Veterans Day, Who Served Our Country And Who Didn't
© TODD HEISLER/ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
"I had other priorities in the 60's than military service." Dick Cheney
Veterans Day. The perfect time for Dick Cheney to nail patriotism to the outhouse wall. I got a fascinating email today that's additionally germane, what with former President Bush flogging his book in which he so carefully ducks any real responsibility for creating so many new, permanently disabled and dead veterans.
Gold Star Mothers everywhere just love Georgie. He got them American flags in glass cases, personal visits from solemn guys in uniforms, historic participation in our country's glorious history of Military Service by Dying for the Greater Good.
Oh yeah, that describes the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan perfectly.
Back to the email, from a longtime US House staffer who works for a powerful congressman and says it's been around the Hill and back, vetted and authenticated.
Some of the information we've all seen before. Some is verrry enlightening. In fact, there's now a web site detailing military service --or lack of same-- for every member of every branch of government.
Anti-war. Pro-war. Blue State. Red State. Tea Party. Klan Rally. Good. Evil. Right. Wrong. You be the judge.
Who Served in the Military and Who Didn't
Democrats -- The "knee-jerk liberals" who want us out of the war business:
- John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, Purple Hearts.
- Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
- Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
- Al Gore: enlisted Aug 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an army journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade.
- Bob Kerrey: Lt. J.G. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam.
- Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-47; Medal of Honor, WWII.
- Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army 1948-52; Bronze star, Korea.
- Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam.
- Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-53.
- Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve,1968-74.
- Jack Reed: Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91.
- Fritz Hollings: Army officer in WWII; Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons.
- Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam, DFCs, Bronze Stars and Soldier's Medal.
- Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart, Silver Star and Legion of Merit.
- Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne, Purple Heart.
- Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine in Vietnam; Bronze Star with Combat V.
- David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.
- Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star.
- Pete Stark: Air Force 1955-57
- Chuck Robb: Vietnam
- George McGovern: Silver Star & DFC during WWII.
- Bill Clinton: Student deferments. Entered draft but received #311.
- Jimmy Carter: Seven years in the Navy.
- Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953
- John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and Air Medal with 18 Clusters.
- Tom Lantos: Served in Hungarian underground in WWII. Saved by Raoul Wallenberg.
- Barack Obama: did not serve (no war/draft during his military eligibility service years)
- Joe Biden: did not serve (student deferments, rejected by the draft board for medical reasons/ashma; son Beau Biden served in Iraq)
- Nancy Pelosi: did not serve
Republicans -- The "patriotic Americans" supporting the Great American War Machine:
- George W. Bush: failed to complete six-year National Guard duty; got assigned to Alabama so he could campaign for family friend running for U.S. Senate; failed to show up for required medical exam; disappeared from duty.
- Dick Cheney: did not serve. Several deferments, the last by marriage.
- John Boehner: did not serve
- Jeb Bush: did not serve.
- Saxby Chambliss (the man who attacked Max Cleland's patriotism): did not serve. "Bad knee."
- Karl Rove: did not serve.
- Tom Delay: did not serve.
- Bill Frist: did not serve.
- Dennis Hastert: did not serve.
- Roy Blunt: did not serve.
- Mitch McConnell: did not serve.
- Trent Lott: did not serve.
- John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven deferments to teach business.
- Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve.
- Tim Hutchison: did not serve.
- Christopher Cox: did not serve.
- Newt Gingrich: did not serve.
- Donald Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as flight instructor.
- B-1 Bob Dornan: Enlisted after fighting was over in Korea.
- Phil Gramm: did not serve.
- Dana Rohrabacher: did not serve.
- John M. McHugh: did not serve.
- JC Watts: did not serve.
- Jack Kemp: did not serve. "Knee problem," although continued in NFL for 8 years.
- Dan Quayle: Journalism unit of the Indiana National Guard.
- Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
- George Pataki: did not serve.
- Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.
- Ronald Reagan: due to poor eyesight, served in a non-combat role making movies.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger: AWOL from Austrian army base.
- John McCain: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross, POW.
Pundits & Preachers & Judges, Oh My
- Rush Limbaugh: did not serve (4-F with a 'pilonidal cyst.')
- Bill O'Reilly: did not serve.
- Michael Savage: did not serve.
- George Will: did not serve.
- Chris Matthews: did not serve.
- Sean Hannity: did not serve.
- Paul Gigot: did not serve.
- Bill Bennett: did not serve.
- Pat Buchanan: did not serve.
- Bill Kristol: did not serve.
- Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
- Ralph Reed: did not serve.
- Michael Medved: did not serve.
- Charlie Daniels: did not serve.
- Chief Justice John Roberts: did not serve.
- Justice Antonin Scalia: did not serve.
- Justice Stephen Breyer: did not serve.
- Justice Clarence Thomas: did not serve.
- Justice John Paul Stevens: served in WWII, awarded Bronze Star
- Justice Anthony Kennedy: CA National Guard, 1961
- Justice Sonia Sotomayor: did not serve.
And by the way:
* John Wayne: did not serve.
If you can refute any of these (or add any), knock yourself out. We'd love to know.
After all, it's a free country. Largely thanks to our past and current military veterans.
"Only 1 percent of this nation is fighting these wars. But 100 percent of America owes them a thank you; 100 percent of the nation can, and must, do something to acknowledge what they've done for us and continue to do this very moment for us." Vice President Joe Biden, Veterans Day, November 11, 2010
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Max Rivlin-Nadler
drlaura2
Kristina Lakes
mhold
L in the Southeast
Jane Brogan
Salon.com
Comments
This should be front page news..
rated with hugs
I have no no respect whatsoever for the chickenhawks. They love war and scorn pacifism as only a coward who's never heard a shot fired in anger, can.
That list is highly illuminating. We've put the damn neocon chickenhawks back in the driver's seat.
In all fairness, Ronald Reagan was a Democrat during WWII. He changed parties later. We should also mention that George Herbert Walker Bush, unlike his son, absolutely served; in fact, by lying about his age, I believe he was the youngest US combat pilot flying at the time, and he flew combat missions in WWII. The elder Bush was no chicken hawk and it's probably one reason he and his crowd didn't much approve of his son's advisors, most particularly Rumsfeld. (He was awfully, awfully right about Rumsfeld.)
For the most part, however, this list makes an extremely valid point. The GOP is full of chicken hawks questioning the patriotism (sometimes successfully, which is just sick) of Democrats who risked their lives for their country and, in the case of Max Cleland, made awfully serious sacrifices for their country. You'll also notice that the GOP is hawkish when it comes to the use of the military but has a far worse record than the Democrats of looking after the welfare of soldiers, both in terms of help when they get home and in terms of armor while they were in combat zones.
i submit that serving the nation is not the same as fighting on foreign soil to steal their land, or take their oil.
i rather like that the more imperial of america's elite are the least martial, it highlights the character of that elite more clearly.
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There are times when war has been inescapable, one would think that it's about time we evolved past that, but a quick look around the world puts a lie to that idea.
Your post is but another veil removal of the Repugs, but those who swallow their soporifics will never open their eyes.
I am reminded of this quote by a favorite thinker:
"War is delightful to those who have not experienced it."
—Erasmus
Rambo (Slyvester Stallone) never served.
Al Franken, David Letterman, Paul Schaeffer, uncounted trips to the gulf to entertain along with Brooks Shield and a bevy of beauties.
Kosher: Al Gore came from a political family and served in part because his father knew it would be necessary for his political future
Recruiters were afraid to even sign him up without calling in a supervisor, once they heard his name and caught on that he was the son of that antiwar Senator Albert Gore. I have even heard that because of his father's status he had to pull strings of his own to get to Vietnam and once there took more risks than he would have had to.
http://partners.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/071100wh-gore.html
That may have also affected the Kennedys; it is possibly responsible for Joe jr.'s death as he reportedly didn't want to be compared unfavorably to his war hero younger brother and volunteered for what was in essence a suicide mission.
It's a stretch to attribute the Kennedys' service to political ambition given the percentage of men who served in WW2 and the general enthusiasm for volunteering. I don't know what motivated Jos. to take on the mission he did but it's well known that the family was extremely competitive among themselves, even apart from political aspirations - theirs or their father's.
I don't know that those distinctions are important but I am sensitive to the all too common slighting of Democrats in this regard, particularly in light of the list Sally posted.
And I think that every war should have its own draft.
You have to be a Boomer to truly understand our naive but genuine outrage at such a politically cynical and corrupt war as Vietnam. I don't begrudge any who refused to serve there. More deaths would not have had the impact our protests did.
What I fail to understand is why Cindy Sheehan and her followers remain the only organized and yet failed protest against our current politically orchestrated carnage for corporate profit. Where is the outrage now?
I am truly horrified that Tea Partiers are the new protesters and for ALL the Wrong reasons.
We'd also add, I assume, Bill Maher, John Stewart, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer, etc.,
Some liberals served, some didn't. Some conservatives served, some didn't. The times matter, the draft (or not) matters, one's physical condition (FDR, for example couldn't serve because of contracting the measles), matters and, usually, one's sex matters.
But what is your point? Is it that if one didn't serve one has no business deciding matters related to war or military policy? (That would leave out most citizens too, by the way.) Most Americans alive today never served in the military. Do you think they all should have in order to have their opinions listened to? Should Amy Goodman serve?
I honour those who DID serve, but I don't dishonour opinions simply because someone did not.
If your point is just clarity for clarity's sake, fine. If it is to disqualify in some odd way those who did not serve, it is pretty silly and damned limiting.
I'll amend one person on your list. I copied this post to some friends and family (along with the link so they could find your other stuff if they wished). My father pointed out that Chris Matthews didn't serve in the military but did in the Peace Corps - I don't know if that fits your definition of service in this post.
Nerd Cred,
I'm bending over backward to be as fair as possible, so I spoke about Gore, some possibilities concerning the Kennedys (though I have to agree that the ethos of the time was to serve if you could), George Bush sr., and that Reagan would have been counted as a Democrat during WWII. I agree about the Draft. That's a point Ted Kennedy used to make: He used to go onto college campuses in the immediate aftermath of Vietnam and ask two questions:
1. How many of you believe in the All-Volunteer Army? (just about all hands in the room)
2. How many of you will volunteer? (zero hands)
The sacrifices are being made primarily by a single class. That's not a good idea. That, by the way, is one reason we're likely to see the GOP so free with using troops: There's more blatant class separation over there.
BTW, Tom Ridge served.
And, to be fair, some dispute your description of George Bush's service. (Another writer has pointed out his father's heroic service. )
Why didn't you list the pundits on the Left who didn't serve? Don't make us do it for you.
Thomas Sowell served,
Glenn Greenwald did not,
William F. Buckley served,
Jim Lehrer served,
Dan Rather served,
William Safire served,
Markos Moulitsas Zuniga served,
Tom Brokow, did not,
Wolf Blitzer, did not,
Chris Matthews, did not,
Michael Moore, did not.
Politicians:
Jesse Jackson, did not,
Colin Powell, of course did,
Richard Armitage, served,
Donald Rumsfeld, served,
Dan Quayle, served,
Chuck Hagel, served,
Lindsey Graham,served,
John Edwards, did not,
Al Frankin, did not,
William Cohen, did not,
George Tenet, did not.
Seems to sort of cut across party lines in both punditry and politics.
And Stewart's name, dude, should be "Jon". Sorry about that.
You can't take the high ground on this one when your party has run smear campaigns based on whether people served in the military or not when most of those calling names skeeved their way out of it. That's called being a hypocrite.
He's a great one to read for another "take" on war.
If you see some of the additions I added here,you'll find that is not always so.
I meant her readers.
You wrote, "That sounds like a threat."
Good God. A threat of what? I only added to her list. What's the harm? I meant that we (us) would need to add to her list.
You wrote, " When the latter Bush was in power anyone who questioned anything he did was labelled a "traitor" by Republicans and called "unAmerican.""
I don't think that any mainstream pundits on the other side, meaning Republicans, did this. I suspect it was a factoid. (I, by the way, would never believe this of those on the other side politically, nor would I say it.)
You wrote, " The line went that he was the President and should be respected no matter what. But apparently that doesn't apply to anyone who's NOT a Republican in office re President Obama."
Good Lord. I certainly think that President Obama should be respected. BTW, it was the author who noted he was not in the military. I pointed out that it doesn't matter. Which, by the way, I believe. Also, should you care, I said NOTHING here about respecting Pres. Obama. I didn't even bring him up. I simply pointed out that this list needs, in my view, some other names. I added some on the Left AND the Right whom the author didn't include. Some served, some didn't.
You wrote, "You can't take the high ground on this one when your party has run smear campaigns based on whether people served in the military or not when most of those calling names skeeved their way out of it. That's called being a hypocrite."
I don't speak for my party, which, by the way you are only assuming you know, but I did point out that such lists are pretty silly. I don't care if Mr. Obama OR a Republican served in the military when it comes to judging the military decisions they make. I pointed out that we need to look at the opinion stated by men and women and judge it on its merits and not whether the man or woman has served in the military.
FDR never was able to serve, through no fault of his own, and was a real leader in WWII.
You seem to have jumped the gun on what I wrote. Try again.
All the best.
Bye, bye.
Those who favor military intervention and did not serve
and
Those who oppose military intervention and did serve.
Those politicians and pundits who fit in neither category are largely beside the point.
These correlations are relevant because of who questions whose patriotism in public. This questioning of patriotism is mostly a one-way street; that's much more of a Republican tactic than a Democratic one. There aren't too many liberal equivalents of Ann Coulter, even in cases where there should be, like in the most blatant case in recent memory: the outing of Valerie Plame. If you think I'm wrong, try to imagine what would have happened if a CIA agent with existing clandestine assets in the field had been outed by a Democratic administration. If that had happened on Bill Clinton's watch, I very much doubt he'd be a free man today, and I say that without a shred of exaggeration. (Get Karl Rove alone and ask him that question and I'd bet you'd see an involuntary smirk a mile wide.)
When guys who put their lives and limbs at risk for their country, like John Kerry and particularly Max Cleland, lose elections because their patriotism and service is questioned, lists like this become a fair tactic. There's a clear implication in a lot of Republican campaign rhetoric that Democrats are less patriotic than Republicans are. From a service standpoint, the correlation clearly doesn't run in that direction and probably runs in the other direction (for reasons I alluded to in an earlier comment), which would indicate that the aforementioned implication has no merit and is in fact hypocritical by its nature.
Thank you, Sally, for this list.
And Nixon was a Naval officer of some sort.
Sally, do you remember if any of the Vietnam-era Presidents referred to themselves as "Commander-in-Chief?" Especially to justify their actions.
A few things:
I cited my source material, there is a web site on this too, not to mention other ways to determine validity.
I deliberately didn't include the entire government or 4th estate... far too long, plus you needed something to add, right?
Eisenhower's service and heroism is a given for cryin out loud.
Nixon was in the Navy, where his greatest victories took place in poker games.
Wolf Blitzer served in the Israeli army under combat, does that count?
As I pointed out above, those who came of age when there were no wars being fought and no draft are off the hook. I personally take anyone who chose not to fight in Vietnam off the hook. I worked damn hard with VVAW, aka Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
koshersalami, I love your final answer, you said what I would say.
Stim, I think Jimmy Carter called himself CiC during the Iran hostage crisis which he bungled so humongously. I could be wrong (about the CiC, not the bungling). All presidents are constitutionally Commanders in Chief whether they choose to call themselves that or not.
If those who DIDN'T serve can't make the case for a war, than most of us, including, of course most women, can't make the case. It also should mean that most people who are against a war, if they didn't serve, shouldn't be able to make the case.
If only those who have served can, in the view of many here, morally make the case, than very few people, on the Right OR the Left will be making the case and in a non-literal sense the idea of civilian oversight of the armed forces is abrogated.
Bye now.
I would only add that there is a MAJOR difference between favoring military intervention as Clinton did and war-mongering/being obsessed with war-making (fill-in-the-blank)..
therein lies the rub
I'm sorry if it seems so.
I invite you to read my blog seeing as how I've so enjoyed yours.
And, by the way, to the person who said "I would only add that there is a MAJOR difference between favoring military intervention as Clinton did and war-mongering/being obsessed with war-making (fill-in-the-blank).."
President Clinton fully supported the invasion of Iraq. Just for the sake of honesty it is important to note.
All the best.
Please, let's not bring the Holocaust into this, it's a far larger discussion and one we've had in specific posts often. Here's one I wrote for Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Did you read my follow up post to this one, as I promised? Please, don't see disrespect or rudeness where there isn't any. The world is full of too much anger already.
I wasn't trying to bring the Holocaust into this discussion. I didn't mention the Holocaust. (Do you have me mixed up with someone else perhaps?) I wrote that, since you wrote about veterans here, I had a blog that also talked about a veteran and it is called, "Anne Frank, My Uncle, and Oliver Stone." It was the vet part I thought, that would be my uncle, might be of interest to you.
All the best and I'll get to your follow-up. I'd be interested in your comments on my blog.
Again, all the best.
There are people who will never want to use any kind of violence against their fellow man - either because of fear for themselves, cowardice its called, or only believing in liberty when purchased with someone else's blood and sacrifice. We still need Americans like Pat Tillman and his brother. While in my 20 years of service in the US Army - I constantly cursed the damn draftees. But now, I believe we sould have a draft - without any exemptions other than for severe medical or psychiatric reasons. AND, women should also be subject to the draft - thats equal treatment. Stand up and serve or shut the hell up!!