Swift Boat Vet Elliott: Captain or Lt. Commander?

I’ve read more articles about the Kranish-Elliott you-said-it-no-I-didn’t debate since my my post about this a few minutes ago and have noticed that some, such as The Washington Times, give swift boat veteran George Elliott’s rank as “Captain.”

Checking, I see that Elliott, in his recent, much-discussed affidavits, refers to his own rank as “Captain.”

I am unable to explain why the New York Times and Boston Globe refer to Elliott as “Lt. Commander.” Surely, a checkable, absolute fact such as the man’s military rank is something every journalist covering this story ought to be able to get right. Yet, somebody must be wrong here.

If Elliott’s rank is Captain, I apologize to him for getting it wrong in my prior post.



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