When Kerry was separated from the service, his discharge papers contained a then-insignificant clerical error, that his Silver Star had a combat "V". There's no such thing as a combat "V" for a Silver Star, but the Navy didn't correct the mistake until recently. Why are they doing it now? Because it makes them look stupid.
http://www.johnkerry.com/pdf/jkmilservice/DD214.pdfHowever, right wing conspiracists are seeing deep meaning in this recent change. Their argument is unbelievably silly, but they are using it to suggest dishonesty.
All Silver Stars are for valor. There's no need to add a "V" device because valor is implied in the medal itself. Despite this, right wingers weigh in with the following drivel:
The presence of the combat “V” with Kerry’s Silver Star on his DD 214 raises two extremely disquieting questions. How did the unauthorized “V” get there, and why has Kerry allowed it to remain?
The first question should not be taken lightly because we are talking about possible federal crimes. We are talking about the possibility of a forged official document. We are talking, as well, about Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001, which states: “hoever, in any manner within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the United States, knowingly and willfully . . . makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years or both.”
Was the combat “V” added by a sloppy clerk or a yeoman’s typo thirty years ago? Was someone pressured or persuaded to add it? If Kerry had nothing to do with the gratuitously added combat “V,” why didn’t he have his DD 214 corrected when he was separated from the Navy?
Which gives rise to the second disturbing question: If Kerry was not a party to the unauthorized “V,” why, for all these years, has he allowed his DD 214 to remain uncorrected and to repose on his website?
In light of the recent Swift Boat revelations and the cloud they have cast over Kerry’s awards, one plausible answer is that this is yet another example of Kerry’s multiple, and increasingly transparent, lies about his alleged heroics in Vietnam.
Let’s hope it won’t take a controversial TV spot to spark a mainstream media investigation of how candidate Kerry received an unearned “V” for valor.
http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=14743