A 1960 picture of John Kerry in Vietnam

Washington, Aug. 6: A group of Vietnam veterans launched an assault on Senator John Kerry’s war record yesterday as the fight for the presidency turned ugly.

Thirteen men from the naval patrol squadron in which Kerry served, calling themselves “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth”, appeared in a television advertisement accusing him of claiming falsely to be a hero. They said he lied to win his gallantry medals and alleged that he committed abuses against civilians in the Mekong Delta.

Kerry’s campaign team retorted that none of the veterans had served in Kerry’s patrol boats. Kerry has faced criticism for years within the fractious world of Vietnam veterans. Many have never forgiven him for his role as a leading anti-war activist who said his fellow American soldiers committed war crimes.

But the new allegations are among the gravest he has faced and his public accusers now include the commanding officer George Elliott who was in charge of his unit.

Elliott had signed an affidavit suggesting Kerry did not deserve the Silver Star. In the document, Elliott said: “I was never informed that he had simply shot a wounded, fleeing Viet Cong in the back.”

But in today’s Boston Globe, Elliott said: “It was a terrible mistake probably for me to sign the affidavit with those words. I’m the one in trouble here.” Elliott told the newspaper he thinks Kerry did deserve the medal.

Kerry’s war record is a cornerstone of the Democratic campaign, which has worked to make stars of the five surviving men who served on Kerry’s boats, calling them his “band of brothers”.

They appeared on stage before his key acceptance speech to the recent Democratic convention. One, Gene Thorson, said: “These assertions are garbage.” Kerry received backing yesterday from his friend Senator John McCain, who faced similar attacks over his Vietnam record during his bitterly fought 2000 primary fight against George W. Bush.