[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 53 (Thursday, April 22, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H2338-H2339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        DANGEROUS DUTY FOR KERRY

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, John Kerry volunteered for service in the 
Navy during the Vietnam War where he served as skipper on a swift boat 
that patrolled the Mekong Delta. Navy Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, who devised 
Operation Sea Lord, calculated in his biography that swift boat sailors 
had a 75 percent chance of being killed or wounded during a typical 
war. Under Sea Lord, swift boat duty was one of the most dangerous 
duties you could draw in the entire U.S. Navy. Kerry was wounded three 
times in Vietnam, received three Purple Hearts for those injuries. He 
was also awarded a Silver Star and a Bronze Star for his actions in 
combat.

[[Page H2339]]

  In addition to the individual awards for bravery, Kerry's unit was 
awarded the Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon by President Richard 
Nixon.
  I could go on, but I have to say I am ashamed to hear the statements 
that are being made by Republicans, by my colleagues on the other side, 
talking about Senator Kerry, who served so honorably, who was a 
decorated veteran. And if he decided that he wanted to question the 
Vietnam War after serving in it, that was his right as an American.

                          ____________________