This is why I think Kerry is a phony. No one I ever knew who was in tough, life-threatening combat would ever run off at the mouth about it like Kerry does.
And I have known many war heroes. I'll start with my Dad, who was in the second wave ashore at Normandy on D-Day. As much as I pleaded with him, he wouldn't talk to me about it. He made it from there to the Rhine and was in any number of hot combat situations, but would never speak of them unless prodded to do so.
His brother was in the Navy and was at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7th. Then was on the radar picket line during the waves of kamikazes. He only talked about it once when we were watching a "Victory At Sea" episode.
Another uncle was a turret gunner on the B-29s that flew raids in the Pacific. He survived a crash on landing that knocked him and one other crewmember out of the plane as it cartwheeled and exploded down the runway, breaking his arm and some ribs. They were the only survivors. The one and only time he ever talked about it was to relate that incident to us, although I always wondered how he was wounded in the war.
So when I hear these ersatz "heroes" like John Kerry piping up, I have to hold my tongue, lest my anger and disgust at their feigned "heroism" lead me to actions I'll later regret.