I was under the imppression John Kerry's Vietnam experience amounted to 4 months as a swift boat skipper.

Now I hear he served two tours in Vietnam. 11 months.
Though from what I understand 7 months were spent as an electronics tech on a ship going to and from Vietnam. Do those 7 months constitute a tour of duty in Vietnam?

Also do self inflicted wounds count as purple hearts?

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Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933)