Not over the service. Over medal inflation.
I know personally that many honorable people took the first opportunity to get out of Vietnam. Unless you planned a military career, who wouldn't?
In 1968 morale was at an all time low. This was the year that the big buildup was completed, yet it was obvious that LBJ had no plans to actually win the war. Those of us in Nam read about the debacle in Chicago. We knew that American public opinion was turning against the war. The word "Short!" was the most common thing heard, as in short-timer.
I do not begrudge Kerry his self-recommended medals or his short time. But he has a serious problem. He and the democrats have chosen to use his Vietnam resume as qualifications for the presidency, and this won't wash. By those standards his service and his medals are crap, and he knows it.
The dems think they can walk on this one, and they are right, unless vets take up the cause. The Republicans cannot possibly bring this issue up.