[Rassman
in the Wall Street Journal - an extract]:
When I surfaced, all
the swift boats had left, and I was alone taking fire from both
banks. To avoid the incoming fire, I repeatedly swam under water as
long as I could hold my breath, attempting to make it to the north
bank of the river. I thought I would die right there. The odds were
against me avoiding the incoming fire and, even if I made it out of
the river, I thought I'd be captured and executed. Kerry must have
seen me in the water and directed his driver, Del Sandusky, to turn
the boat around. Kerry's boat ran up to me in the water, bow on, and
I was able to climb up a cargo net to the lip of the deck. But,
because I was nearly upside down, I couldn't make it over the edge
of the deck. This left me hanging out in the open, a perfect target.
John, already wounded by the explosion that threw me off his boat,
came out onto the bow, exposing himself to the fire directed at us
from the jungle, and pulled me aboard.
For his actions that
day, I recommended John for the Silver Star, our country's third
highest award for bravery under fire. I learned only this past
January that the Navy awarded John the Bronze Star with Combat V for
his valor. The citation for this award, signed by the Commander of
U.S. Naval Forces, Vietnam, Vice Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, read,
"Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry's calmness, professionalism
and great personal courage under fire were in keeping with the
highest traditions of the United States Naval Service." To this
day I am grateful to John Kerry for saving my life. And to this day
I still believe that he deserved the Silver Star for his courage.
It has been many
years since I served in Vietnam. I returned home, got married, and
spent many years as a deputy sheriff for Los Angeles County. I
retired in 1989 as a lieutenant. It has been a long time since I
left Vietnam, but I think often of the men who did not come home
with us.
I am neither a
politician nor an organizer. I am a retired police officer with a
passion for orchids. Until January of this year, the only public
presentations I made were about my orchid hobby. But in this
presidential election, I had to speak out; I had to tell the
American people about John Kerry, about his wisdom and courage,
about his vision and leadership. I would trust John Kerry with my
life, and I would entrust John Kerry with the well-being of our
country.
Nobody asked me to
join John's campaign. Why would they? I am a Republican, and for
more than 30 years I have largely voted for Republicans. I
volunteered for his campaign because I have seen John Kerry in the
worst of conditions. I know his character. I've witnessed his
bravery and leadership under fire. And I truly know he will be a
great commander in chief.
Now, 35 years after
the fact, some Republican-financed Swift Boat Veterans for Bush are
suddenly lying about John Kerry's service in Vietnam; they are
calling him a traitor because he spoke out against the Nixon
administration's failed policies in Vietnam. Some of these
Republican-sponsored veterans are the same ones who spoke out
against John at the behest of the Nixon administration in 1971. But
this time their attacks are more vicious, their lies cut deep and
are directed not just at John Kerry, but at me and each of his
crewmates as well. This hate-filled ad asserts that I was not under
fire; it questions my words and Navy records. This smear campaign
has been launched by people without decency, people who don't
understand the bond of those who serve in combat.
...
Does this strategy of
attacking combat Vietnam veterans sound familiar? In 2000, a similar
Republican smear campaign was launched against Sen. McCain. In fact,
the very same communications group, Spaeth Communications, that
placed ads against John McCain in 2000 is involved in these vicious
attacks against John Kerry. Texas Republican donors with close ties
to George W. Bush and Karl Rove crafted this "dishonest and
dishonorable" ad. Their new charges are false; their stories
are fabricated, made up by people who did not serve with Kerry in
Vietnam. They insult and defame all of us who served in Vietnam.
[Las
Vegas Sun article via DailyKos]:
Former U.S. Sen. Chic
Hecht of Nevada is a staunch Republican, but he thanks his lucky
stars for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry of
Massachusetts.
On July 12, 1988,
Hecht was attending a weekly Republican luncheon when a piece of
apple lodged firmly in his throat.
Hecht stumbled out of
the room, thinking he might vomit but not wanting to do it in front
of his colleagues. Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., thumped his back, but Hecht
quickly passed out in the hallway.
Just then, Kerry
stepped off an elevator, rushed to Hecht's side and gave him the
Heimlich maneuver -- four times.
The lifesaving
incident made international news, and Dr. Henry Heimlich, who
invented the maneuver in 1974, called Hecht to say that had Kerry
intervened just 30 seconds later Hecht might have been in a
vegetative state for life.
"This man gave
me my life," the 75-year-old Hecht said Thursday.
Hecht said he was
amazed that Kerry acted so quickly -- some people were assuming that
he was having a heart attack.
"He knew exactly
what to do," he said. "But a lot of people know what to
do. They just don't size up the situation immediately."
The story has a twist
of irony: Hecht was up for re-election that year, and Kerry, who was
serving as the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee, had pegged Hecht as one of the most vulnerable Republican
seats.
Indeed, the
Democratic nominee for Hecht's seat, then-Gov. Richard Bryan, beat
Hecht, who served just one term in office.
"Only in America
can this happen, where he's working against me to get me defeated
and then saves my life," Hecht said.
Hecht, who prides
himself on having one of the most conservative records on the books
during his six years in the Senate, said he and his wife, Gail, see
politics as "a secondary issue" when it comes to Kerry.
"We've had a
wonderful life, and it would have all been down the tubes,"
said Hecht, who is about to celebrate his 45th wedding anniversary
with his wife.
Every year the Hechts
call Kerry's longtime personal secretary, who tracks down Kerry
wherever he is.
Then they recount
some of their experiences in the last year. Hecht and his wife thank
Kerry for thinking so quickly in the Senate halls that day. And
Kerry tells them that their phone call is one of his favorites of
the year.
"He's so nice
and appreciative," Hecht said.
This year Kerry was
taking a day's vacation from campaigning, and he told them that he
thought his campaign was finally gaining momentum.
Some of the Hechts
hope so. Both of Hecht's daughters have attended Kerry events, and
Gail Hecht hopes to travel to California the next time Kerry is
there to voice her support, Hecht said.
Still, Hecht points
out that he and Gail have given the maximum possible contribution to
President Bush's campaign ($2,000 each). Hecht, a longtime
businessman and banker, served as President George H.W. Bush's
ambassador to the Bahamas.
Soon after the Iowa
caucuses, a former Los Angeles county deputy sheriff and Republican
Jim Rassmann stood with Kerry at an event to tell the story of when
Kerry saved his life in the jungles of Vietnam.
Rassmann, a Green
Beret, was ambushed along Bay Hap river, but Kerry, who also had
been injured in the attack, grabbed Rassmann's arm and pulled him to
safety, according to Kerry's website.
On Wednesday, Roll
Call wrote a story about Hecht's incident. So far, Kerry hasn't
asked Hecht to appear at a campaign event, but Hecht said he would
if he were asked.
Hecht won't, however,
say who he would vote for in November if Kerry wins the Democratic
nomination.
