MarkJ said “Kerry did sign the Navy Form 180 and did release his entire military record…”
I’ve heard that the reality is bit more nuanced. It might not be possible to learn the truth, but here is more detail–

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-lipscomb/why-running-on-the-record_b_109691.html

my fave SwiftBoat story was when NightLine spent a small fortune going to Vietnam to get locals to discredit a story in the book. when confronted with that (sorry if I’m spelling the name wrong) O’Neill pulled out a Kerry book, the approved biography by D Brinkley and “Unfit for Command” and showed that all 3 American sources agreed. only the Vietnamese thy NL producers dug up had a differing story.
I still have the feeling the swifties were basically correct and the media simply refused to check out the charges. much like today’s Edwards situation.