Swift Vet Thurlow wrestles with his past

Swift Boater Larry Thurlow's military records contradict his anti-Kerry statements:

In newspaper interviews and a best-selling book, Larry Thurlow, who commanded a Navy Swift boat alongside Kerry in Vietnam, has strongly disputed Kerry's claim that the Massachusetts Democrat's boat came under fire during a mission in Viet Cong-controlled territory on March 13, 1969. Kerry won a Bronze Star for his actions that day.

But Thurlow's military records, portions of which were released yesterday to The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act, contain several references to "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire" directed at "all units" of the five-boat flotilla. Thurlow won his own Bronze Star that day, and the citation praises him for providing assistance to a damaged Swift boat "despite enemy bullets flying about him."

(snip)

A document recommending Thurlow for the Bronze Star noted that all his actions "took place under constant enemy small arms fire which LTJG THURLOW completely ignored in providing immediate assistance" to the disabled boat and its crew. The citation states that all other units in the flotilla also came under fire.

This isn't as damning as some would like to think. Thurlow didn't sign his own Bronze Star recommendation, and he claims his award would be "fraudulent" if it was award on the basis of enemy fire. It does show, however, that George Elliot, also a Swift Boater, signed the recommendations that claim enemy fire during the incident in question, but he has silenced himself since the whole retraction incident reported in the Boston Globe. It is still the word of the Navy against that of the Swift Boaters.

Thurlow sticks to his claim that he never heard a shot that night, which makes me start to wonder if the guy may have been deaf at that point in his life.