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March 22, 2004

John Kerry`s 1971 statement

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John Forbes Kerry served as a Navy Leuitenant in Vietnam in 1968-1969. He was awarded a Silver Star, as well as a Purple Heart with two clusters. Upon returning to the US, he was asked to act as a representative for a group called Vietnam Veterans Against the War. On April 23, 1971 he spoke on behalf of the VVAW to the Senate Committee of US Foreign Relations. His discoure was eloquent, informed, and well received. His voice was steady and his posture confident, and his every movement belied his age of 27. This was one of many anti-war activities in which Kerry took part during the Vietnam War. The following day, for instance, Kerry and other veterans threw medals, awards and ribbons over a fence at the United States Capitol building to protest the war.

CLICK HERE to read the comments made by a 27 year old John Kerry before the Senate Committee of US Foreign Relations on April 23, 1971.

“I would like to talk on behalf of all those veterans and say that several months ago in Detroit we had an investigation at which over 150 honorably discharged, and many very highly decorated, veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia. These were not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command. It is impossible to describe to you exactly what did happen in Detroit - the emotions in the room and the feelings of the men who were reliving their experiences in Vietnam. They relived the absolute horror of what this country, in a sense, made them do…” MORE
This transcript was made available by C-Span. John Kerry has been made available by the Democratic Party. Take advantage.