Kerry is the real deal as war hero. I have read all of his service records, and he did the deal. That doesn't mean anything else, there are heros in war that rot in jail in peace, all the way up to being hero's throughout life. Kerry's problem is not even that he opposed the war, it is just the manner in which he did so (for me).
He is a true-blue Vietnam War Hero, though, don't disrespect him in that matter.