[i_dont_chat]

All I’m interested in seeing is the official record, showing if he received an honorable, dishonorable, or general discharge.

Or perhaps he received a general discharge at first, then it was changed by some political agenda to honorable.

That’s all I want to see.

[spookie]

John Kerry’s dd-214 issued in 1978 included a statement in the remarks column that a board of officer had reviewed his record and approved an honorable discharge.

The reality is his enlistment ended in 1972 and was issued other than an honorable discharge. President Carter allowed those during the vietnam era with a less than honorable discharge to have it reviewed and upgraded.

Another fact. When you receive a citation by a General, Admiral or the president, you receive one copy. You do not have the opportunity to have it rewritten twice and signed by two other officials over a 17 year period.

The odd of someone honestly being entitled to three purple hearts in a four month period that required a total of one day in sickbay are extremely difficult to compute that small a number.

[17th Miss Regt]

It was probably a discharge for the good of the Navy. These discharges are used for personnel that are not desirable to have around the Navy, but which the Navy can't or won't court-martial. Severe personality disorders are one reason. Another reason might be a charge of treason (which requires two eyewitnesses) for which only one eyewitness is available. As a hypothetical illustration, suppose some naval lieutenant went to Paris during the Vietnam war negotiations, met with the Vietcong delegation and gave them advice about how to wear down American resolve and undermine the war effort. And suppose military intelligence got wind of it. They know the perpetrator did it but can't prove it in a court martial. Instead, the military uses this type of discharge to mark them as highly undesirable.

It should be noted that he got his discharge upgraded at least twice. An honorable discharge is the result of upgrading a general discharge. A general discharge may be the result of upgrading a BCD, DD or other punitive discharge. It can also be a reclassification from a negative, but non-punitive discharge. Like a discharge for the good of the navy.

Also note that he was re-awarded his medals about 15 years after his discharge. You don't get medals re-awarded unless you already had them and then were stripped of them. Say, like the naval lieutenant in the hypothetical situation described above.