RIGHT HERE – IS WHERE WE PART COMPANY 
WITH BOB KERREY
The wholesale slaughter of women and children seemed to only darkened his day! WTF!
It’s clear from the quotes above that Kerrey is terribly confused. Killing enemy “combatants” for your country to achieve victory is actually a good thing. It’s the killing women, children and seniors that’s a bad thing. War is horrible and images from war can “haunt” those who experienced it. It’s important to note here that not all women and children were innocent. There were many instances in Vietnam where a women or child would “innocently” run up to one of our brave lads and pull the pin on a grenade. When anyone, regardless of their age or gender picks up a weapon, they become a potential combatant.
Unless you are a sociopath, memories of atrocities that rise to the level of heinous war crimes are more likely to create vivid memories which can “haunt” someone their entire life. Maybe that’s what Kerrey meant when he used the word “haunt.”
Amazingly, Bob Kerrey was actually awarded a Bronze Star by the United States Navy for the deaths of women and children at Thanh Phong. Whether the deaths were accidental or intentional, the people who caused it should have been disciplined, not given an award for heroism. Whether intentional or accidental, THERE WAS NOTHING HEROIC ABOUT IT. The citation for Kerrey’s Bronze Star medal reads, “The net result of his patrol was 21 Vietcong killed, two hooches destroyed and two enemy weapons captured.” 
There was no mention of the dead women, children and seniors in the citation for some reason. And the memories that were allegedly “haunting” Kerrey didn’t seem to bother him when the Navy pinned a Bronze Star on his chest that represented what he and others had done in Thanh Phong. A veteran newsman who actually covered Bob Kerrey later on in his life believed him to be a complete sociopath. A sociopath is a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.
THE BACK STORY
The real reason Kerrey received his MOH may not have been for any action of his, but more because President Nixon desperately needed a distraction from negative political issues that were piling up on him.
President Nixon found himself mired down with several issues that were politically detrimental long before the Watergate scandal broke. And, to create a needed distraction, it’s said that he ordered one of his minions in the White House to find someone he could give a Medal of Honor to.
So, acting on the President’s direction, the military combed through the after-action reports and discovered a young Navy Seal who was wounded in battle at Hon Tre Island. He was from the heartland in Nebraska and for all intents and purposes, the All American Boy.
It was just what the “doctor” ordered. But, what President Nixon most likely did not know at the time, was that Kerrey and his Seal team were responsible for the killing of about 14 women and children at Thanh Phong only a couple-three weeks prior.

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CASE #2

ARMY SERGEANT ED EATON
IS A DIFFERENT STORY ALTOGETHER
SGT Eaton was based on a ship in the Mobile Riverine Force. On approximately 03 APR 1969, a little more than a month after Bob Kerrey paid a visit on Thanh Phong Village, 19-year-old Ed Eaton and nine others boarded a helicopter for a night raid on what was believed to be a Vietcong stronghold. Once they realized the overwhelming strength of the enemy force, they decided to vacate the area and fight another day.
During the scramble to evacuate, one of the two helicopters was hit by enemy fire as it took off and went down hard. The other came back to pick up survivors. What happened then is better explained in the video below. The video is a reenactment of the event was aired on the History Channel. It’s appropriately entitled “AN ARMY OF ONE.”

In 2009, forty years after Captain Mike Perkins submitted his recommendation for Eaton to receive the Medal of Honor, they both discovered the recommendation never arrived at Army Headquarters for some unknown reason. It’s speculated that because their unit had been moved all around hither and yon, the recommendation could have wound up in a box and there is sits to this day.

On a trip back to Vietnam in an effort to give warriors on both sides a sense of peace, the Vietnamese Army general who was in-charge of all enemy forces in the Mekong Delta told Ed Eaton, that he had fought many different armies throughout his military career, and the one thing that he appreciated about most of his American adversaries was the fact they left the Vietnamese women and children alone. Not only were they left alone, but many times American forces would provide food and medicine before leaving the area.
It’s clear by the general’s statement to Ed Eaton, that most American military units ARE NOT cold-blooded murders like Lt. William Calley at the My Lai Massacre, or LTJG Kerrey’s Seal Team at Thanh Phong. By and large, the American military in Vietnam and in battles around the world, continues to demonstrate that it’s there to provide a intimidating deterrence, and if necessary utterly destroy enemy combatants. but leave non-combatants alone.
Many times American military units have placed themselves at extreme risk, and actually lost their own lives  protecting women, children and seniors who frequently disclosed their location to enemy combatants. It’s rare that an American military unit will slaughter women and children to avoid being detected as Bob Kerrey’s team purportedly did at Thanh Phong. Adding insult to injury, the Navy decided to call what Kerrey did in Thanh Phong an act of bravery and awarded him a Bronze Star.
WHAT THE HELL REALLY HAPPENED?
All members of the raid that night received an Army Commendation Medal (ACM) which is almost standard operating procedure (SOP) for an engagement against the enemy where a helicopter is shot down, forcing men to scramble for their lives. Ed Eaton and several others ended up with a box full of ACMs for various other engagements with the enemy. Captain Mike Perkins and SGT Ed Eaton eventually parted ways and Perkins always thought the Army surely gave recognized Eaton for his bravery that night.
It wasn’t until the late 1990s when the two men once again connected, that Perkins realized Eaton had received no recognition from the Army for his gallant action saving his life. Perkins felt that ignoring Eaton’s act of valor was a terrible injustice and decided to take action to correct it. Perkins strategically thought that if he drafted up a recommendation for the Silver Star, the Army would at least investigate what happened. The hope was that once the Army discovered the details of Eaton’s actions that night, they would realize his act of heroism rated much more than a Silver Star. Eaton’s courage and skill was actually deserving of America’s highest award, the Medal of Honor.
A frustrated Mike Perkins may have offended someone on the military’s Awards Board and the whole matter was discarded because of someone with bruised feelings. It’s very hard from a seasoned combat warrior to deal with a pencil neck who has no clue as to what real combat is all about. Sadly, the reason that Ed Eaton did not receive the Medal of Honor could simply be due to a crazy set of circumstances resulting in hurt feelings by a Washington bureaucrat.
A MESSAGE TO THE UNITED STATES ARMY

ARMY, it’s still not too late to do the right thing and recognize SGT Ed Eaton for his courage and bravery as he fought off 30 or more attackers to protect his commanding officer.
Whether the failure to recommend SGT Ed Eaton for the Medal of Honor was a simple screw up, or an intentional act by someone offended on the Military Awards Board; all of that doesn’t matter now.
There can be no question that Eaton is most deserving of our country’s highest honor. Time does not erase his selfless act of valor in the thick of the fight. The facts bear that out. Do the right thing Army. Give Ed Eaton your highest recommendation for the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Whether Bob Kerrey should have received his Medal of Honor for his actions at Hon Tre Island, or a  Bronze Star for his involvement at Thanh Phong, is a matter for history to decide.
But, everyone familiar with SGT Ed Eaton’s selfless act of bravery and courage knows, without a doubt, the United States Army should immediately recommend him for our nation’s highest award.