Are people absolutely sure it was his medals and not his family jewels he tossed across the fence and ran away years ago?
John Kerry had 3 purple hearts from Vietnam. Self inflicted or exxagerated wounds. He put himself in for the third one, a grain of rice sized scratch.. The third medal got him shipped home.
Conversely, I like to remind people about Sgt. Archie Moore, who in the South Pacific in WWII was wounded twice by sniper fire, twice by mortar fire, and for a fifth time was wounded by a Japanese hand grenade. He was sent back home at the beginning of August,1945 days before the surrender and with his Fifth earned Purple heart.
His wife said he was too tough to die.