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From the NewsMax.com Staff
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For the story behind the story...
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Friday, Sept. 17, 2004 10:07 p.m. EDT
Navy Halts Kerry Medal Probe
The Navy's chief investigator has halted a formal investigation into questions about Sen. John Kerry's Vietnam combat decorations without answering key questions about the circumstances of those awards.
"Our examination found that existing documentation regarding the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals indicates the awards approval process was properly followed," Navy inspector general Vice Adm. R.A. Route said in a memo to Navy Secretary Gordon England.
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"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."
But according to Judicial Watch, the legal watchdog group that requested the Kerry medals probe in August, Route's decision to pull the plug amounts to "a whitewash."
Among the concerns not addressed by Route's preliminary probe:
The authenticity of the signature of former Navy Secretary John Lehman as it appears on Kerry's Silver Star citation. Lehman says he never signed the document and questioned its language.
The "Silver Star with Combat V" notation appearing on Kerry DD214 form. A Navy official called the "Combat V" award "incorrect" last month before Route began his probe, saying that such an award has never been issued in Navy history.
A 1971 trip by Kerry to Paris where Kerry met with senior North Vietnamese representatives to discuss a peace deal without U.S. approval. Kerry was a member of the Navy Reserve at the time.
An account by a Navy doctor who treated Kerry for his first Purple Heart wound, who said it was so minor that he gave Kerry a Band-Aid and sent him on his way.
"The Navy IG obviously is afraid of the political ramifications of a thorough investigation into a presidential candidate’s service record," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said, adding that he may appeal the decision.
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