I have to wonder if Kerry got his special treatment because of the fact that he had such a tight relationship with the Kennedy family, particularly Teddy, who as a young junior Senator from Massachussetts,
visited John Kerry during his 4 months in Vietnam. In his teenage years, John Kerry was a guest of the Kennedys aboard JFK's yacht.
Having a pal who is a Senator and brother of the much admired former President would be ONE OF THE BEST ways to juice things through the Pentagon. If I was a reporter seeking to understand the Purple Band-Aid Mystery, I would start with Teddy's office, and work it from there..
I suspect that Kerry's Kennedy connection may help explain more than a few of the mysteries currently enshrouded in Boston fog... such as how he came to be meeting with top North Vietnamese and Vietcong leaders in Paris before anybody had ever heard of him.