The Washington Post reported that Former Senator Bob Kerrey has acknowledged his role in the killing of more than a dozen Vietnamese civilians at the village of Thanh Phong in 1969. He is coming forth now to pre-empt a story that has a more critical accounting of happened. He had kept quiet for over 32 years and is just now speaking out about what happened in that village.
      "I was so ashamed I wanted to die," the Medal of Honor winner told the Wall Street Journal. "This is killing me. I am tired of people describing me as a hero and holding  this inside."
      In brief here is what he is talking about: Kerrey maintains that his Navy SEAL unit killed the civilians inadvertently, after believing they were fired upon in the village of Thanh Phong on February 25, 1969. "We returned the fire, but when the fire stopped, we found that we had killed only women, children and older men. It was not a military victory. It was a tragedy, I had ordered it. I could never make my own peace with what happened that night. I have been haunted by it for 32 years." Kerrey said.
     In other reports, a senior commando in Kerrey's Navy SEAL unit, Gerhard Klann, says that at Kerrey's order the unit rounded up and killed unarmed women and children, and that "a baby as the last one alive."
     The unit had expended 1,200 rounds of ammunition, according to the after action report filed by the unit to superior officers.
    "Kerrey stated in an CNN interview, "I have never been able to justify what we did, either militarily, or certainly not morally." 
      Kerrey fully denies Klann's account that civilians were rounded up, telling NBC's Tom Brokaw: "it is entirely possible that all kinds of other memories can come out of that night, but I would remember if we pulled these people...into a group and killed them at point blank range, and that did not happen."
      Backing up Kerrey's statements was Michael Ambrose, a Huston executive who served with Kerrey. He stated that Klann's account is "the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life. It is untrue in ever sense of the word."

                 SO WHAT REALLY HAPPENED BACK IN 1969?

   Questions remain as what really happened and who is telling the truth. That is an issue that others will need to decide and discuss. My concern is the possible backlash that this story might create. This just gives the public another tale of babies and women being killed by Vietnam Vets. This is not the kind of news we need to give to a public who are too quick to believe that MOST OF US WERE BABY KILLERS!
    Sen. Kerrey was one of our most prominent Nam heroes. He rode that hero image all the way into the Senate and was trying to make it to the Whitehouse; now that he has given an acknowledgement of having ordered the killing of those in the village (intentional, or not) his reputation is tainted, or worse. 
    Kerrey's style of politics has always been to present himself as the one politician who was willing to speak out on difficult truths - so where was this issue hiding? He only spoke out to address this after the story had already been broken. It was more damage control, than any confession motivated by guilt, or truth. 
      We needed Sen. Bob Kerrey to be what his image was. He was good for all Nam veterans. He helped the public become more supportive of veterans issues and veterans as human beings. Now that he has been dragged down to the level of a baby killer - all of us veterans should be concerned. We did not need to give those former peace freaks who protested against us and the war, any more weapons. We do not need Jane Fonda, or anyone else telling us that they were right all along about us. This whole thing stinks! Bob let us down hard. Falling off that high place of honor hurt not only his reputation, but in some sense, hurt every veteran. We all lose on this news, regardless of what really happened - women and children were killed!

CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS TO TEACH LESSONS OF VIETNAM WAR
Lawmakers and veteran groups meet at the California Vietnam Veteran's Memorial to announce a curriculum for middle school students about the Vietnam War area. The curriculum includes books, lessons plans, film, posters etc. This was created in response to requests from teachers nationwide. 

Jan Scruggs, President of the Vietnam veterans Memorial Fund, helped create the curriculum for high school students in 1999. Now, this month, 12,544 curriculum kits were mailed out to middle schools across the nation. 

TOMAHAWK REUNION SET FOR SACRAMENTO MAY 26, 27 & 28 2000
It is not too late to book a room at the special rates for the Sacramento Tomahawk Reunion, however, getting a room now becomes more difficult each week. Click on the Reunion link for more information