There are lots of little questions like yours. They did get a lot of medals - Bronze Stars with V, Navy Commendation medals with V etc....
I'd like to see their service records.
I'd like to see whose payroll they are on right now.
Sometimes and OIC can do other little favors. They only did 18 patrols in 48 days. Most patrols are less than 24 hours. Sometimes when a boat would go out on it's own, they probably didn't really patrol. They went out to take 8MM movies and smoke some pot. The crew would love that.
Also I gather as Kerry was leaving, his crew complained about being left behind and he got them transferred.
Specifically, they got transferred out to non-combat zones.
Also, they are getting their 15 minutes of fame by association. Frankly, they are terrible at standing up to the former Swift Boat Commanders. They are average men who haven't accomplished all that much since Nam. They didn't expect to be criticized or have Kerry challenged.
I think protecting their own medals is a good point. Another thought: when a group of people have convinced themselves that something happened and they are then confronted by a larger group of people w/presence, authority and the habit of command who keep correcting their fantasy and substituting a truth that contradicts it, the ones caught in the fantasy are going to have their foundations shaken. It may even force them to really remember the past as it happened.
If one of the 2 former crewmates suddenly leaves the campaign because they are *tired* or *ill* or *want to spend time w/their grandbabies*, I'll suspect they began to remember the past as it really happened. Brainwashing can wear off.
WOW! You know: this is a movie plot!