Kerry Post-Vietnam

Kerry was a Navy officer while leading the Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

Download Stolen Honor, the movie, here (12.6MB).

Introduction

In 1971, during a protest at the White House, John Kerry threw something over the wall. That is where consistency ends for this story. Right after and on TV, John Kerry said he was returning 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 of his medals. In later years they were seen hanging on his Senate office wall. He then said that the threw ribbons and not medals. At other times he said he was returning other veteran's medals.

wintersoldier.com. A detailed timeline of Vietnam War protest, John Kerry and the Vietnam Veterans Against the War is at wintersoldier timeline. Although John Kerry was released from active duty on January 3, 1970, he was not discharged from the Navy until February 16, 1978. So, throughout John Kerry's primary war protest period and while lying under oath to Congress, he was a US Navy officer.

Kerry's Affect on POWs and the North Vietnamese Army

The North Vietnamese use of John Kerry's words against POWs is documented here. The short story is that Paul Galanti, a Navy pilot, was a captive in the Hanoi Hilton. John Kerry's actions and words were used by Galanti's torturers to try and get him to turn on his fellow POWs.

The positive, motivational effects on the North Vietnamese of the John Kerry and the VVAW is documented in the Vietnamese Communist War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). See Communist Vietnamese Honor John Kerry.

In summary:

John Kerry was released from active duty early to run for the Senate. The same month his discharge paperwork was complete, he dropped out of that race.
John Kerry lied to the public and to Congress in sworn testimony while serving in the Naval Reserves as an officer. Additionally, in violation of federal law, Kerry met with representatives of North Vietnam in Paris.
The testimony provided by Kerry and the actions of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War were used against and to demoralize American Prisoners of War.
To this day, Kerry's picture hangs in a war museum in Ho Chi Min City as a testament to the service he provided the enemy.

Given those facts, one must question whether or not Kerry's actions rose to the level of 'aiding the enemy'. If your answer is Yes, there is one, final question: Should someone who has aided the enemy during time of war be elected the President of the United States and thereby the Command in Chief of our armed forces?

Stolen Valor

Not specific to Kerry, but very informative with respect to how people have damaged the reputation of Vietnam veterans and society as a whole, I suggest: Stolen Valor - How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of its Heroes and its History by B. G. Burkett and Glenna Whitley. It is available at amazon.