Editing Swift Vets and POWs for Truth (section)

==Media activities==
SBVT produced several television advertisements created by [[Stevens Reed Curcio & Potholm]] attacking Kerry's actions both in and after Vietnam. For a detailed discussion of SBVT's allegations about Kerry's service in Vietnam, see [[John Kerry military service controversy]].

===First television advertisement===
SBVT first went public with a May 4, 2004, press conference declaring opposition to Kerry. When the press conference garnered little attention, the organization produced television advertisements. On August 5, 2004, SBVT began airing a one-minute television spot<ref>{{cite web|date=2004-10-12|title=Any Questions (script)|publisher=SBVT website|url=http://www.swiftvets.com/script.html|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20041002115932/http%3A//www%2Eswiftvets%2Ecom/script%2Ehtml |archive-date= October 2, 2004 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2004-11-08|title=Any Questions (video)|format=WMV|publisher=SBVT website|url=http://swift3.he.net/~swift3/anyquestions.wmv|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041130023658/http://swift3.he.net/~swift3/anyquestions.wmv|archive-date=2004-11-30|url-status=dead}}</ref> in three hotly contested states in the ongoing presidential election. The advertisement, entitled "Any Questions?", was a collage of short clips of 13 SBVT members, many of whom stated they served with John Kerry or had direct contact with Kerry during his service in Vietnam. The veterans appearing in the ad said Kerry was dishonest, unreliable, unfit to lead, and had dishonored his country and fellow veterans. Only one of the men in the advertisement (Steve Gardner) served under Kerry, but some sailed on other boats grouped with Kerry's.

Among the first to denounce the first ad was Republican Senator [[John McCain]], a Bush supporter, Vietnam veteran, and former POW. He said, "I condemn the [SBVT] ad. It is dishonest and dishonorable. I think it is very, very wrong".<ref name="morningshowwrap">{{cite web|title=Broken Heroes on a Last Chance Power Drive|website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/TheNote/TheNote_Aug0604.html|date=August 6, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050417134522/http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/TheNote/TheNote_Aug0604.html|archive-date=April 17, 2005}}</ref> Senator McCain would be criticized four years later during his own presidential campaign for accepting money and support from many of the same Swiftboaters.<ref>[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-a-palermo/john-mccain-and-swift-boa_b_110428.html John McCain and "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth"]; ''Huffington Post''; Joseph A. Palermo; July 10, 2008</ref>

===Book===
<!--{{Infobox Book
|name=Unfit for Command
|image=
|author=[[John O'Neill (Vietnam veteran)|John E. O'Neill]] and [[Jerome Corsi]]
|cover_artist=
|publisher=Regnery Publishing
|release_date=August 2004
|media_type=Hardcover/Paperback
|pages=
|size_weight=
|isbn=0-89526-017-4
|dewey=973.931/092 B 22
|congress=E840.8.K427 O54 2004
|oclc=56057932
}}-->

SBVT founder and spokesman [[John O'Neill (Vietnam veteran)|John O'Neill]] and [[Jerome Corsi]] are listed as coauthors of the book ''[[Unfit for Command|Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry]]'', published by [[Regnery Publishing]]. A best-seller upon its release in August 2004,<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/Unfit-Command-Swift-Veterans-Against/dp/0895260174 Amazon.com: Unfit For Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry (9780895260178): John E. O'Neill, Jerome R. Corsi: Books<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> it criticized Kerry's judgment in battle, his truthfulness, his entitlement to certain medals, and his later anti-war activities. The book was based in part on interviews with veterans who served in or with Kerry's division, and also on biographies of Kerry.<ref>{{cite web|date=2008-08-17|title=Book Details – Unfit for Command|url=http://www.regnery.com/regnery/040809_unfit.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804002901/http://www.regnery.com/regnery/040809_unfit.html|archive-date=2008-08-04}}</ref> Several members of Kerry's crew stated that O'Neill did not interview them; some veterans who were interviewed asserted that their statements were edited to strip out material favorable to Kerry.<ref>{{cite news|work=New York Times|date=August 20, 2004|title=Friendly Fire: The Birth of an Anti-Kerry Ad|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/politics/campaign/20swift.html |first1=Kate|last1=Zernike|first2=Jim|last2=Rutenberg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524135357/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/politics/campaign/20swift.html?ei=5090&en=8afa4fded4046b86&ex=1250654400&partner=rssuserland&pagewanted=all&position=|archive-date=May 24, 2006}}</ref> Neither O'Neill nor Corsi had any firsthand knowledge of Kerry's service. O'Neill served on the Swift boats after Kerry left Vietnam, and Corsi never served in Vietnam.

After controversial statements made by Corsi became public, O'Neill denied Corsi's coauthorship of the book, saying that Corsi was "simply an editor and not really any sort of co-author."<ref>"Scarborough Country", ''[[MSNBC]]'', 2004-08-10</ref><ref>"John O'Neill Interview with Wolf Blitzer", ''[[CNN]]'', 2004-08-11.</ref> However, portions of the book<ref name="excerpts">{{cite web|title=Excerpts from Unfit for Command |url=http://www.learnedhand.com/kerryunfit7.htm |access-date=2007-03-29 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20041011192920/http://www.learnedhand.com/kerryunfit7.htm |archive-date=2004-10-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> contain material also found in articles posted under Corsi's name at a website critical of John Kerry,<ref name="communistshonorkerry">{{cite web|last=Corsi|first=Jerome|title=Communist Vietnamese honor John Kerry, the war protestor, as a hero in their victory over the United States in the Vietnam War –Part II|publisher=WinterSoldier.com|date=2004-07-27|url=http://ice.he.net/~freepnet/kerry/staticpages/index.php?page=20040604194804799|access-date=2007-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050324092901/http://ice.he.net/~freepnet/kerry/staticpages/index.php?page=20040604194804799|archive-date=2005-03-24}}</ref><ref name="coordinatingwithenemy">{{cite web|last=Corsi|first=Jerome|title=Coordinating with the enemy: Vietnam Veterans Against the War in Paris and Hanoi|publisher=WinterSoldier.com|date=2004-05-03|url=http://ice.he.net/~freepnet/kerry/staticpages/index.php?page=2004060123330738|access-date=2007-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050305152602/http://ice.he.net/~freepnet/kerry/staticpages/index.php?page=2004060123330738|archive-date=2005-03-05}}</ref> and O'Neill is cited in a later book as describing Corsi as helping to write "Unfit for Command", and urging him to back out of media appearances after the controversial comments became public.<ref>"To Set the Record Straight: How Swift Boat Veterans, POWS and the New Media Defeated John Kerry", by Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler, pp. 120–124</ref>

===Second television advertisement===
On August 20, 2004, SBVT released a second television advertisement<ref>{{cite web|date=2004-10-12|title=Sellout (script)|publisher=SBVT website|url=http://swiftvets.com/selloutscript.html|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20051205115900/http://swiftvets.com/selloutscript.html |archive-date=December 5, 2005 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2004-11-08|title=Sellout (video)|format=WMV|publisher=SBVT website|url=http://swift3.he.net/~swift3/sellout.wmv|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041204090856/http://swift3.he.net/~swift3/sellout.wmv|archive-date=2004-12-04|url-status=dead}}</ref> featuring a portion of Kerry's [[s:John Kerry's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee|1971 testimony]], before the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]].<ref>{{cite web|title=John Kerry 1971 Senate Testimony (audio)|format=MP3|date=2004-08-25|publisher=Democracy Now!|url=http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2004/aug/audio/dn20040825.ra&proto=rtsp&start=11:02.227}}{{dead link|date=July 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} [https://archive.org/download/dn2004-0825/dn2004-0825-1_64kb.mp3 Alt URL]</ref> Kerry, testifying as a member of [[Vietnam Veterans Against the War]] (VVAW), had criticized U.S. policy in Vietnam. He had also described VVAW's 1971 [[Winter Soldier Investigation]], in which more than 100 soldiers and civilians said they had seen or committed [[war crimes|atrocities]] carried out by U.S. forces in Vietnam. Kerry's Senate testimony presented a summary of these men's statements; he did not, however, say that he had any personal knowledge of these atrocities. The SBVT advertisement alternated clips of Kerry's summary of these statements with charges from Vietnam veterans, particularly former POWs, that Kerry's "accusations" had demoralized and "betrayed" soldiers in Vietnam.

{{See also|Fulbright Hearing}}

===Third television advertisement===
A third television advertisement<ref>{{cite web|date=2004-10-12|title=Gunner (script)|publisher=SBVT website|url=http://swiftvets.com/gunnerscript.html|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20040826235339/http://swiftvets.com/gunnerscript.html |archive-date=August 26, 2004 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2004-11-08|title=Gunner (video)|format=WMV|publisher=SBVT website|url=http://swift3.he.net/~swift3/gunner.wmv|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041130023625/http://swift3.he.net/~swift3/gunner.wmv|archive-date=2004-11-30|url-status=dead}}</ref> began airing on August 26, 2004, attacking Kerry's past statements that he was in [[Cambodia]] on [[Christmas Eve]], 1968. This advertisement featured Stephen Gardner stating, "I spent more time on John Kerry's boat than any other crew member. ... John Kerry claims that he spent [[Christmas]] in 1968 in Cambodia and that is categorically a lie. Not in December, not in January. We were never in Cambodia on a secret mission, ever."

However, Gardner was only a member of Kerry's crew for a month and a half, from December 6, 1968, to approximately January 22, 1969; crew directories and first hand accounts indicate that other crewmembers served as long or longer under Kerry's four-month-long command.<ref name="coastalsquadronone">{{cite web|last=Wasikowski|first=Lawrence J.|title=Coastal Squadron One Swift Boat Crew Directory|publisher=self-published|url=http://www.swiftboats.net/|access-date=2007-04-01}}</ref><ref name="kranishheroism">{{cite news|last=Kranish|first=Michael|title=Heroism, and growing concern about war|work=Boston Globe|date=2003-06-16|url=https://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/061603.shtml|access-date=2007-04-01}}</ref>

In addition, Kerry had never said that the Christmas Eve incident was a "secret mission", but happened during a routine patrol;<ref name="kranishheroism"/> furthermore, he stated at least two weeks prior to the ad's appearance that he had been patrolling at or near the border at the time and subsequently ambushed.<ref name="accountchallenged">{{cite news|last=Canon|first=Scott|title=Kerry's Cambodia account challenged by ex-commander|work=Seattle Times|date=2004-08-05|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002005720_cambodia15.html|access-date=2007-03-28}}</ref><ref name="holidayincambodia">{{cite web|last=Kaplan|first=Fred|title=Holiday in Cambodia|work=Slate|date=2004-08-23|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2105529/|access-date=2007-03-28}}</ref> The account of the patrol appears in Douglas Brinkley's ''Tour of Duty'', [pp.&nbsp;209–219] and Cmdr. Elliott noted in Kerry's fitness report that his boat was ambushed during the Christmas truce of 1968.<ref name="fitnessreports">{{cite web|last=Kerry|first=John|title=John Kerry Fitness Reports|publisher=JohnKerry.com|url=http://www.johnkerry.com/about/Fitness_Reports.pdf|access-date=2007-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040716025647/http://www.johnkerry.com/about/Fitness_Reports.pdf|archive-date=2004-07-16}}</ref> Moreover, Kerry's biographer, Douglas Brinkley, has stated that Kerry "went into Cambodian waters three or four times in January and February 1969 on clandestine missions".<ref name="kerrysconfusion">{{cite news|last=Rennie|first=David|title=Kerry's confusion over Cambodia|work=Telegraph|date=2004-08-13|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/08/13/wus13.xml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040910200846/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/08/13/wus13.xml|url-status=dead|archive-date=2004-09-10|access-date=2007-04-01|location=London}}</ref><ref name="winterincambodia">{{cite news|last=Barone|first=Michael|title=Winter in Cambodia?|date=2004-08-30|work=U.S. News|url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/opinion/articles/040830/30barone.htm|access-date=2007-04-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070817234753/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/opinion/articles/040830/30barone.htm|archive-date=2007-08-17|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{See also|John Kerry military service controversy#Cambodia mission}}

===Fourth television advertisement===
On August 31, 2004, a fourth advertisement<ref>{{cite web|date=2004-10-12|title=Medals (script)|publisher=SBVT website|url=http://swiftvets.com/medalsscript.html|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20040916233433/http://swiftvets.com/medalsscript.html |archive-date=September 16, 2004 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2004-11-08|title=Medals (video)|format=WMV|publisher=SBVT website|url=http://swift3.he.net/~swift3/medals.wmv|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041130023615/http://swift3.he.net/~swift3/medals.wmv|archive-date=2004-11-30|url-status=dead}}</ref> was released by SBVT. The advertisement described Kerry as a man who "renounced his country's symbols", a reference to a Vietnam War protest where Kerry threw war decorations over the fence of the U.S. Capitol building on April 23, 1971. The advertisement also contained edited video clips of Kerry from a [[WRC-TV]] program called ''Viewpoints'', in which he stated that he gave back "six, seven, eight, nine" (in response to a question: "How many did you give back, John?"); it then included a clip from another part of that interview where Kerry stated "and that was the medals themselves", although in the interview it was not in reference to the decorations he returned.<ref>{{cite news|title=Did Kerry Discard Vietnam Medals? Videotape Contradicts John Kerry's Own Statements Over Vietnam Medals|first1=Brian|last1=Ross|first2=Chris|last2=Vlasto|first3=Madeleine|last3=Sauer|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=123495|work=ABC News|date=April 26, 2004|quote=I threw my ribbons. I didn't have my medals. It is very simple. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040610142156/https://abcnews.go.com/sections/Politics/Investigation/kerry_vietnam_medals_040425.html|archive-date=June 10, 2004}}</ref>