cheezus
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Wed Jun-16-04 09:43 AM
Original message |
Poll question: Did (would have) you served in Vietnam? |
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I ask because so much has been made about Kerry's service vs Bush's draft dodging. I agree that it looks quite dishonorable given his rush to put young people in harms way. However, does this mean that we should never elect a president without military service? Combat service? Like it or not, POTUS is commander of the armed forces. If there is a need for decisive action, do we want a draft dodger to balk out of fear of the public's reprisal? Or is it just the case that it's just another thing to attack Bush on, and in a year like this we're going to hit him with everything.
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R3dD0g
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Wed Jun-16-04 09:47 AM
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1. Another option or two please. |
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I had a very high number 266, but would have left for Canada if it had been lower than 125.
My buddy had 86, and hid out in ROTC for 3 yrs.
The choices you offer were not so straightforward back then.
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Somawas
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Wed Jun-16-04 09:52 AM
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what I was thinking. My number was over 300, but I would have resisted.
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bemildred
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Wed Jun-16-04 11:52 AM
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26. Yeah, I can think of three other options in the "I am the right age" area. |
Warpy
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Wed Jun-16-04 09:54 AM
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3. I was ineligible for the draft |
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I was also against the war and demonstrating with the Quakers in 1962, an annoyingly precocious brat. I continued as an antiwar activist until that war finally dragged to a close, and the US was kicked out of Vietnam. I may or may not have assisted people fleeing to Canada, some on active duty with shipping out in their near future. I dedicated myself to ending that war and getting the kids who had been snatched out of their homes to fight it back here and safe. I've been through riots, beatings, gassing, and all sorts of petty violence by right wing morons.
So yeah, I'd say I served. I just didn't do it in the military.
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efhmc
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Wed Jun-16-04 09:54 AM
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4. How about: I was/am a female and females were not drafted at that time, |
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Edited on Wed Jun-16-04 10:05 AM by efhmc
althought they did serve very bravely in noncombat duties. Still would not have gone. (Easy to say but do not know what I would have done if male. Probably gone if drafted.)
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IronLionZion
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Wed Jun-16-04 09:55 AM
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5. this is too hypothetical for me |
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I don't know what I would do in a situation long before I was born!
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Johnyawl
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Wed Jun-16-04 09:57 AM
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6. Like Kerry, and a lot of other boys... |
amber dog democrat
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:08 AM
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Edited on Wed Jun-16-04 10:09 AM by amber dog democrat
if my destroyer had been sent there. My homeport was in Galveston, Texas of all places. USS Ault, DD 698 RESDESRON 34
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sangh0
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:10 AM
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Career Prole
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:16 AM
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9. Depends what the definition of "in" is... |
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I enlisted in the Navy right after high school graduation, but as a carrier sailor never set foot "in country". No one would mistake an aircraft carrier for a swift boat...especially not the USS Ranger. :)
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On the Road
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:18 AM
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10. My Draft Number was 180 |
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and I probably would have gone if drafted. (did not vote)
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DemoTex
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:19 AM
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11. I served a year in Vietnam in 1970-71. |
Nile
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Wed Jun-16-04 11:40 AM
Response to Reply #11 |
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Jan. 2nd to Nov. 22nd. 101st airborne.
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mopaul
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:20 AM
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12. my number came up, and i was rejected |
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Edited on Wed Jun-16-04 10:20 AM by mopaul
i even tried to enlist.
1-Y
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TX-RAT
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:22 AM
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TahitiNut
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:24 AM
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14. It's soooo easy to proclaim "woulda/shoulda/coulda" ... |
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Edited on Wed Jun-16-04 10:32 AM by TahitiNut
... without a clue. :eyes:
Born and raised in Detroit area, 20 miles from Canada. Father and five uncles served overseas in WW2. Drafted (pre-lottery) in 1968. Inducted March 1968. Basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Assigned Fort Sam Houston, TX, July-December 1968. Served in Vietnam, USARV HQ Long Binh Jan-Nov 1969.
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:29 AM
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15. My draft number was 78 |
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they weren't drafting people anymore in 1974, but still requiring registration. I registered as a conscientious objector, status which I received. That option is not exactly covered since it is resistance, but resistance within the system.
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ShaneGR
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:31 AM
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16. My father went, I probably would have gone |
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In fact, if I got drafted to go to Iraq. I probably would. Not that I look down on people who don't go, it's just a personal thing for me.
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Wilber_Stool
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:42 AM
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17. I was in the last draft |
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before the lottery. 10Oct69. My number for the lottery would have been 356. If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all.
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11 Bravo
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:46 AM
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18. Drafted, MOS 11 Bravo (infantry), and off I went. |
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For reasons I can't articulate to this day, I just couldn't go to Canada. In any case, I survived, used the GI bill to graduate from college, and have gone on to a 30 year (and counting) career as a teacher. I am also entitled to wear some of the same fruit salad that John Kerry rates, so perhaps that is the reason I have such a bottomless well of contempt for the chickenhawks in this administration who have attempted to denigrate his service.
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mrboba1
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:47 AM
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19. Meaning of draft numbers? |
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Since I wasn't around for the draft - could someone explain the meaning of the draft numbers?
I assume the lower the number, the more likely to go - but how were they given out and what was the cutoff?
tia
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:53 AM
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21. The lower, the more likely to go |
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A lottery pure and simple. Someone else will have to tell you the year they started it.
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RedEarth
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:50 AM
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20. My number was 70 when I graduated from college in 1970 |
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and I did every thing I could to get into the Guard, however, unlike Bush I wasn't able to. Fortunately, when I went for a second physical, I was able to get a medical deferment. Had I not gotten the deferment, I would have seriously considered going to Canada or trying for a CO deferment.
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tom_paine
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Wed Jun-16-04 10:55 AM
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22. I would have resisted the Draft. |
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Edited on Wed Jun-16-04 11:51 AM by tom_paine
No doubt about that now. Just as I proudly served, and would have gone had I already enlisted, not gone AWOL/desertion like some Emperors* I know, had I not been in the service at the time I would have resisted with all the might that I am resisting with NOW.
Maybe more...it was a different time.
But I now KNOW which side of history I stand on, and it's the opposite of Busheviks/Freepers/Brownshirts.
Knowing what is in my heart now I know I would have stood up for:
Civil Rights in the 60s, while the Freepers were wantonly murdering Blacks and Civil Rights Workers. Early Environetal Movement Early Labor Movement Women's Right to Vote Movement Civil War, Proud Union Man, Army of the Potomac Abolitionist Movement, while the Freepers were working to extend the life of slavery Child Labor Movement American Revolution, in the Colonial Army, not serving the King like the Freepers were
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namvet73
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Wed Jun-16-04 11:06 AM
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Commendatori
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Wed Jun-16-04 11:12 AM
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24. Knowing what I was like back then, I would have done anything |
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to stay out of Vietnam (college deferment, enlisting in a different service to avoid being drafted into the infantry), but I would not have gone to Canada or refused service - even at that age, I was too worried about what my father would have thought.
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robertpaulsen
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Wed Jun-16-04 11:59 AM
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27. Would have resisted, just like I would resist next year... |
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if Dumbya steals the election again. Iraq is this generation's Vietnam and if the BFEE is around for four more years, they'll make Syria and Iran this generation's Cambodia. But they can't do it without a draft. You bet your ass I'll resist!
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Dees
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Wed Jun-16-04 12:09 PM
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Edited on Wed Jun-16-04 12:10 PM by Dees
1965-66 Lai Khe Vietnam 1st Infantry Division 3rd Brigade 16th Infantry
on edit...drafted
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Fri Apr 26th 2024, 03:46 AM
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