Wow...

This one just blew me away. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

The DD214 form, an official Defense Department document summarizing Kerry's military career posted on johnkerry.com, includes a "Silver Star with combat V."

But according to a U.S. Navy spokesman, "Kerry's record is incorrect. The Navy has never issued a 'combat V' to anyone for a Silver Star."

Naval regulations do not allow for the use of a "combat V" for the Silver Star, the third-highest decoration the Navy awards. None of the other services has ever granted a Silver Star "combat V," either.

This is pretty damning, no matter how you look at it. The article goes on to wonder why Kerry has three separate citations for the same medal, and criticizes the fact that, despite requests, about 100 pages of Kerry's military record remain unavailable.

What could that more than 100 pages contain? Questions have been raised about President Bush's drill attendance in the reserves, but Bush received his honorable discharge on schedule. Kerry, who should have been discharged from the Navy about the same time -- July 1, 1972 -- wasn't given the discharge he has on his campaign Web site until July 13, 1978. What delayed the discharge for six years?

This raises serious questions about Kerry's performance while in the reserves that are far more potentially damaging than those raised against Bush. (emphasis mine.)

Does all this mean Kerry lied about the silver star? (Which, by the way, is the one medal I haven't criticized him for.) Not necessarily.

Experts point out that even the official military records get screwed up. Milavic is trying to get mistakes in his own DD214 file corrected. In his opinion, "these entries are not prima facie evidence of lying or unethical behavior on the part of Kerry or anyone else with screwed-up DD214s."

However, the question then remains... If it is simply "a mistake," then why hasn't Kerry set the record straight himself? Frankly, at this point, I find it hard not to blame this on Kerry. It's yet another fabrication in a long list of fabrications about this man's military service. Are we supposed to write them all off as "mistakes"? Meanwhile, the SBVT are continuously called "liars" and worse, yet with every passing day, their version seems much stronger.

Much thanks to antimedia for the link.