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SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH CALL ON JOHN KERRY TO STOP UNAUTHORIZED
USE OF PHOTO Kerry Fraudulently Using Picture of Swift Boat Vets who Condemn him in
National Advertising (May
17-Alexandria, VA) Today, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group of more than
220 Swift Boat veterans from the unit in which John Kerry served, call
on Kerry to stop the unauthorized use of their images in national
campaign advertising. For
example, the photo in Kerry’s national campaign ads contains 20
officers, including Kerry, 11 of whom signed a letter condemning Kerry
yet their image is being widely used in his own campaign. It was taken
on the island of An Thoi on January 22, 1969. These officers together
with Swift Boat Veterans for Truth call upon him to cease the
unauthorized use of their photo by his campaign. They are jointly
submitting the attached letter to John Kerry. (Photo, letter to Kerry,
link to authorized use of the photo and earlier letter to Kerry
below.) Of
the remaining eight officers in the photo: two are deceased and four
do not wish to be involved in any manner; only two of the 20 are
believed to support Kerry. William
Shumadine, shown in the photo and a member of Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth, stated, “His use of a photograph with his 19 comrades with
knowledge that 11 of them condemn him and six who cannot or do not
want to be involved is a complete misrepresentation to the public and
a total fraud.” Swift
Boat Veterans for Truth’s sole purpose is to bring the truth about
John Kerry’s service to the American public and is not affiliated
with any political organization. It includes more than 220 Swift vets,
virtually the entire chain of command Kerry reported to and a large
majority of peers who served with him during his short and
controversial stay in Vietnam. The group’s purpose has struck a cord
with the American public with more than two million hits on its
website Swiftvets.com “John
Kerry will find that the truth is hard to contain. It’s been evident
in the overwhelming support we have received over the last two weeks.
We’re grateful to the veterans and Americans who are rallying behind
us,” said Admiral Roy Hoffman, Chairman of Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth. Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth is a Special Purpose Political Action Committee. It is a tax
exempt non-partisan public advocacy “527”organization consisting
of, and limited to, former military officers and enlisted men who
served in Vietnam on U.S. Navy Swift Boats or in affiliated commands.
Chairman, Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann (retired). Treasurer, Weymouth
“Wey” Symmes, PO
Box 26184, Alexandria, VA 22313 www.swiftvets.com
Your
campaign advertising includes a picture of the 20 officers
photographed at An Thoi. We did not give permission for you to use a
photo including our image, nor do we support you. We have, in fact,
signed a letter delivered to you calling on you to authorize the
Department of Defense to release all of your medical and military
records. We call upon you personally to do this. We join our fellow
Swiftees who believe that someone who heaped scorn and lies on his own
unit for his personal political gain is not fit to be Commander in
Chief. Signers
Names in Bold Kneeling
(left to right) William Imbrie (not involved) Skip Barker (for Kerry) Rich Baker (not involved) William
Shumadine Ralph Dobson (for Kerry) Frank Gilbert (deceased) Standing
(left to right) Robert Elder Larry
Thurlow Robert Crosby (deceased) Rich MaCann (not involved) John Kerry Thomas
Heritage George
Bates James
Galvin Terrance
Costello
Back
Row (left to right) William
Houle Michael Bernique (not involved) Robert
“Rocky” Hildreth George
Elliott Al French Picture
after Removing Signers Production and use of photo below courtesy of Wintersoldier.com
Link to
Unauthorized Use of Photo http://www.johnkerry.com/videos/ (“Lifetime” commercial) Letter
to Senator Kerry on May 4, 2004 Senator
Kerry: We
write from our common heritage as veterans of duty aboard Swift Boats in
the Vietnam War. Indeed,
you should note that a substantial number of those men who served
directly with you during your four month tour in Vietnam have signed
this letter. 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. We
believe you continue this conduct today, albeit by changing from an
anti-war to a "war hero" status.
You now seek to clad yourself in the very medals that you
disdainfully threw away in the early years of your political career.
In the process, we believe you continue a deception as to your
own conduct through such tactics as the disclosure of only carefully
screened portions of your military records.
Both then and now, we have concluded that you have deceived the
public, and in the process have betrayed honorable men, to further your
personal political goals. Your
conduct is such as to raise substantive concerns as to your honesty and
your ability to serve, as you currently seek, as Commander-in-Chief of
the military services. It is vital that the American public have as much
information as possible about candidates for President of the United
States. In various ways,
you have rightly called upon President Bush to be fully accountable and
to provide full disclosure. In
the same spirit, now that you are the presumptive nominee of your Party,
we believe it is incumbent upon you to make your total military record
open to the American people. Specifically, we the undersigned formally request
that you authorize the Department of the Navy to independently release
your military records (through your execution of Standard Form 180), complete
and unaltered, including your military medical records.
Further, we call upon you to correct the misconceptions your
campaign seeks to create as to your conduct while in Vietnam.
Permit the American public the opportunity to assess your
military performance upon the record, and not upon campaign rhetoric. Senator Kerry, we were there. We know the truth. We have been silent long enough. The stakes are too great, not only for America in general but, most importantly, for those who have followed us into service in Iraq and Afghanistan. We call upon you to provide a full, accurate accounting of your conduct in Vietnam. For the list
of letter signers, visit www.swiftvets.com
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