BOSTON, Massachusetts, Aug 23 (AFP) - Vietnam war veterans defended Democratic White House hopeful John Kerry on Monday from charges he lied to get his medals and scolded prominent Republican Bob Dole for joining the critics.
Dole fiercely attacked Kerry on CNN television Sunday, saying the Democratic senator from Massachusetts had won "three Purple Hearts and never bled that I know of. I mean, they're all superficial wounds."
"John Kerry is lucky to be alive today. The fourth Purple Heart could have been an AK-47 (bullet) through the heart," former lieutenant Rich Baker countered in a conference call arranged by the Kerry campaign.
The Purple Heart "is the one medal you don't even want," because it means you were wounded or killed, said Rich McCann, who told reporters many veterans would gladly trade their medals for "an arm or leg" lost at war.
Baker and McCann, as well as another veteran, Jim Russell, said they had taken part in patrols and at least one firefight with Kerry, who has made his service in Vietnam a centerpiece of his campaign for president.
Dole's suggestion that Kerry "never bled" runs counter to US Navy records showing that Kerry, who also won a Bronze Star and a Silver Star for bravery, still carries shrapnel in his left thigh from a February 1969 firefight.
The attack from Dole, who was severely wounded during World War II, came as the Kerry campaign redoubled its efforts to link US President George W. Bush to the attacks by "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth."
But Kerry aides and supporters have not been able to cite any firm evidence that the president or his top strategist are behind the accusations, which have put the Democrat on the defensive ahead of the November 2 elections.
"I hope that the president will stand up and repudiate this smear campaign and get back to the issues important to the American people," Democratic Senator Jack Reed said in the conference call.
Bush has refused to repudiate commercials by the group, but collaboration between it and the president's reelection campaign would violate campaign finance laws.
Kerry aides note that one of the veterans in the group's ads served until late last week as a coordinator for veterans issues for the Bush campaign. They also point out that a Bush headquarters in Florida was caught organizing rallies touting the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth."
They also point to a New York Times report that several backers of the group's ad campaign have close ties to the Bush family.
And the Kerry campaign has taken to running an Internet ad featuring Senator John McCain, Bush's rival for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, accusing Bush of having smeared his record during that campaign.
McCain now supports Bush, but has called the anti-Kerry group's campaign "dishonest and dishonorable" and called on the White House to repudiate it.