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What M-79?

One of the charges against Kerry made by the Swiftees is that he injured himself with a grenade launcher -- essentially, that he fired too close and took a piece of shrapnel. In the heat of battle, could have happened to anybody, right? Indeed, according to the 35th Infantry, it was one of the "Lessons Learned" in Vietnam: " lot of men have been wounded by their own grenades, when they hit a tree limb or bush. The same is true of the M-79 grenade launcher."

So how to dispute the charge? Well, the easiest way would be simply to say it didn't happen; not many can prove otherwise, unless Kerry releases his full military records as he promised months ago he would, and still has not. The second easiest way, if in fact it didn't happen, would be to release the records.

Or you could have one of your buddies go out and claim that you had no M-79s on the SWIFT boat. That seems to be the option the Kerry camp has chosen:

But they also firmly reject the claim that Kerry somehow wounded himself by using an M-79 grenade launcher. "I am reasonably sure we didn't have an M-79," Zaladonis said. "I didn't see one. I don't remember it."

That is indeed an exceptional statement. You can see pictures here of a SWIFT boat in action, with the M-79 front-and-center. Down at the bottom, you'll see that the support craft (the Armored Troop Carrier) had an entire rack devoted to these M-79s; why shouldn't one of them have made its way to Kerry's boat?

Or you can read this account of life on a SWIFT boat, written at a time when Kerry's candidacy was not an issue:

But don't let their small size fool you -- the Swifts were heavily armed. A gun tub was placed above and behind the pilothouse and equipped with twin .50-caliber machine guns. In the afterdeck, on the fantail, there was an 81mm mortar with a single .50 caliber attached to it in piggyback fashion.

Vietnam: That's quite an impressive array of armament.

Herrera: In addition to those weapons, we had M-79 grenade launchers; fragmentation, incendiary and concussion grenades; AR-15s, shotguns, .38- and .45-caliber pistols. Also, we were equipped with radar, sea-to-shore radio and a PRC-25 field radio.

So the standard load included M-79s, as this source also agrees. There's also this history of an encounter on 12 APR 1969, very close to the time Kerry was in country:

To this end, a hasty defense perimeter was formed. Campbell, with Piper and Broderick on the fantail, maintained constant M-79 grenade fire into the north bank. Luckily, the 43 boat canted toward the river and provided some natural cover for them. Crew members, discarding the .50 caliber weapons as useless, grabbed M-16 rifles and set up firing positions covering the south bank, thereby providing the stricken unit with a 360 degree perimeter.

So, that SWIFT boat was loaded up not just with "a" M-79, but enough for three men to maintain constant fire with these break-action weapons.

So my question is: Why is it that Kerry's boat was so exceptional? The only SWIFT boat ever used for secret missions was also the only one lacking multiple M-79s.

UPDATE: Sovay mentions in the comment that there was more to the story than the quote I'd seen. Apparently this event happened at a time when they were not on their SWIFT boat, but on patrol in a skimmer. This still seems a bit odd, for reasons outlined in the comments, but it is an explanation that explains.