I know what you are saying. I spent 2 years at Camp Hovey, but couldn't draw an accurate map of the place on a bet. And that was only 14 years ago, let alone 30+ years.
Memories are inherently flawed. But when we get so many people saying that this is not how it happened, one gets suspicious of the story.
And the records on that war are incomplete. So Kerry will probably get away with this. We still have his Senate record to delve into. And that is a treasure trove.
I think this uproar will be indecisive, but it will deny Kerry the high ground in Vietnam. The best he can hope for is that he will still have his medals when it is over. But he will not want to bring up the subject again.
On to bigger and better things: his record since 1970.