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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What person did Kerry compare himself to during his tour?

2. What does Kerry claim his nickname was in Vietnam?

3. What was the primary role of skimmers?

4. For how long were both O'Neill and Kerry both relatively quiet?

5. What is a "skimmer"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the assignment of the Swift Boats change, what was Kerry's response, and why did the other officers consider him to be a problem?

2. How did O'Neill finally have the chance to debate Kerry in 1971?

3. What happened in the infamous sampan incident, where a mother and her child were found, and how did Kerry respond?

4. How did the debate between O'Neill and Kerry begin, and what was the outcome?

5. How did Kerry initially try to avoid serving in the war?

6. What question did Lt. Ted Peck ask of Kerry shortly after he returned home, and why is Kerry's response revealing?

7. What does Captain Plumly report about Kerry's service, and how does that correspond to the reports of his trips to Saigon?

8. What was the length of a normal tour of duty, how did Kerry's time in the war compare to it, and how did the other officers regard his actions?

9. What is the significance of O'Neill's suggestion that the readers of the book view the video of the debate between him and Kerry?

10. What were the circumstances around the award of Kerry's second Purple Heart, and how does it parallel the first?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What events caused Kerry to be awarded the Silver Star? What was the purpose for Kerry's assignment? How did he and his fellow officers carry out their orders? What was the end result and why did the officers think it was comical? How did Kerry use the situation to get the medal? In what ways does the Silver Star award continue the pattern of behavior that Kerry followed during his tour?

Essay Topic 2

Kerry's testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is the catalyst for much of the book's objection to his ability to be the Commander in Chief.

1) Detail the statements made by Kerry, how they were perceived at the time, and why O'Neill and the other veterans objected to them so fiercely. Which ones were the most offensive or damaging? Why?

2) Who was the Committee made up of, and why was that important in their purpose and receptiveness to Kerry's testimony?

3) Who was responsible for writing Kerry's speech and how do Kerry's claims about it demonstrate his dishonesty?

Essay Topic 3

Describe Kerry's actions in the sampan incident. What was the setting for it and why is that relevant? What should Kerry have done differently? What were the results of his actions and the significance of the people in the sampan? In an attempt to explain the situation, who does Kerry blame? How did Kerry report the incident and what were his reasons for doing so? Why is the sampan incident one of the most effective examples of how the authors' opinion of Kerry is substantiated?

(see the answer keys)

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