Kerry rejects claims that he was a coward

Published on 14/03/2004 00:00

US SENATOR John Kerry last night fought off accusations he was a coward and had made strategic mistakes in battle during the Vietnam War.

The Democratic challenger for the White House was embroiled in fresh controversy after one of his former crew members accused him of being someone "who ran from the enemy".

It was reported last night that Steven Gardner, a gunner’s mate on the first patrol boat commanded by Kerry in the Mekong Delta, contradicts accounts of the senator’s military career that depict him as a brave and aggressive lieutenant who won three Purple Hearts, which are a key element of his campaign against George Bush.

He personally killed a Viet Cong fighter in one action and was wounded three times, though not seriously.

However, in an interview with the Boston Globe, which contacted him about the presidential candidate, Gardner claimed: "He [Kerry] absolutely did not want to engage the enemy when I was with him.

"He wouldn’t go in there and search. That is why I have a negative viewpoint of John Kerry.

"His initial patterns of behaviour when I met him and served under him were of somebody who ran from the enemy, rather than engaged it."

Gardner also claimed that in an incident in 1968 in which he was slightly wounded, causing Kerry to abort the boat’s mission, he said: "Lt Kerry, I’m fine, nothing’s wrong. I got a little flesh wound here.

"But Kerry was already backing out of the canal, getting ready to run for it."

Gardner has refused to join the tight-knit group of Vietnam veterans who are staunch supporters of their former comrades’ White House bid.

However, Kerry has described his the former crewman’s version of events as "made-up".

"It’s sad," he told his biographer, Douglas Brinkley, "but that’s the way it goes in war, and especially in politics."

Gardner’s portrayal of a timid Kerry are at odds with the accounts of other crew members.

John Hurley, the national director of the Vietnam Veterans for Kerry, said: "John was shocked by this. They all think he’s way off base."