Swift boat sailors back Kerry

By Kevin Maurer

Two swift boat sailors who served with Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry told supporters Saturday in Fayetteville that Kerry would not sacrifice American service members.

Skip Barker, a former swift boat commander, said Kerry would not rush American soldiers into combat. He said when a friend is killed in combat, you are always left to wonder whether it was worth your friend’s life.

"The answer has got to be yes. And before John Kerry sends our children and grandchildren, he will know the answer to that question," Barker said. "He will not do it to change the regime of a foreign country he doesn’t like."

About 200 Kerry supporters attended the rally at Rowan Park. Speakers included U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, who told the crowd that a Kerry administration would never send troops to battle ill equipped and without an exit plan.

Many of the Kerry supporters were bused in from Chapel Hill. Supporters held signs and wore T-shirts supporting the candidate. A popular sticker said: "Clinton lied. Nobody died. Bush lied. Our troops die."

Thad Monroe, who grew up in Fayetteville but now lives in Chapel Hill, said this election is the most important of his life. He is 75.

He and Perry Young, a 63-year-old former UPI reporter, said none of the lessons learned during Vietnam are being heeded. Young reported from Vietnam during the Tet offensive in 1968.

"Bush’s foreign policy has left us in a terrible position," Monroe said.

Both said Bush blundered into Iraq and has alienated the other nations. "He has embarrassed our beloved country," Young said.

The war in Iraq was at the forefront of the speeches. "The first thing that he is going to do is clean up that mess in Iraq," said Del Sandusky, a crew member on Kerry’s swift boat.

Sandusky and Barker said Kerry was a smart, compassionate leader. Barker urged the supporters to do what they can to help Kerry win. "I think our country needs him."

Both defended Kerry’s war record, which has become a point of contention. Kerry was awarded Silver and Bronze stars and three Purple Hearts in Vietnam.

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is attacking Kerry’s version of events and saying he did not deserve the medals.

Sandusky said the group is telling lies. Kerry needed surgery for two of the three wounds he received in Vietnam, Sandusky said. He also said crew members on Kerry’s boat were never interviewed by the group for its commercial.

"They can tell all of the lies they want to, but I am still standing by John Kerry," he said.

Other political rallies

Two other political rallies were held at the park, including one for Michael Badnarik, the Libertarian candidate for president. "This is the one candidate running for president that is actually against the war," said Brian Irving, chairman of the Cumberland County Libertarian Party and a candidate for the state Senate.

Ted Sampley led a vocal counter rally from Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry. The group does not support Bush and is only interested in making sure Kerry does not become president, Sampley said.

He said Kerry "forfeited the right to be commander-in-chief" when he began protesting the war in Vietnam. Sampley said Kerry’s comments about soldiers in Vietnam being war criminals were an insult. "I never witnessed anything like that. It was very painful for me to hear," he said.

Sampley and his supporters heckled and chanted throughout the speeches. Sampley, a Vietnam veteran who fought with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in April 1966 and as a Green Beret in 1969, yelled, "Kerry lied while good men died" and "Kerry is a traitor."

Barker, the swift boat commander, said it took courage for Kerry to protest the war and said Vietnam veterans are misinterpreting his actions. He said Kerry did not mean it as a personal assault.

Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry angered Kerry supporters when they interrupted a moment of silence. Sampley said it was difficult to hear what was going on because their rally was relegated to an area across the street by Fayetteville police. He said his group waited until after the playing of the national anthem before it started its protest, and would have been quiet had he known there was a moment of silence.

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