Shrapnel Remains in Kerry’s Thigh

John Kerry has a piece of shrapnel in his left thigh from an injury he suffered in the Vietnam War, his doctor said Friday during a review of 36 pages of the Democratic presidential candidate’s military medical records.

The records, shown briefly to reporters, provided a few more details about the wounds that resulted in Kerry’s three Purple Hearts and show that he suffered from respiratory ailments, a skin rash and a minor urinary tract infection during his four years in the Navy.

Kerry was wounded three times while commanding a swift boat in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, an assignment that brought him close to enemy fire several times.

Some of Kerry’s critics have questioned whether his injuries were serious enough to warrant three Purple Hearts and reassignment out of Vietnam. Kerry’s doctor, Gerald Doyle, said he could not characterize the severity of the wounds since he didn’t see them, but he noted that Kerry was in danger of serious injury several times.

Kerry got his first Purple Heart after he got shrapnel in his left arm above his elbow. Doyle noted that if the shrapnel had hit Kerry in the eye, it could have blinded him.

And Doyle said Kerry’s third Purple Heart came from a dangerous situation on March 13, 1969, that could have been life-threatening. A mine had exploded near Kerry’s swift boat and enemy snipers were shooting around his boat.

According to notes from a military doctor who treated Kerry three hours later, Kerry was thrown against the bulkhead, resulting in contusions on his right forearm. A small piece of shrapnel was lodged in his left upper buttock. He was treated with a tetanus shot, topical dressing and an ace bandage and advised to apply warm soaks to his right forearm.

Kerry also was wounded by a piece of shrapnel on Feb. 20, 1969, this time on his left thigh. Doctors decided to leave the shrapnel in place rather than make a wider opening to remove it. Doctors removed damaged tissue and the entry wound was closed with sutures, and no infection developed around the shrapnel, according to the records.

Doyle, who has treated Kerry since 1986, said Kerry still has the shrapnel in his thigh today, but has never complained about it bothering him.

Kerry was diagnosed with pneumonia in September 1966 and had an upper respiratory infection and bronchitis while in the military. Doyle said Kerry has allergies to hay fever, pollen and mold and is probably predisposed to pneumonia. Doyle said Kerry had pneumonia at least once since his time in Vietnam, but he usually recovered quickly because of a healthy immune system.