The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: A War Hero or a Phony?

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: A War Hero or a Phony?:

"Did Mr. Kerry volunteer for dangerous duty? Not as much as his campaign would like you to believe. The Kerry Web site declares, 'As he was graduating from Yale, John Kerry volunteered to serve in Vietnam - because, as he later said, 'It was the right thing to do.' '

In fact, as Mr. Kerry was about to graduate from Yale, he was inquiring about getting an educational deferment to study in Europe. When that got nowhere, he volunteered for the Navy, which was much less likely to involve danger in Vietnam than other services. After a year on a ship in the ocean, Mr. Kerry volunteered for Swift boats, but at that time they were used only in Vietnam's coastal waters. A short time later, the Swift boats were assigned exceptionally dangerous duties up Vietnamese rivers. 'When I signed up for the Swift boats, they had very little to do with the war,'' Mr. Kerry wrote in 1986, adding, 'I didn't really want to get involved in the war.' "