’s request, “They are” – indicating the records were already released.

But Kerry has not realeased all his military records, only a small portion, and placed strict limitations on their examination.

This week several individuals and organizations, including NewsMax, followed up on Kerry’s open invitation.

When the media asked to take advantage of Kerry’s offer, however, Kerry's press spokesman Michael Meehan announced that the only records available would be those already released to the Boston Globe.

But the famously pro-Kerry Globe has pointed out that Kerry has never disclosed his full military and medical file to it.

The newspaper reported Tuesday that “the day after John F. Kerry said he would make all of his military records available for inspection at his campaign headquarters, a spokesman said the senator would not release any new documents, leaving undisclosed many of Kerry's evaluations by his Navy commanding officers, some medical records, and possibly other material.”

Thorny Issue

The issue of Kerry’s military records got a fresh infusion of interest and speculation recently when Kerry’s former commanding officer in Vietnam, Lt. Cmdr. Grant Hibbard, questioned a Purple Heart that Kerry received.

A Purple Heart is awarded to a serviceman wounded by enemy fire in combat and who receives medical treatment for his wound.

Hibbard explained that he at first turned down the initial Purple Heart for the young Lt. j.g. Kerry because he had questions as to whether Kerry and his boat crew took enemy fire, and he noted that Kerry’s wound was minor - resembling a fingernail scrape.

"I've had thorns from a rose that were worse," according to Hibbard.

Kerry’s first Purple Heart adventure occurred just 24 hours into his tour of duty.

Kerry was later transferred to Coastal Division 11 at An Thoi in South Vietnam, where apparently Kerry successfully petitioned to have his Purple Heart request reconsidered.

Hibbard recalls getting paperwork from Kerry’s new outfit, asking for his approval, also recalling that he might have signed off on the award in a harried moment.

If so, “it was to my chagrin,” he recollected.

Kerry subsequently got two more Purple Heart awards, qualifying him for an early trip home under informal regulations then in place. He spent four months in the combat zone.

According to the Globe, the Kerry campaign earlier this year showed that publication a document verifying that Kerry was indeed treated for the wound that resulted in the first Purple Heart and that shrapnel was removed.

Meehan has announced that this previously released treatment document would be shown to news organizations, as well as other records previously shared with the Globe, including documents describing Kerry’s actions when he was awarded the Silver Star and two Bronze Stars.

Notably, Kerry's campaign has not released to the Globe, or to anyone else, the formal evaluations from superior officers or his complete, uncensored military file, as President Bush has.

Bush earlier this year released 300 pages of documents after media outlets raised questions about his National Guard service. Those records, which Bush ironically promised to make available during his own appearance in February on “Meet the Press,” included all of the young pilot’s military evaluations and medical records.

Burkett Speaks Out

“Kerry can remove all doubt about his service by signing a U.S. government document referred to as Standard Form 180 -- this in effect is a limited power attorney that grants to third parties, including news organizations and individuals, the right to receive 100 percent of his military and medical records that are available to Mr. Kerry himself,” B.G. Burkett explained to NewsMax.com.

Burkett is a Vietnam historian and author of the best-selling book “Stolen Valor.” Burkett won the Army’s highest civilian award for his research on U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

“This is the only way Senator Kerry can remove doubt and suspicion as to the content of his military and medical file,” Burkett said. “I wouldn’t certainly hope that Sen. Kerry would take this action because there are concerns about the true nature of his short service in Vietnam.”

Kerry was assigned to Swiftboat 44 on Dec. 1, 1968 and within 24 hours he had his first Purple Heart. Accumulating three Purple Hearts in just four months, the young officer never lost appreciable time from duty owing to wounds, according to reports.

According to published reports, the Naval Historical Center maintains all documents connected to such awards to U.S. Navy and Marine personnel.

“Casualty cards” list the date, location and prognosis of the wound for which the Purple Heart is given.

The record is produced by the medical facility that provided treatment for the combat wound. Reportedly, there are two such cards for Kerry - for his slight wounds on Feb. 20 and March 13, 1969 - but none for his December 1968 claim.

Pundits continue to ponder why Kerry’s Purple Heart full military file and medical treatment reports have been withheld from the public. Kerry holds the key.

Gillespie: What Is Kerry Hiding?

Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie stepped up the pressure Tuesday by urging Kerry to keep the promise he made on "Meet the Press" and release the information.

"When President Bush committed to release all his military records on the same program, he kept his word. John Kerry should do the same," Gillespie said in remarks prepared for a Lincoln Day dinner in Lucas County, Ohio.

"Voters aren't stupid, and he shouldn't treat us as if we are."

Kerry Now Says 'Atrocities' Is a 'Bad Word'

Meanwhile, most media continue to ignore another controversy that Russert raised Sunday with the presidential candidate: Kerry's description of himself in 1971 as a war criminal.

The host showed a videotape from the same program 33 years ago in which Kerry said that he and other U.S. troops committed "atrocities" in Vietnam.

A similar but more detailed admission has ended the political career of one-time White House hopeful Bob Kerrey, former Democrat U.S. senator from Nebraska.

"I think the word is a bad word," Kerry said Sunday. "I think it's an inappropriate word. The words were honest, but on the other hand they were a little bit over the top. I don't like it when I hear it today."

Here's what he said in on April 18, 1971:

"There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed."

Editor's note: