And as far as his Purple Heart....I believe he was back with his unit in a couple hours. I call that...”A Kerry Moment”.
Kerry’s Purple Hearts were based upon word of mouth, not documentation - and the words came from his mouth. I have never heard of anyone being awarded a Purple Heard in such a manner.
In fact, I have a friend who received a minor wound in combat which he and his buddies bandaged up. During his discharge physical, when he mustered out of the service, they asked about the scar and when he told doctor the story was told, “too bad,” if you had reported it to the company medic or MASH so that there was a record, we could give you a Purple Heart.