A friend of mine works in a camera shop here on Long Island. One of his customers happens to be a former Swift Boat commander. He wrote this letter, and my friend faxed it to me yesterday.
It explains more about how insular the SB crews were, and why the Swifties' charges continue to not add up.
A VETERAN'S COMPLAINT
Dear Sirs,
I observe, with increasing dismay and discomfort, the politicizing of a fellow veteran's honorable service.This, thirty-plus years after the fact, when we should have moved on to the many current problems at hand. Nevertheless, as a former SWIFT BOAT Officer in Charge (PCF-57, Crew 52A, Qui Nhon and Chu Lai FEB 67-FEB 68), I feel compelled to make the following statement.
The nature of Swift Boat combat patrols was that they were independent. My crew knew its own members intimately but spent little time socializing with other crews on patrol. All I knew about other crews and actions was from those crews after the fact. The true history of my experiences in Vietnam could only be given by the members of Crew 52A! Anything else would be hearsay! That, frankly, is what the testimony and ads against John Kerry's Vietnam service are. My Vietnam service was with 5 other men on a 50 foot boat.
Perhaps, as with many other veterans, I have suppressed memories. At this late date I cannot recall the particulars of any event clearly. Impressions are all that remain. When we were involved in the action the sense that enemy fire was coming was often there. There clearly were times when the fire was friendly! For people to argue that there was or was not enemy fire during the heat of the moment 30 years ago is ridiculous! That is invention for political advantage and not truth!
Medals were not given easily or without cause during my tour in Vietnam! Certainly many acts of courage and heroism went unobserved and unrewarded. It had never occurred to me to question any wartime medals, only to respect and honor the recipient. I honor John Kerry for his medals and his heroism as I do all medal recipients.
I wish those Swift Boat Veterans who have joined the anti-Kerry efforts would state what I feel is their legitimiate objection to him, his outspoken anti-war activities after leaving service. I remember, while starting medical school in 1970, being upset by those activities. I must say, time has curiously tempered me towards a more liberal view of those times. The Hippocratic Oath has made me view war as evil and led me to understand John Kerry's stand in 1971.
Sincerely,
Robert C. Johnson, MD
Stony Brook, NY