Dave Eberhart, NewsMax.com
Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2004
A former Vietnam War prisoner of war charges that as
he was being tortured by his communist captors, John
Kerry was preying on his family to denounce the United
States.
The new allegation against Kerry is made in the
controversial documentary �?Stolen Honor: Wounds that
Never Heal�? by James H. Warner, a former Marine Corps
naval flight officer who won the Silver Star after
spending more than five years in a North Vietnamese
prison.
Warner�?s sensational charge against Kerry is just one
of the fresh allegations that Kerry did more than
protest U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War �? he also
worked to help the North Vietnamese by getting
families of POWs to criticize the U.S. government.
When Capt. James (Jim) Howie Warner was shot down on
Oct. 13, 1967, he could hardly have known at the time
that his pain and suffering wwould be enhanced by a
recently discharged naval officer-turned-war protester
named John Kerry.
As Warner suffered brutal treatment in Vietnam, young
Kerry was helping to organize the infamous Winter
Soldier hearings held in Detroit, Mich., at the end of
January and into early February of 1971.
Warner recounts that Kerry personally recruited his
grieving mother to testify at the Winter Soldier
hearings �? testimony that Warner was confronted and
taunted with while in captivity, testimony that later
appeared in John Kerry�?s infamous wartime book, �?The
New Soldier.�?
In �?Stolen Honor,�? Warner says, �?They showed me a
transcript of testimony that my mother had given at
the Winter Soldier hearing. I read her testimony; it
was not particularly damning, but I wondered how did
someone persuade her? Then they showed me a statement
by John Kerry. I know that he did talk to her and my
sisters. It is really a contemptible act to take a
grieving old lady and prey upon her grief and
manipulate her grief purely for the promotion of your
own political agenda.�?
In his interview with NewsMax, Warner�?s anger toward
Kerry for involving his family is still very much
alive and well: �?There�?s not a single thing Kerry has
done �? except to marry a rich woman �? that didn�?t show
bad judgment.�?
From his Winter Soldier hearings, which have largely
been discredited by historians, Kerry gained national
publicity for himself and furthered the anti-war
cause. The POWs claim Kerry and his fellow anti-war
protesters helped prolong the war �? and their brutal
captivity �? by two years or more.
For his efforts, Kerry has been lauded in Vietnam and
is featured as one of the Vietnamese communists'
heroes in their national war museum.
Warner says that while Kerry was having his various
dialogues with the enemy in Paris and using Warner�?s
family for his ends, he still could have intervened to
help the POWs.
Warner says with some anguish that Kerry didn't �?even
ask them to stop the torture. While he was making
friends, why didn�?t he do something to get us letter
privileges with our families? My mother didn�?t know if
I was alive or dead.�?
B.G. Burkett, Vietnam historian and author of �?Stolen
Valor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of Its
Heroes and Its History,�? tells NewsMax that Warner�?s
family was not alone in their experience.
Burkett said that Kerry�?s Winter Soldier group
contacted the families of several POWs to denounce the
United States.
�?It�?s a pretty horrendous thing, these family members
being called by Kerry or his group while their son or
husband is being tortured in a Hanoi prison,�? Burkett
said. �?And the message to the POW families was clear:
If you speak out against the U.S., the communists will
go easy on your loved one.�?
Burkett said the effort to involve the POW families in
the anti-war movement was one of the most �?evil things
Kerry and his group ever did.�?
When Virginia Warner did testify, she did not denounce
the U.S. but she spoke as a mother would: �?My name is
Virginia Warner, and I am the mother of James Warner,
who has been a prisoner in Vietnam, North Vietnam,
since 1967 in October. I'm here to ask the American
people to help get this thing over with.�?
Having his mother�?s testimony included with the
"testimony" of those who claimed to be veterans, with
the left-wing activists present, gave a dignity to the
whole proceeding that it did not merit, Warner argues.
Kerry�?s work on behalf of North Vietnam and his use of
Warner�?s mother were not overlooked by Warner�?s
communist captors.
A Captor Taunts the Marine Aviator
In a recent essay, Warner writes about the interchange
between himself and one of his tormenting captors �? a
man he refers to as �?Boris.�?
�?Then Boris reached behind his back and pulled out
some clippings from a left wing newspaper in the U.S.
He showed me several articles about an event, which
had been held in Detroit, called 'The Winter Soldier
Hearings.' He left me to read the articles while he
left the room. The articles reported alleged
"testimony" from people who claimed to be Viet-Nam
veterans who allegedly claimed that they had done
things which, if true, would have [led] to courts
martial for each of them.
�?Suddenly, I read an article about my mother
testifying. Unlike the leftists, she did not condemn
the U.S., she merely stated that she hoped the war
would end soon and I would be released. The next
article mentioned testimony from my father. His was
like my mother's testimony, merely expressing hope
that the war would end soon and that all who suffered
from war would find relief. Nothing they said fit with
the virulent anti-American sentiments that the
leftists had expressed. But having their testimony
included in with the �?testimony�? of those who claimed
to be veterans, and the left wing activists present,
seemed to give a dignity to the whole proceeding which
it did not merit.�?
Boris told Warner to note especially the former U.S.
military officer who had accused American soldiers of
war crimes.
�?�?This man was an officer in your navy. He says that
the war is illegal, immoral and unjust. Read what he
says.�?
�?I read the words of John Kerry. What John Kerry said,
according to the clippings, was that the U.S. should
abandon South East Asia, unilaterally and immediately.
This, of course, would not only leave the Prisoners of
War in the hands of the communists, but far worse,
there was not a sane person in the universe who did
not know that the instant the countries of South East
Asia were abandoned, the blood bath would begin.�?
Warner wondered why Kerry did what he did.
�?When John Kerry said that Vietnam vets were
criminals, did he not know that the communists would
use his words against the POWs?�? Warner asked. �?He
feels insulted when someone questions his patriotism.
What other conclusion would you come to, if you were
in my shoes? Kerry, from what I read, did not
criticize the tactics or strategy we were using in
Vietnam. If that was what he wanted to say, I am sure
that most Vietnam vets, who saw first hand that
McNamara's strategy was foolish, would have agreed
with him.�?
Warner is just one of 17 POWs who appear in "Stolen
Honor" and who accuse John Kerry of betrayal.
Warner is frustrated that his story, and that of the
other POWs, is being denied to the American people and
efforts have been made to stop Sinclair Broadcasting
from airing the documentary.
�?They should have read the McCain-Feingold law that
most of them voted for,�? Warner says. �?In the black
letter law of the act, the restrictions do not apply
to one who owns or operates a media outlet.�?
Burkett argues that new revelations, such as Kerry�?s
use of POW families, need to be revealed to the
American people before they make a historic decision
on Election Day.
�?These POWs more than anyone else have a right to be
heard and should be heard by all Americans,�? Burkett
told NewsMax, adding, �?They each spent additional
months if not years in prison because of John Kerry.�?
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