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Your comments are informative and suggest that if Kerry was in fact running some sort of, "get home quick" scam by using the rule that three Purple Hearts got you out of theatre, then there would have had to have been collusion with another officer (presumably a medic) to get the paperwork rolling.
I suppose the only way to know for sure is to examine the original documentation to see just who initiated Kerry's medal recommendations.
Somehow, I sense that if this were a scam, it will turn out to be bigger than just Kerry. It may have involved a small group of officers and men, all devoted to helping each other get out of Vietnam ASAP -ie.; I'll sign your papers if you'll sign mine. Such a thing would be impossible in a large unit, but in a small relatively independent group with minimal supervision it might be conceivable. Then again, maybe I've watched too many episodes of MASH.