John Kerry and Vietnam, what is known at the moment

Not facts that are a grey and nebulous he said/he said but things that most of the evidence avalible without full access to Kerry's records tells us

John Kerry Pre ‘Nam
#1) he opposed the War
#2) he tried to get a deferment to not go to war.

John Kerry and ‘Nam

What we know so far
#1) John Kerry didn’t volunteer. His deferment was tossed out and he went with the navy reserve, which statistically gave him the best chance of staying state side
#2) before going into Vietnam John Kerry had lots of locally prominent democrats out in California send strong mails which recommended rapid promotion for him, the second time he failed to get the rapid promotion recommendation
#3) as near as we can tell he volunteered to go onto the swift boat program.
#4) His diary and the recollection of –some- folks who were there put his first purple heart into a questionable status. The lack of enemy fire (in some places) and the possibility it was done by his weapon.
#5) He may not have come under fire during the incident in which he received his bronze star, but official navy records back him up because they used his after action reports.
#6) His diary and the swift boat vets account of his silver star are fairly close
#7) there is a yet unresolved dispute as to his being in Cambodia on a secret mission
#8) his last performance review was far from sterling.
#9) John Kerry does not have shrapnel (and an MRI proves it)
#10) with no clear disability rating he used his three purple hearts to get out of Vietnam; when others Such as Col. North refused a third purple heart so they would not be forced out.

John Kerry Post ‘Nam
#1) he wore his Silver Star with a valor clasp, something the navy doesn’t issue period.
#2) His citation for the Silver Star was reissued twice outside of the norms of military protocol
#3) the third time, well outside the time limits of military regulations the Secretary of the Navy whose signature is placed on it says he doesn’t remember signing it.

I'll make a comment on how all these things reflect on John Kerry the potential president a bit later