"how does one win 3 purple hearts in less than 5 months, and more importantly how does one do that without spending some time in the hospital? A cornfused civilian would like to know".
A purple heart is given for many reasons, It can be as simple as tripping over a rock and twisting your ankle, IN A COMBAT ZONE.
The key is getting injured in an area of combat, ie: Nam.
Purple hearts were given out like candy in Nam. The press is playing up the fact that Kerry had three purple hearts, big deal.
Now if he had a silver star, that would mean something!
The fact that he served in Vietnam and did so honorably is a big deal. Bush used his family's influence to avoid going to Vietnam. Big Deal, he was a fighter pilot in the national guard. Daddy Bush kept him safe. If he was a combat pilot I would be impressed. Back then the national guard was a haven for the rich and connected as a way to avoid Nam.
And to the dumbas* who took a sentence out of context. Civilians were killed in the Kerrey incident, but they werent lined up and shot...Re- read the article. Civilians are getting killed right now in Iraq under very similar circumstances. You dont know who the enemy is until they take a shot at you. The enemy is hiding in mosques surrounded by civilians...innocent people are dying. Thats part of war unfortunately. In nam you could go through a village and be greeted by "friendlies", but the minute you left, those "friendlies" could pull out hidden weapons and try and blow your head off.
The hair splitting that is going on here just shows how low some people will go to make their point valid....
Spin spin spin...........