In fact, Kerry's tenure on his first swift boat, No. 44, left him with no honors but rather some skeletons. While in command of Swift Boat No. 44, Kerry and crew functioned without forethought in a 'Free Fire Zone,' injudiciously firing at targets of opportunity and achieving a number of enemy kills along with some civilian deaths as well. His body count included a woman, her baby, a 12 year-old boy, an elderly man and several South Vietnamese soldiers. He freely admits participating in this type of activity and the casualties they caused - even the civilian casualties.Between December of 1968 and February of 1969, Kerry received two of his three purple hearts -- one for a minor injury to his arm and another for a minor injury to his thigh.
He then took command of a second swift boat, No. 94, which operated in the Mekong Delta. Under his command they totaled 18 missions over a period of 48 days, a far cry from the many who completed full tours of duty there. It was for this assignment that he was awarded his Silver Star for killing a Viet Cong soldier who was already pinned down and wounded in a "Hooch" courtesy of Kerry's .50 caliber gunner. It was also on swift boat No. 94 where he received his third Purple Heart for once again receiving a minor wound from a mine that went off adjacent to his swift boat. Later, when asked about the severity of the combat injuries, Kerry himself said that one of them cost him about two days of service, and that the other two did not interrupt his duty. He classified himself as "walking wounded." LINK