The Post obtained the military records of Larry Thurlow, who commanded a Swift Boat that was present during the action, for which he also was recommended for a Bronze Star.

The newspaper reports that the records cast doubt on the former lieutenant junior grade's assertions that there was no enemy fire when Kerry fished Special Forces officer James Rassmann out of the water.

Thurlow, who commanded a Navy Swift Boat alongside Kerry's craft in Vietnam, strongly disputes Kerry's claim that his boat came under fire during a mission in Viet Cong-controlled territory on March 13, 1969.

Two other Swift Boat skippers present during the incident also say they have no recollection of enemy fire.

The incident began when one of the Swift Boats was crippled by a mine, at which observers on the scene say Kerry's boat turned and fled, throwing Rassmann overboard.

Kerry then brought the craft back and pulled Rassmann out of the water. Kerry and Rassmann say that they were under enemy fire at the time.

For much of the episode, Kerry was not in a position to know first hand what was happening on Thurlow's boat, as Kerry's boat had fled down the river after the mine exploded. He later returned to provide assistance to the stricken boat.

Thurlow's records, portions of which were released to the Washington Post under a Freedom of Information Act request contain several references to "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire" directed at "all units" of the five-boat flotilla, the Post reported.

In the citation accompanying Thurlow's Bronze Star he is praised for providing assistance to a Swift boat damaged by a mine "despite enemy bullets flying about him." indicating that there was enemy fire being directed at the Swift Boats.

Thurlow is a leading member of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a 254 member group of Vietnam veterans angered by Kerry's anti-war activities when he came home from Viet Nam.

The group has aired a television advertisement attacking Kerry's war record.

Thurlow's account of the incident is also cited in John E. O'Neill's new best seller, "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry," which the Post says will hit No. 2 on the newspaper's best-seller list this weekend.

The book accuses Kerry of "fleeing the scene" and lying repeatedly about his role.

Kerry has repeatedly insisted that his 50-foot patrol boat came under fire from the banks of the Bay Hap river after the mine explosion. According to Kerry and members of his crew, the firing continued as Kerry leaned over the bow of his boat to rescue Rassmann.

Thurlow, however, swore in a recent affidavit that Kerry was "not under fire" when he fished Lt. Rassmann out of the water. He described Kerry's Bronze Star citation, which says that all units involved came under "small arms and automatic weapons fire," as "totally fabricated."

"I never heard a shot," Thurlow said in his affidavit, which was released by Swift Boats Veterans for Truth.

According to the Post, two other Swift Boat skippers who were directly involved in the incident, Jack Chenoweth and Richard Pees, have said they do not remember coming under "enemy fire."

The document recommending Thurlow for the Bronze Star noted that all his actions "took place under constant enemy small arms fire which LTJG THURLOW completely ignored in providing immediate assistance" to the disabled boat and its crew. The citation states that all other units in the flotilla also came under fire.

"It's like a Hollywood presentation here, which wasn't the case," Thurlow told the Post last night after being read the full text of his Bronze Star citation. "My personal feeling was always that I got the award for coming to the rescue of the boat that was mined. This casts doubt on anybody's awards. It is sickening and disgusting."

Thurlow added that he would consider his award "fraudulent" if coming under enemy fire was the basis for it. "I am here to state that we weren't under fire," he said. He speculated that Kerry could have been the source of at least some of the language used in the citation.

Members of Kerry's crew along with Rassmann back Kerry's account of the action.

Rassmann says he has vivid memories of being fired at from both banks after he fell into the river and as Kerry came to his rescue.

The Post reported that the Bronze Star recommendations for both Kerry and Thurlow were signed by Lt. Cmdr. George M. Elliott, who received reports on the incident from his base in the Gulf of Thailand.

Elliott is a supporter of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and has questioned Kerry's actions in Vietnam. He refused repeated requests from the Post for an interview, charging that he was misquoted by the Boston Globe as having refuted his original testimony about Kerry's Silver Star.

Thurlow and other anti-Kerry veterans have repeatedly charged that Kerry was the author of an after-action report that described how his boat came under enemy fire, but Kerry campaign researchers dispute that assertion. As a result, the Post admits that and there is no convincing documentary evidence to settle the argument.

As the senior skipper in the flotilla, Thurlow might have been expected to write the after-action report for March 13, but he said that Kerry routinely "duked the system" to present his version of events.

Editor's note: