So far, it appears Kerry tried to dodge military service by applying for school in Paris, but was denied.
He then took the boat position because they usually don't see combat.
He must have found out quickly that 3 purple hearts would get him out early, and all it took to get one was a scratch or bruise. He then had 2 within the first 24 hours. All he needed was one more.
Who knows why it took him so long for the last. Maybe the military saw what he was up to and denied him more.
He became such a pain in the ass to his commanders, they gave him one more and sent him away to get rid of him. That's why he probably spend so little time there. Kerry was then free.
He came home claiming he was a war hero, and slammed/belittled the men left behind for left wing radical/pro-communist votes. He's been in the Senate ever since.
Did I forget anything?
Doug Reese, a former Army lieutenant who had been in the February battle with Kerry.
Reese recalls the Feb. 28 battle essentially as Kerry has recounted it: a brief, fierce firefight with guerrillas protecting a munitions depot. "I remember John later expressing embarrassment" that he had received the Silver Star within a week of the action, an unusually brief interlude, Reese said.
