"The military is a rigorous culture that places a high premium on battlefield accomplishment.... In a sense, there's nothing that says more about your career than when you fought, where you fought and how you fought.... If you wind up being less than what you’re pretending to be, there is a major confrontation with value and self-esteem and your sense of how others view you.... When you are the chief of them all, it has to weigh even more heavily.” -- John F. Kerry, who received both a Silver Star and a Bronze Star with "V" pins for valor, as quoted by the Boston Herald, May 18, 1996