Although the headline is misleading, this is probably about as fair and balanced a view as we're going to see from a mainstream newspaper.

Swift Boat Accounts Incomplete - Critics Fail to Disprove Kerry's Version of Vietnam War Episode

I say misleading because of paragraph number five:

An investigation by The Washington Post into what happened that day suggests that both sides have withheld information from the public record and provided an incomplete, and sometimes inaccurate, picture of what took place. But although Kerry's accusers have succeeded in raising doubts about his war record, they have failed to come up with sufficient evidence to prove him a liar.

I think my favorite parts of the article are this:

When Kerry signed up to command a Swift boat in the summer of 1968, he was inspired by the example of his hero, John F. Kennedy, who had commanded the PT-109 patrol boat in the Pacific in World War II. But Kerry had little expectation of seeing serious action. At the time the Swift boats -- or PCFs (patrol craft fast), in Navy jargon -- were largely restricted to coastal patrols. "I didn't really want to get involved in the war," Kerry wrote in a book of war reminiscences published in 1986.

And this:

As they were heading back to the boat, Kerry and Rassmann decided to blow up a five-ton rice bin to deny food to the Vietcong. In an interview last week, Rassmann recalled that they climbed on top of the huge pile and dug a hole in the rice. On the count of three, they tossed their grenades into the hole and ran.

Evidently, Kerry did not run fast enough. "He got some frags and pieces of rice in his rear end," Rassmann said with a laugh. "It was more embarrassing than painful." At the time, the incident did not seem significant, and Kerry did not mention it to anyone when he got back on the boat. An unsigned "personnel casualty report," however, erroneously implies that Kerry suffered "shrapnel wounds in his left buttocks" later in the day, following the mine explosion incident, when he also received "contusions to his right forearm."

If you want my opinion, and perhaps you do if you're reading this blog, this report does seem to add more fuel to the anti-Kerry fire even if he cannot prove that he lied about anything.

This hero of Vietnam (Mr. "I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty") didn't want to get involved at first and honestly didn't seem to take much more physical punishment than a lot of the other guys on the Swift Boats who didn't get to leave after four months. Two bullet holes in a boat does not "come under heavy fire" make.