Self-conscious Heroism

Byron York has a piece in The Hill about Kerry's fixation on his months in Vietnam. He cites a 1996 report in the Boston Globe by Charles Sennot that indicates the mythic character his "crowded hour" has taken on:

The future senator was so �focused on his future ambitions,� Sennott reported, that he bought a Super-8 movie camera, returned to the scene, and re-enacted the skirmish on film.

He screened it for Sennot on his home television. One is reminded a little of Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard, or of Bill Clinton's letter to his Draft Board revealing his youthful ambitions.

I'm not sure what to think of this. It seems odd, as if during the moments of high danger and action he was thinking, "This is going to look great on my resume!" I don't think it detracts from his heroism. The desire to do great deeds and win glory and honor has motivated many a soldier, but how does it fit with his Anti-war radicalism when he returned home?