John Kerry
John Kerry is an American politician who served as the 68th U.S. Secretary of State from 2013 to 2017. Kerry enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1966, and between 1968 and 1969, he served an abbreviated four-month tour of duty in South Vietnam as Officer in Charge (OIC) of a Swift Boat. For that service, he was awarded combat medals that include the Silver Star Medal, Bronze Star Medal, and three Purple Heart Medals.
Kerry received his second Purple Heart for a wound received in action on the Bo De River on February 20, 1969. The plan had been for the swift boats to be accompanied by support helicopters. On the way up the Bo De, however, the helicopters were attacked. As the swift boats reached the Cua Lon River, Kerry's boat was hit by a B-40 rocket (rocket-propelled grenade round), and a piece of shrapnel hit Kerry's left leg, wounding him. Thereafter, enemy fire ceased, and his boat reached the Gulf of Thailand safely. Although wounded, like several others earlier that day, Kerry did not lose any time off from duty.
Eight days later, on February 28, 1969, came the events for which Kerry was awarded his Silver Star Medal. Their mission, on the Duong Keo River, included bringing an underwater demolition team and dozens of South Vietnamese Marines to destroy enemy sampans, structures, and bunkers. Running into heavy small arms fire from the river banks, Kerry "directed the units to turn to the beach and charge the Viet Cong positions," and he "expertly directed" his boat's fire causing the enemy to flee while also coordinating the insertion of the 90 South Vietnamese troops.
Moving a short distance upstream, Kerry's boat was the target of a B-40 rocket round. Kerry charged the enemy positions. That was when a Viet Cong insurgent armed with a rocket launcher emerged from a spider hole and ran. While the boat's gunner opened fire, wounding the VC in the leg, the other boats approached to offer cover fire. Kerry jumped from the boat to pursue the VC insurgent, subsequently killing him, and capturing his loaded rocket launcher.
Kerry's Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander George Elliott, stated in 2003 that he did not know whether to court martial Kerry for beaching the boat without orders or to give him a medal for saving the crew.
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