At the very least, I think it may be fair to say that his records were "prettied up" in anticipation of candidacy. Everything in there is likely entirely legitimate.
Quite true. I get the distinct impression however, that his whole military service was intended from the beginning to be a prop for a cynically manipulated image- solely for his future political career. He decided very early on that he wanted to be a professional politician. Remember that in his college yearbook, he tried and tasted both the Republican side and the Democrat side, as if he was trying to decide which would be easier to gain influence in.
Of course, political opportunism may have been involved there, too. President of the Union was a big deal -- that plus a few years of sucking up may have led to Kerry's being "tapped" by Skull & Bones. And what were the internal politics of the Union?
It had, then, four parties -- Party of the Right, Conservatives, Liberal and Party of the Left. The first and last were small and not very influential. The first were monarchists, in essence, and the second were communists, in essence. The route to become President of the Union was not through either of those Parties.
Instead, someone aiming for President of the Union would become either a Conservative or Liberal Party member and then officer. And of the two, the one with more members and therefore more votes for President was the Liberals.
This discussion of signatures on Kerry military documents is in line with my experience with the "gentleman" from early on. He is a cagy opportunist.
Congressman Billybob