RONINPIX - " ... Kerry as i remember got a small cut on the hand which qualified for the last purple heart and the road ticket home."
As an officer, Kerry put himself in for medals and Purple Hearts. As for his Silver Star, he wrote up the papers himself, and when his commanding officer who would have approved or disapproved was transferred, the new C.O. just signed off on it without investigating any of Kerry's claims.
From what I've read (???) Kerry put himself in for a Silver Star for shooting an unarmed boy in the back, who was running away from him. Kerry made it out to be some great heroic feat.
I believe Kerry was only in Vietnam for about three months before he was able to "go home" after receiving his three "wounds," not one of which was more than a Band Aid type injury.
I have a good friend who was a Navy SEAL who served in Vietnam. He was badly wounded in the last quarter of his second tour. During Kerry's run for prez in 2004, I asked my friend what he thought about Kerry's three Purple Hearts and how he got them?
My friend kinda laughed and said, "Yeah, we called it the 'Three Heart' rule." He added, "Hell, if we'd counted "wounds" the way Kerry did, every one of us would have been able to go home after the first week we got to Vietnam."
Aside from the above, John Kerry is a blatant, incompetent fool. No wonder Obama picked him for Sec. of State, to replace another incompetent fool.
L.W.