John Kerry's "lucky hat" from his trip(s?) to Cambodia

An alert reader posted a comment to my "Best line" post below with a link to an article from the Washington Post on June 1, 2003, that deserves far broader attention than it will get from the comments to any of my own humble blogposts:

And who is [John Kerry], really?

A close associate hints: There's a secret compartment in Kerry's briefcase. He carries the black attaché everywhere. Asked about it on several occasions, Kerry brushed it aside. Finally, trapped in an interview, he exhaled and clicked open his case.

"Who told you?" he demanded as he reached inside. "My friends don't know about this."

The hat was a little mildewy. The green camouflage was fading, the seams fraying.

"My good luck hat," Kerry said, happy to see it. "Given to me by a CIA guy as we went in for a special mission in Cambodia."

Kerry put on the hat, pulling the brim over his forehead. His blue button-down shirt and tie clashed with the camouflage. He pointed his finger and raised his thumb, creating an imaginary gun. He looked silly, yet suddenly his campaign message was clear: Citizen-soldier. Linking patriotism to public service. It wasn't complex after all; it was Kerry.

He smiled and aimed his finger: "Pow."

(Emphasis and graphic added.)  WaPo didn't mention if the actual hat had a Santa Claus tassel.

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Update (Tue Aug 10 @ 9am):  Power Line links to the WaPo story and notes that Kerry was so proud of this WaPo piece that he reprinted it in full on his campaign website.  My theory is that it wasn't the hat he was so proud of as it was the article's revelation of the fact that as a boy, Kerry taught his parakeet to squawk in French and Italian.  Still perma-linkless Hugh Hewitt, up at an obscene hour for a West Coaster, is also keen on the lucky hat story.

Meantime, my thanks to Ryne McClaren and Amy Ridenour for the wee-small-hours-last-night links!

Update (Tue Aug 10 @ 3:30pm):  NRO's Byron York is lookin' for the hat too!  C'mon, MSM, you can't keep ignoring this one!  Meantime, while I acknowledge that the Power Line hat is probably authentic (and thank them for the link), I maintain that it's the same hat that's in my picture, simply rotated to keep Kerry's eyes clear.