He also had a segment with another vet blowhard who said that the standards for awarding decorations in Vietnam were lax as a way to "boost morale" and that the decorations in Vietnam were not so heavyweight as decorations given in WW II. The guest said that "medals inflation" was a well known phenomenon for Vietnam. This is bullcrap.
People who are in battle are NOT THINKING/AIMING for medals. These are afterthoughts and, as can be seen now, it is mostly non-vet-savvy civilians who make a big deal over medals.
Veterans of all wars have always been cynical about military b.s. Read/see "Catch 22". And here is MAULDIN's WW II cartoon about medals:
"Just gimme a coupla aspirin.
I already got a Purple Heart."
There is nothing going on but veterans' baiting, which is a bunch of civilians (the media) who know nothing about military CUSTOMS bloviating.
One of HUME's segments was about a citation issued by the Navy Department, signed by then Navy Secretary John LEHMAN, after the fact, as replacements for the original citations that were lost, with HUME focusing on the Navy Department language, phrases like "with distinction". These assholes ought to know that there are STOCK phrases that are ASSOCIATED WITH different levels of decorations, that, when a citation of that level is written up are inserted on CUT AND PASTE basis.