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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. How did the Committee reply to O'Neill's request?

2. As a result of his poor performance, how did the audience react to Kerry at the end of the Dick Cavett Show?

3. What were the charges Kerry leveled against the army during his testimony?

4. How does Kerry's gunner, Stephen Gardner, describe the sampan incident?

5. What does VVAW stand for?

Short Essay Questions

1. How was Kerry awarded the third Purple Heart, and why was it significant?

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

3. How was Kerry awarded the Silver Star?

4. 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?

5. What was the content of Kerry's testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, and why did it anger O'Neill so much?

6. What were Kerry's reasons for choosing the Swift Boats to serve on?

7. 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?

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

9. Why is it important to understand when the problems between O'Neill and Kerry began?

10. What is an example of the report that Kerry lacked the nerves for combat and often would overreact to situations?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the exhibit that Bill Lupetti witnessed when he visited Vietnam. What are the most surprising things about the exhibit? How does it relate to the authors' description of Kerry and his overall qualifications to be the Commander in Chief?

Essay Topic 2

The authors cite the biased media as one of the reasons Kerry was allowed to hide his actions from the voters in 2004. They also make it clear that he is intentionally hiding his agenda from the American people in order to be elected.

1) How did the media play a role in the public perception of Kerry during the 2004 election? Why was the media sympathetic to Kerry's campaign? Were they just unaware of the information the Swift Boat Veterans provide in the book? Even after the book was released, what does it say about the media that many outlets still ignored Kerry's past actions?

2) Considering all of the information in the book, what does it say about the Democratic Party that they would nominate Kerry to be the Commander in Chief? Were they unaware of his actions?

3) The main problem the authors have with Kerry is that he was not forthcoming about his anti-war activities and deceptions during the war. Why is that a valid concern? How does Kerry's refusal to release his military documents prove O'Neill's point about their content? What would have happened if Kerry had been more upfront during the campaign about his past and possibly present views about the military? How would the voting have been affected?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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