Records confirm Kerry's boat came under fire

WASHINGTON - Military records contradict a critic's charge that US Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry did not come under fire during the battle that resulted in military honors for Kerry, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.

Larry Thurlow, who commanded a Navy boat alongside Kerry in Vietnam, has disputed that the Massachusetts Democratic senator was shot at during the March 1969 raid that resulted in Bronze Stars to both men.

But Thurlow's military records, partially obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by The Washington Post, contain references to "enemy small arms and automatic fire" directed at "all units" of the five-boat flotilla, the newspaper says.

Kerry has made frequent references to his Vietnam war experience during his campaign to make the case for his aptitude as a military leader. Thurlow is a member of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group that has sponsored a television commercial questioning Kerry's war record.

- REUTERS