Kerry Camp Posts His Military Records

In response to pressure, Sen. John F. Kerry’s presidential campaign late Tuesday began posting on its website about 150 pages of military records of his Vietnam-era service in the U.S. Navy, from certification of his medals to evaluations from commanding officers.

Michael Meehan, a senior Kerry advisor, said the wholesale release on the Internet was being done to silence Kerry’s critics.

“We want to make it very clear that Sen. Kerry has nothing to hide, that his record of accomplishment in the military is something he is running on and not running from,” Meehan said.

Conservatives have questioned whether the Massachusetts senator was deserving of the three Purple Hearts, or whether he used minor injuries as a way to take an early exit from Vietnam and, eventually, the military to launch his political career.

Kerry, when asked Sunday during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether he would release all of his military records, said: “I have. I’ve shown them.... People can come and see them at headquarters and take a look at them.”

But Tuesday, Republicans accused the presumptive Democratic nominee of waffling on the records issue. They said that the records so far released were incomplete. The Boston Globe also reported that it was turned away when it sought to review previously undisclosed records at Kerry’s campaign headquarters, including medical records and evaluations by superior officers.

“John Kerry said his records were available. They were not. The Kerry campaign has said the records are available on their website. They are not,” Republican National Committee spokeswoman Christine Iverson said.

“John Kerry needs to stop the word games and set the record straight and make his full and complete military records available to the public immediately.”

Meehan said that Kerry had made records available for reporters, historians and biographers who had requested them throughout the campaign.

“The senator has cooperated in such a fashion for 20 years. He’s shown reporters many personal records. Many books have been written on his time in the military, which have quoted his military documents,” Meehan said.

Aides said Kerry requested a copy of his record from the U.S. Navy last month and received 100 to 200 pages last week. The documents were being compiled and would be fully available on the campaign website by late today, they said.

On Tuesday, the Kerry campaign released nine pages that included documentation for his Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts.

The Kerry camp on Tuesday also released to Associated Press documents that included declassified reports that detailed Kerry’s wounds that led to his Purple Heart awards. They show he had shrapnel wounds in his left thigh after his boat came under intense fire on Feb. 20, 1969, and that he suffered shrapnel wounds in his left buttocks and contusions on his right forearm when a mine detonated close to his boat on March 13, 1969.

The campaign could not locate a similar report for Kerry’s first Purple Heart. As evidence that Kerry was wounded, Meehan showed Associated Press a “Sick Call Treatment Record” from Kerry’s personal files that included a medic’s written note dated Dec. 9, 1968:

“Shrapnel in left arm above elbow. Shrapnel removed and appl bacitracin dressing. Ret to Duty.”

Documentation for the second two injuries shows that Kerry was deemed to be in good condition and returned to active duty after treatment. The documentation does not describe the severity of the injuries.

A third Purple Heart meant Kerry could be reassigned out of Vietnam, and a document dated March 17, 1969, said Kerry requested duty as a personal aide in Boston, New York or the Washington, D.C., area.

Also to be included in the newly released documents are written reviews from Kerry superiors. “Sen. Kerry was an exemplary member of the U.S. Navy, as is shown in these records,” Meehan said. “But you be the judge.”

Kerry served two tours of duty between 1966 and 1970.

During the Vietnam War, Bush served in the Texas Air National Guard, but did not see combat. This February, Bush was asked on “Meet the Press” to release his military records in an effort to end speculation that he did not complete his military obligation.

Among the documents White House officials subsequently released were pay records that they said proved Bush appeared for duty with the Guard in Alabama in late 1972, a period that the president’s critics had focused on in raising questions about his service. The White House said the records accounted for his full military record.

But critics say the documents do not establish that Bush showed up for all the required duty during a temporary assignment in Alabama, or explain why he was not observed on the air base in Texas when he returned.