John Kerry VVAW controversy
Encyclopedia
Senator John Kerry
, the Democratic candidate for President of the United States
in 2004, first came to national prominence through his spokesman role for Vietnam Veterans Against the War
(VVAW) before the US Congress.
In 1971, when Kerry was 27 years old, he represented VVAW when he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The next day, H. R. Haldeman
, chief of staff to President
Richard Nixon
, told Nixon that Kerry had done "a superb job" in denouncing the Nixon administration's policy.
Nixon, agreeing that Kerry had been "extremely effective", resolved to discredit him.
VVAW consisted of veterans whom, like Kerry, had served in Vietnam
, and opposed American involvement in the Vietnam War
.
During the course of his Presidential campaign, as well as his previous campaigns for senatorial seats, his work with VVAW was raised as a subject of controversy. During his campaigns for political office, he was charged with making inconsistent statements about two events in 1971: an antiwar demonstration at the United States Capitol in April, and a series of VVAW meetings in Missouri in 1971.
that they had "raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam...", and their testimony that war crimes had happened "on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command."
On April 23, 1971 John Kerry and other veterans threw their medals, ribbons, discharge papers, photographs, citations and articles of their uniforms over a fence at the Capitol building
at Washington, D.C.
in protest. One disabled veteran even threw his cane. The stated purpose of the demonstration was to show that this protesting group of veterans thought the war was unjust, and that the administration had betrayed them.
Thomas Oliphant, a Boston Globe reporter who was present that day, described the scene as follows:
Kerry contends, however, that he has always been consistent in re-telling what he did that day in protest. In an April 2004 television interview, Kerry described the ribbon/medal tossing issue as "a phony controversy".http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-04-26-kerry-medals_x.htm
in July. From November 12 to November 15, 1971, the group met in Kansas City, Missouri
. At this meeting, a VVAW member named Scott Camil
advocated the assassination
of certain politicians who favored continuing the war, including Senators Strom Thurmond
, John Stennis, and John Tower
. Some claim the idea was quickly shouted down and was never seriously discussed.
Years later, Kerry claimed he did remember the meeting in St. Louis, where acrimonious discussions had contributed to his decision to resign from VVAW. He said, however, that he did not recall attending the Kansas City meeting, and thought that he had already resigned by then. Some people who were at the Kansas City meeting claim that he was not there. Historian Gerald Nicosia, recounting the history of the antiwar movement in his book Home to War, stated that Kerry said he had resigned from VVAW at the St. Louis meeting.
In 2004, however, Nicosia said that new FBI documents included a report from an unnamed confidential source. The source recounted Kerry’s resignation at a VVAW meeting, but placed the event at the meeting in Kansas City rather than at the one in St. Louis. In response, Kerry’s office reiterated Kerry's claim that he did not remember being at the later meeting, but added, "If there are valid FBI surveillance reports from credible sources that place some of those disagreements in Kansas City, we accept that historical footnote in the account of his work to end the difficult and divisive war."
VVAW member Randy Barnes was also quoted in the media as having seen Kerry at the Kansas City meeting. Thereafter, however, he said that he had thought that Kansas City was first but now realized that St. Louis was first. He concluded that he might have been confusing the two Missouri meetings.
The focus on the Kansas City meeting arises because of Camil’s suggestion of violence. (Camil himself has said that he does not remember seeing Kerry at that meeting.) No one has contended that Kerry himself ever supported violent action. Instead, he is remembered as having advocated moderation, nonviolence and work within the system. Kerry claims he resigned partly because he was uncomfortable with the radicalism of some VVAW members, and partly because he wanted to run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives
, which he did in 1972.
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, the Democratic candidate for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in 2004, first came to national prominence through his spokesman role for Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Vietnam Veterans Against the War is a tax-exempt non-profit organization and corporation, originally created to oppose the Vietnam War. VVAW describes itself as a national veterans' organization that campaigns for peace, justice, and the rights of all United States military veterans...
(VVAW) before the US Congress.
In 1971, when Kerry was 27 years old, he represented VVAW when he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The next day, H. R. Haldeman
H. R. Haldeman
Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman was an American political aide and businessman, best known for his service as White House Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon and for his role in events leading to the Watergate burglaries and the Watergate scandal – for which he was found guilty of conspiracy...
, chief of staff to President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, told Nixon that Kerry had done "a superb job" in denouncing the Nixon administration's policy.
Nixon, agreeing that Kerry had been "extremely effective", resolved to discredit him.
VVAW consisted of veterans whom, like Kerry, had served in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, and opposed American involvement in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
During the course of his Presidential campaign, as well as his previous campaigns for senatorial seats, his work with VVAW was raised as a subject of controversy. During his campaigns for political office, he was charged with making inconsistent statements about two events in 1971: an antiwar demonstration at the United States Capitol in April, and a series of VVAW meetings in Missouri in 1971.
Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
John Kerry testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, April 22, 1971. The most explosive allegation was his description of testimony by Vietnam veterans at the Winter Soldier InvestigationWinter Soldier Investigation
The "Winter Soldier Investigation" was a media event sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War from January 31, 1971 – February 2, 1971. It was intended to publicize war crimes and atrocities by the United States Armed Forces and their allies in the Vietnam War...
that they had "raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam...", and their testimony that war crimes had happened "on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command."
Demonstration at the Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
at Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in protest. One disabled veteran even threw his cane. The stated purpose of the demonstration was to show that this protesting group of veterans thought the war was unjust, and that the administration had betrayed them.
Thomas Oliphant, a Boston Globe reporter who was present that day, described the scene as follows:
As he neared the spot from which members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War were parting with a few of the trappings of their difficult past to help them face their future more squarely, I watched Kerry reach with his right hand into the breast pocket of his fatigue shirt. The hand emerged with several of the ribbons that most of the vets had been wearing that unique week of protest, much as they are worn on a uniform blouse.
[. . .]
At the spot where the men were symbolically letting go of their participation in the war, the authorities had erected a wood and wire fence that prevented them from getting close to the front of the US Capitol, and Kerry paused for several seconds. We had been talking for days -- about the war, politics, the veterans' demonstration -- but I could tell Kerry was upset to the point of anguish, and I decided to leave him be; his head was down as he approached the fence quietly.
In a voice I doubt I would have heard had I not been so close to him, Kerry said, as I recall vividly, "There is no violent reason for this; I'm doing this for peace and justice and to try to help this country wake up once and for all."
With that, he didn't really throw his handful toward the statue of John Marshall, America's first chief justice. Nor did he drop the decorations. He sort of lobbed them, and then walked off the stage.
Some people have written secondhand accounts of that day stating that Kerry at that moment also threw "medals" that had been given to him by a couple of vets who were not there. I remember Kerry doing that later in the day after the event had broken up. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/04/27/i_watched_kerry_throw_his_war_decorations/
Later controversy
Some critics have contended that the reports vary about what decorations Kerry returned in 1971, and demonstrate inconsistency on Kerry's part .Kerry contends, however, that he has always been consistent in re-telling what he did that day in protest. In an April 2004 television interview, Kerry described the ribbon/medal tossing issue as "a phony controversy".http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-04-26-kerry-medals_x.htm
The Kansas City VVAW meeting
In 1971, VVAW was holding quarterly meetings and met in different cities, including St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
in July. From November 12 to November 15, 1971, the group met in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. At this meeting, a VVAW member named Scott Camil
Scott Camil
Scott Camil is a noted political activist. He first gained prominence as an opponent of the Vietnam War, as a witness in the Winter Soldier Investigation and a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War....
advocated the assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of certain politicians who favored continuing the war, including Senators Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
, John Stennis, and John Tower
John Tower
John Goodwin Tower was the first Republican United States senator from Texas since Reconstruction. He served from 1961 until his retirement in January 1985, after which time he was the chairman of the Reagan-appointed Tower Commission that investigated the Iran-Contra Affair. He was George H. W...
. Some claim the idea was quickly shouted down and was never seriously discussed.
Years later, Kerry claimed he did remember the meeting in St. Louis, where acrimonious discussions had contributed to his decision to resign from VVAW. He said, however, that he did not recall attending the Kansas City meeting, and thought that he had already resigned by then. Some people who were at the Kansas City meeting claim that he was not there. Historian Gerald Nicosia, recounting the history of the antiwar movement in his book Home to War, stated that Kerry said he had resigned from VVAW at the St. Louis meeting.
In 2004, however, Nicosia said that new FBI documents included a report from an unnamed confidential source. The source recounted Kerry’s resignation at a VVAW meeting, but placed the event at the meeting in Kansas City rather than at the one in St. Louis. In response, Kerry’s office reiterated Kerry's claim that he did not remember being at the later meeting, but added, "If there are valid FBI surveillance reports from credible sources that place some of those disagreements in Kansas City, we accept that historical footnote in the account of his work to end the difficult and divisive war."
VVAW member Randy Barnes was also quoted in the media as having seen Kerry at the Kansas City meeting. Thereafter, however, he said that he had thought that Kansas City was first but now realized that St. Louis was first. He concluded that he might have been confusing the two Missouri meetings.
The focus on the Kansas City meeting arises because of Camil’s suggestion of violence. (Camil himself has said that he does not remember seeing Kerry at that meeting.) No one has contended that Kerry himself ever supported violent action. Instead, he is remembered as having advocated moderation, nonviolence and work within the system. Kerry claims he resigned partly because he was uncomfortable with the radicalism of some VVAW members, and partly because he wanted to run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, which he did in 1972.
Accounts of different recollections of Kansas City meeting
- Boston Globe article
- Wall Street Journal article
- Patrick J. Buchanan article
- New York Sun article retrieved 12/26/2008