For some, the 60-year-old Kerry embodies America's conflicted feelings about Vietnam. He served with distinction but led the Vietnam Veterans Against the War and challenged Congress, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"
Many veterans say that, in hindsight, they agree with Kerry's bold opposition to a conflict that killed 58,000 Americans. They say history has proved him right about Vietnam, and they have flocked to support his campaign.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday February 28, 2004 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 83 words Type of Material: Correction
John F. Kerry -- An article Feb. 17 in Section A about the Vietnam War's legacy and Sen. John F. Kerry said that in his April 1971 testimony before Congress he accused fellow servicemen of committing wartime atrocities against Vietnamese civilians. In fact, Kerry was citing first-person accounts by veterans. The article also said that Kerry "later acknowledged" that he did not witness the alleged incidents. Kerry had said at the outset of his testimony that he was reporting the accounts of others.
Others call Kerry's protest activities the reflection of a man so ambitious for a career in politics that he consciously held on to his own medals, now displayed in his Washington office. During the protest at the Capitol, Kerry, then 27, threw the medals of two other servicemen, along with his own ribbons.
As a senator, Kerry has championed veterans' concerns -- such as better military health and retirement benefits. But some servicemen still vilify him for leading, with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a 1990s Senate committee that determined there were no surviving POWs in Vietnam. That conclusion helped normalize U.S. relations with Vietnam.
The rift among veterans went public last week when a Washington newspaper and television news shows ran a photo showing Kerry sitting near then-activist Jane Fonda at an antiwar rally. The photo sparked renewed debate -- and unleashed simmering emotion -- about Vietnam, the mass protests against the war, and "Hanoi Jane," the nickname veterans gave the actress after she visited North Vietnam at the height of the war.
Historians say the controversy surrounding Kerry's candidacy shows how America has yet to come to terms with Vietnam, a war that ended 29 years ago.
"That war is not behind us. It's still very much in our minds today," said Douglas Brinkley, author of "Tour of Duty," which details Kerry's wartime experiences.
"We have yet to close ranks on what occurred in society during those years. It's turned into an outright battle, with the legacy of a generation at stake. And in the middle stands John Kerry."
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A Tormented Veteran
John Kerry returned from Vietnam in April 1969 with war decorations -- and a troubled conscience.
Commanding a swift boat, the Navy lieutenant ran missions in and out of ambush alleys across the hostile Mekong Delta and was awarded Purple Hearts on three occasions for being wounded in action.
