Kerry insists veterans lie, blames Bush

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John Kerry yesterday accused Vietnam veterans who say he didn't deserve his combat decorations of lying and blamed President Bush for not denouncing their television commercials laying out their charges.

After two weeks of ignoring the commercials, Mr. Kerry denounced them as "lies about my record."

"They're a front for the Bush campaign, and the fact that the president won't denounce what they're up to tells you everything you need to know," the Massachusetts senator said. "He wants them to do his dirty work."

The veterans said they will run the commercials regardless of what Mr. Bush says, and one of them, Larry Thurlow, stood by his accusation that Mr. Kerry lied about an incident on March 13, 1969, for which Mr. Kerry won the Bronze Star and his third Purple Heart.

Mr. Kerry and his crew mates say their boat came under enemy fire while rescuing an Army Special Forces lieutenant who had fallen off Mr. Kerry's boat.

Del Sandusky, the pilot of Mr. Kerry's Swift boat, said the boat was under fire as it cleared obstructions in the river, then raced back to pick up Jim Rassmann, the Special Forces officer who had tumbled into the water. Mr. Rassmann says he, too, remembers enemy fire.

The Washington Post reported that the citation for a Bronze Star awarded to Mr. Thurlow for heroism in the incident refers to "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire," contradicting his account and bearing out Mr. Kerry's.

The Kerry campaign posted the article from The Post on its Web site, and sent an e-mail to supporters saying the article "completely discredited" Mr. Thurlow and "marks the end of the dishonest and disgusting smear campaign against John Kerry and his crew mates from Vietnam."

Mr. Thurlow said the citation was in error and said an administrative officer must have used Mr. Kerry's description of the events that began when one of five Swift boats hit a mine.

"After the mine exploded, leaving Swift Boat three dead in the water, John Kerry's boat, which was on the opposite side of the river, fled the scene," Mr. Thurlow said.