OKAY, THIS HISTORY-INVENTION STUFF IS GETTING SCARY:

John Kerry speaking at a Martin Luther King day celebration in Virginia last year said, quote, “I remember well April 1968, I was serving in Vietnam. A place of violence. When the news reports brought home to me and my crew mates the violence back home and the tragic news that one of the bullets flying that terrible spring took the life of Dr. King.” That date, of Dr. King’s death, was April 4, 1968. According to kerry’s website, it was not until November 17, 1968, that he reported for duty in Vietnam.

Sheesh. This was so unbelievable that I looked for the transcript, which seems to be here. [LATER: Same speech here.] Kerry’s website says he was on the Gridley when King died. (It shows Feb 10, 1968 as when he “requests duty in Vietnam,” but he’s still on the Gridley when it “sets sail” for the U.S. in May). Does that count as “in Vietnam?” Seems like a stretch to me.

UPDATE: A reader says that people who served on the Gridley got Vietnam service medals. (Read this ship’s history for more on what they did.) Meanwhile, Jon Henke emails:

I think it’s fair to assume that the Gridley was “in Vietnam” in a sense. But, I think his statement should have been more precise.

Here’s a more accurate statement, for kicks and grins:
______________________
“I remember well April, 1968 – I was serving in…well, I was serving fairly near Vietnam–a place of violence…or, at least, that’s what I heard in the news reports, which, let me tell you, is scary stuff to hear about from a hundred or so miles away–when the news reports brought home to me and my crewmates stories of the violence back home.

I wasn’t there, either, but it’s like I was. I mean, what with hearing about it on the news reports like that violence in Vietnam, where I almost was.”
______________________

– – -The above parody is for humorous purposes only, to be taken in the same manner in which Kerry’s original statement was intended. A “not literally, but you know what I mean” sort of thing.

Got it. And I’d score this as a stretch, since the image he was trying to provide was a bit different, but not a lie. And as always, the question is — what would the press be doing if a Republican said stuff like this?

ANOTHER UPDATE: A reader with relevant experience agrees that Kerry deserves the benefit of the doubt here:

I am no fan of John Kerry. Far from it.

I know and have served with some of the Swift Vets who have undertaken the effort to get Kerry’s embellishments of his Swift boat days and his later anti-war service made part of the public debate. They are straight talkers who have good reason to be offended by his behavior and by his misrepresentations. I trust them and support their efforts.

On the other hand, I have no problem with the statement that Kerry served two tours in Vietnam – one while serving in the USS Gridley and one with the Swift boats. . . .

Not every Viet Nam vet was a ground combat soldier and the war was not fought completely on land or on the rivers. On shore, off shore, in the air— it was the same war and it was a team effort and it didn’t matter where you were. The military awarded Vietnam Service and Vietnam Campaign medals for service ashore and In the waters adjacent to Vietnam.

To take a contrary view is to diminish the dedicated and sometimes extremely dangerous service of a substantial number of sailors at sea who served well and honorably for months at a time during the war. They earned their Vietnam service and campaign medals.

So cut Kerry some slack on this minor point. There are plenty of other – and much larger -targets of opportunity.

Mark Tempest
Captain, USNR (retired)
Served off Vietnam in USS Pyro (AE-24) 1972

Fair enough. And we’ve gotten to the bottom of this story in under an hour, thanks to the miracle of the blogosphere!

MORE: Or maybe not. Now I’m getting email the other way. Here’s one from my Vietnam-Marine colleague Tom Plank:

Service off shore of Vietnam deserves credit and honor (and Kerry is due that). But to say that “I remember well April 1968, I was serving in Vietnam. A place of violence.” and not point out that one was serving on a ship in the waters off Vietnam is rank dishonesty.

I spent a few days on a ship off the shore in Vietnam and spent months in the “rear” in Da Nang and in the “bush” southwest of Da Nang. There is a big difference between steaming off shore and even serving in the rear, where a trip to the PX or to downtown Da Nang might be an occasion for an ambush.

I do not not cut Kerry slack on this. A out-right lie. If he had left out Vietnam, his statement would have been noble. All of us 50+ folks remember MLK’s death and we were appalled, even before some of us went to Vietnam.

Well, there’s room to disagree on all things Kerry-related, apparently.

LAST UPDATE: Capt. Tempest, reading the above, emails: “Tough audience!” Always. And Philip Carter, who served on the Gridley and maintains the history website linked above, emails:

This is another example of Kerry writing for dramatic effect. It would have been more appropriate for him to say that he was in the South China Sea or the Gulf of Tonkin. We were on Northern SAR duty off of North Vietnam, standing by to rescue downed pilots. We did stop in Danang on the way to station, which spawned a whole other fantasy in TOUR OF DUTY. The book is replete with exaggerated references like this.

While service in the Gulf had its dangers, it does not equate to a tour incountry even though GRIDLEY experienced combat and dead and wounded in the previous tour in 1967. Kerry was not onboard then, being in school on the West Coast.

As I said, I score this one as a stretch, though not actually a lie.