Commenting on the Silver Star issue, Republican Sen. John Warner, who was Undersecretary of the Navy at the time, stated "We did extraordinary, careful checking on that type of medal, a very high one, when it goes through the secretary. I'd stand by the process that awarded that medal, and I think we best acknowledge that his heroism did gain that recognition." Elmo Zumwalt, Commander of the United States Naval Forces in Vietnam at that time, signed Kerry's original Silver Star citation and defended the award in 1996, saying "It is a disgrace to the United States Navy that there's any inference that the process was anything other than totally honest." "Boston Herald", October 28, 1996.