It's true that Lieutenant (j.g.) Kerry was in combat. Indeed, his boat had been fired upon by the enemy. Kerry beached his boat and an enemy soldier broke and ran. Tom Belodeau, one of the boat's gunners, admitted this enemy soldier was wounded in the attack. Lt. Kerry then chased the wounded man behind a ''hootch'' where he ''finished him off.'' It was for this action that he was awarded the prestigious Silver Star.
There were some who felt this act was not deserving of such an honor. Dan Carr, a Marine who served 14 months in Vietnam, questioned whether such an honor should have been bestowed on a man who killed a retreating and wounded enemy soldier.
When young Kerry returned to the States, he began protesting against the Vietnam War. On April 23, 1971, Kerry testified before Congress about atrocities he had allegedly seen and heard about. He testified that American soldiers ''raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, [had] blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam.'' He stated there never was a communist threat in Vietnam. source: http://www.ircpolitics.org/news/articles/2004/IsJohnKerry.html
If Kerry witnessed rape and other atrocities and did nothing to stop them then he's an admitted war criminal. He should be imprisoned, not elected.
The Silver Star, at that point in the Vietnam war, were being handed out for a whole lot less than they were earlier in the war. The branch of service you served with in Vietnam also had some bearing, a Marine for instance, would have to do a whole lot more than Kerry did to receive the nations third highest award for valor. Same for a Navy SEAL and personnel serving in some of the other more elite fighting units.