I never really had a problem with Kerry's three purple hearts, no matter how they were earned, or if they were deserved. He served his country for four months and I am thankful to him and all the other veterans. However, when I learned a few days ago that you are automatically discharged after receiving three purple hearts, it all started to come together. Did Kerry petition for and receive three purple hearts just so he could get out of Vietnam earlier than he should have? He only served four months and he should have served no less than a year. Was it just a coincidence that he had his video camera ready to film "action" shots of him while he was on land in Vietnam, pretending to be valoric (yes, I know it's not a word, but it should be)? Are all his medals just part of an intricate plan to become "highly decorated" and then later run for government? I still don't know exactly what made Kerry do what he did, but I do know that instead of running on the "I was in Vietnam, so I should be President" ticket, he should have run on the issues and maybe we wouldn't be seeing the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and maybe Ret. Rear Adm. Willim L. Schachte Jr. wouldn't have gone on the record as he did yesterday:

NEW YORK -- Retired Rear Adm. William L. Schachte Jr. said Thursday in his first on-the-record interview about the swift boat veterans dispute that "I was absolutely in the skimmer" in the early morning on Dec. 2, 1968, when Lt. (j.g.) John Kerry was involved in an incident that led to his first Purple Heart.

"Kerry nicked himself with a M-79 [grenade launcher]," Schachte said in a telephone interview from his home in Charleston, S.C. He said, "Kerry requested a Purple Heart."

URL: Admiral speaks out, disputes Kerry's account of 1st wound