Navy Inspector General Report On Medals
In September 2004, Vice Admiral Ronald A. Route, the Navy Inspector General, completed a review of Kerry's combat medals, initiated at the request of Judicial Watch. In a memo to the Secretary of the Navy, Gordon England, Route stated:
| “ | Our examination found that existing documentation regarding the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals indicates the awards approval process was properly followed. In particular, the senior officers who awarded the medals were properly delegated authority to do so. In addition, we found that they correctly followed the procedures in place at the time for approving these awards Conducting any additional review regarding events that took place over 30 years ago would not be productive. The passage of time would make reconstruction of the facts and circumstances unreliable, and would not allow the information gathered to be considered in the context of the time in which the events took place. |
” |
On September 23, 2004, Judicial Watch appealed on the basis that "no specific documentary examples … were cited or offered as exhibits" in the Navy Inspector General's letter of reply to Judicial Watch. Judicial Watch also filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documentation of the investigation. On October 4, 2004 the Navy Inspector General's office responded with documentation of the investigation.
Included within the Navy Inspector General's documentation was a discussion of the duplicate medal citations Kerry had received in 1985:
| “ | …t is apparent that duplicate citations issued under then-Secretary Lehman's and others' signatures in June 1985 were in response to a request from Senator Kerry or his office. … here is considerable correspondence indicating efforts over the years to chase down various citations, etc. The citations under Secretary Lehman's name appear to have been signed by a machine, which would explain why he now doesn't recall any involvement. | ” |
In an October 5, 2004 letter to Judicial Watch, Secretary England deferred to the Navy Inspector General's authority as the investigating officer, and declined to initiate a separate review.
On October 12, 2004, Judicial Watch released comments on the Navy Inspector General's investigation and U.S. Navy Secretary England's "embrace" of that investigation which stated in part...
| “ | The substance of what would have been a legitimate investigation – interviews of eyewitnesses, reviews of travel records, transcripts, FBI files and other relevant material – were not pursued by Naval IG investigators. Instead, Admiral Route and his investigators exhausted their investigative efforts reviewing a Washington Post article from Aug. 22, 2004, and a Newsweek report from the Aug. 30, 2004, edition. The unnamed investigator(s) also relied on Kerry’s presidential campaign Internet site to conduct the investigation...“It’s clear that both the uniformed and civilian leadership of the U.S. Navy view the Kerry matter as a political ‘hot potato.’ The leadership of the Navy has failed to ensure its awards process was not corrupted. This is shameful,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. | ” |
Read more about this topic: John Kerry Military Service Controversy
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