I'm not sure. Despite all the efforts to puff up Kerry, it really doesn't look like they have much...
I checked my notes on Brinkley to see if there's anything more there. I wrote down for pages 293-294, "Zumwalt changes Kerry's Navy Cross to Silver Star". I don't have the book now, but I don't recall reading anything about Zumwalt thinking Kerry deserved a Navy Cross.
Glen Johnson, "Kerry assails columnist who questioned war service"
Also participating by phone from San Francisco was Michael Medeiros, who was the rear gunner on the Swift boat. Tom Vallely, a former Marine and Sen. Kerry's close friend, introduced each speaker.
Mr. Zumwalt, with two Navy ships and the USS Constitution anchored over his shoulder, said he remembered only two such incidents from Vietnam and one of them was Sen. Kerry's.
Mr. Zumwalt also said he wanted to recommend Sen. Kerry for an even higher medal, the Navy Cross, but approval would have taken too long. Instead, he personally approved a Silver Star and sped along the award to improve morale at a time his sailors were taking heavy casualties.