Did you see Ollie North Last night on War Stories?
He showed an assembly of Marines in Iraq, 11 of whom were receiving Purple Hearts, and he took SPECIAL CARE to say that even though many could have gone home, they ALL chose to stay with their buddies. These wounds were not of the band-aid type. Good for Ollie!
I saw it--turned to the mister and said, "ooh---SLAP"!
(LOL)
Oliver North on H&C last week:
"I turned down my 3rd Purple Heart so I could STAY with my guys."
As a long-time avocational student of military history (since age 10 or so), I can tell you that exact situation is far from uncommon. You see that again and again over the years , over the wars (see Band of Brothers for just one example), to the point that it is what Kerry did that seems uncommon.