This past Sunday on “Meet the Press,” Sen. John Kerry pledged to release all his available military records, a la President Bush. Kerry’s vow came in the wake of a controversy that followed a April 14 Boston Globe article which reported that Lieutenant Commander Grant Hibbard, at one time Kerry’s commanding officer in Vietnam, now questions the legitimacy of Kerry’s first Purple Heart, an award given to those wounded in battle. (Kerry received three Purple Hearts in Vietnam before he was re-assigned in accordance with Navy policy at the time.) Hibbard questioned the severity of the shrapnel wound Kerry incurred, and whether it was even inflicted by enemy forces — a criticism that has been picked up and regurgitated by Kerry’s Republican opponents.
Some papers this morning focused on Hibbard’s skepticism about the nature of the wound, as the Chicago Tribune did:
Kerry, who was awarded three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star as well as the Bronze Star, has recently been criticized by one veteran for not suffering a wound serious enough to earn his first Purple Heart.
The New York Times emphasized the question of whether the injury was enemy-inflicted:
Last week, The Globe quoted Mr. Kerry’s former commander, Lt. Cmdr. Grant Hibbard, as saying he and others had questioned whether Mr. Kerry had actually taken enemy fire.
But no one asked what exactly are the criteria for receiving a Purple Heart. So we did. Lt. Mike Kafka, a spokesman with the Navy Office of Information (CHINFO) in Washington D.C., told us three pertinent facts:
1 — No soldier determines if he is eligible for a Purple Heart; only his commander can determine that specific U.S. Navy criteria have been met for the award. Hibbard told the Globe that while he was skeptical at the time as to whether Kerry came under enemy fire and whether he was even wounded, at the time he dropped the matter and told Kerry “do whatever you want.” But that’s not enough for any soldier to be awarded a Purple Heart; that requires the recommendation of a commander; and Hibbard was the commander. It is unclear as to whether another commander stepped in or Hibbard finally signed on to the Purple Heart.
2 — The severity of the injury, which the Chicago Tribune dwells upon, apparently does not bear on whether a soldier qualifies for a Purple Heart. Paragraph 4 of the “Purple Heart Criteria for U.S. Navy” states that “a wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under one or more of the conditions listed in paragraph 2 [in 1968, those were: in action against the enemy, or as a result of action by “any hostile foreign force”]. A physical lesion is not required; however, the wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by a medical officer…” Kerry’s wound was treated by a medical officer, who removed the shrapnel and applied an antiseptic.
3 — Whether the injury is related to enemy fire, which the Times chose to emphasize, is germane to the question at hand. Enemy fire is essential for any soldier to receive a Purple Heart. A training accident doesn’t qualify. Paragraph 3 of “Purple Heart Criteria for U.S. Navy” defines “enemy-related injuries” as those incurred when a solider is “struck by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action.”
A further issue of contention in Kerry’s military record is the candidate’s reassignment to the rear after receiving three Purple Hearts. While all the papers have correctly reported that this did, in fact, occur, there appears to be a disagreement as to whether Kerry was ordered out of Vietnam, or if he submitted a request to be moved off the front.
For example, today’s Chicago Tribune writes that after Kerry received three Purple Hearts, “he requested and eventually was granted a transfer out of Vietnam …”
Similarly, USA Today‘s version noted that Kerry’s Purple Hearts “allowed him to apply for early departure from Vietnam.”
Conversely, today’s New York Times took a stronger tone, writing “as was the custom” Kerry “was ordered out of Vietnam” after earning his third Purple Heart.
The policy in question, the impenetrably-named BUPERS Instruction 1300.39, is no longer in place. During Vietnam, it mandated that any soldier “wounded three times, regardless of the nature of the wound or treatment required” should be “reassigned as having completed a full Vietnam tour with the hospital release date considered the tour completion date. They will not be ordered to Vietnam …”
Furthermore, the official U.S. Navy document states that, “The commanding officer of an officer who is hospitalized and/or wounded under the above criteria will advise the Chief of Naval Personnel (Pers-B1) of the officer’s location, duty status, and expected duration of hospitalization. Reassignment of the officer will be determined after consideration of his physical classification and on an individual basis.”
An additional, virtually unreported section of the Navy code, notes that any soldier wishing to “waive reassignment under the purview of this Instruction must forward a written request to that effect to the Chief of Naval personnel (Pers-B) for final determination.”
Kerry, of course, chose not to waive this order, and his commanding officers request for re-assignment can be viewed (PDF file) on the candidate’s Web site.
For a complete and accurate description of Kerry’s Thrice Wounded Reassignment, Campaign Desk directs its readers to the Associated Press, which, this time, gets it exactly right where others got it wrong :
After the third Purple Heart, the Navy was required to reassign Kerry out of Vietnam, and a document dated March 17, 1969, said Kerry requested duty as a personal aide in Boston, New York or the Washington area. Kerry could have volunteered to stay in Vietnam, but left the country in early April 1969.
Sadly, this story has already been wounded in action — let’s hope it recovers quickly.
–Thomas Lang
Thomas Lang was a writer at CJR Daily.