Kerry's spokesman said Kerry served 2 tours in Viet Nam. I know his first one lasted 4 months, but I'm not familiar with his second tour, how long it was, or what he was doing. I'm fairly certain it was NOT in combat.
My husband, (who had 2 full VN tours, both in combat assignments), was just as impressed with O'Neill as I was. He thinks the story behind Kerry's 3 Purple Hearts is what will do him in, because as we type, as Kerry runs for president, soldiers are earning them in Iraq. My husband, and for that matter everyone with loved ones serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, should loathe John Kerry.
Kerry's first assignment was on a carrier escort vessel and he spent about 6 months sailing to and from San Francisco, and around the waters of SE Asia.
Swift boat duty was at the time not risky, so when his ship returned to SF Kerry requested a transfer to swift boats - buffing up his JFK look-alike CV.
By the time he was trained and returned to Vietnam, the mission of the swift boat had changed to one of ' war crime' type aggression, that is going into actual danger.
So JFK started working on his ticket home - 3 purple hearts.