Slippery little snake, isn't he?
So, that being the case, it seems that what Kerry did was to throw replaceable ribbons over the fence for show, keeping the medals themselves so he could display them later, maybe to impress the chicks, or to later advance his hero image for political gain.
History proves that this is an accurate analysis. ;-)
I think Kerry threw his own medals over the fence in the 1970's protest, and at some later time in the 1980's requested the government issue replacements (claiming they had been "lost") so he could show them off to the union leaders. That's why he isn't releasing all of his military records, IMHO. I also suspect that he wasn't given a replacement for the first Purple Heart because it was a phoney (fingernail scratch) and no evidence to support it.
Has anyone determined exactly how many medals Kerry currently has in his possession? I bet it's one less than he had when he left Vietnam.