Kerry's War Record
Sen. John Kerry's Naval career, and the awards he received while serving in Vietnam, have been a highlight of his biography and a target for his critics.
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Upon graduation from Yale, Kerry joins the Navy and begins officer training.
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Is assigned to the frigate USS Gridley.
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Makes his first trip to Southeast Asia aboard the Gridley, supporting aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin.
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Returns to California for training on 50-foot swift boats used for Vietnam coastal patrol, and later for inland waterways. He then goes back to the Vietnam war zone.
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While the campaign cannot locate a detailed report on the injuries that earn Kerry his first Purple Heart, a brief medical note in his personal files dated Dec. 3, 1968, reads, "Shrapnel in left arm above elbow. Shrapnel removed and appl (sic) bacitracin dressing. Ret to Duty."
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Sustains a shrapnel wound to the thigh during a firefight, earning his second Purple Heart.
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Wins a Silver Star for gallantry for landing his swift boat in the thick of an enemy position and chasing down and killing a sniper.
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Kerry is wounded in the right arm when a mine explodes near his boat, earning him his third Purple Heart. He's also awarded the Bronze Star for pulling to safety one of his boatmates who was thrown overboard.
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After his third Purple Heart, the Navy is required to reassign Kerry out of Vietnam. In a document dated March 17, Kerry requests duty as a personal aide in Boston, New York or the Washington area.
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Kerry returns to the U.S. to serve as admiral's aide in New York.
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He voluntarily extends his tour of duty through August 1970.
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Kerry is honorably discharged six months before his commitment is to end, so he may run for a House seat in Massachusetts. He later gives up his bid for the Democratic nomination and joins Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
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Organizes anti-war protests, tossing his war ribbons away at one in D.C. Critics question whether Kerry, who says he also threw the medals of other veterans, claimed he threw his own as well. He also testifies to Congress against the war and is arrested at a Lexington, Mass., protest.
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After leaving the anti-war veterans group, Kerry wins the Democratic nomination for Massachusetts' Fifth District in the House. He loses the election and goes on to become a lawyer and prosecutor before returning to politics in the 1980s.
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Credits:
CBS News, Associated Press
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