You know what chaps my ass, other than the fact that this guy is a Democrat running for the US Senate? The guy has no clue regarding the long lasting scars inflicted by war nor the humiliation of not being able to get ANY job because we were Vietnam veterans with a thousand yard stare. On my discharge papers, it has a box that states the related civilian occupation and DOT Number. The box on my papers is the word, "NONE"
I was watching the last episode of the Stephen Spielberg miniseries "Pacific" on HBO last night, one of the characters was based on an actual Marine grunt, Eugene Sledge, on his homecoming he was getting the 3rd degree from a cute girl in an employment line in Mobile, AL., his hometown. She kept pressing him about what Marine training he had received, not wanting to believe that he was not taught a marketable skill, he finally leaned in and with a low voice said, "I learned to kill Japs and I was damned good at it." He then proceeded to leave. Eugene Sledge wrote one of the books the series is based on, "With the Old Breed" and suffered some of the worst symptoms of PTSD I have ever seen portrayed on film. The most stunning part of Episode 10 is at the end where they show the actor and then cut away to the actual Marine and say a few words about who they married, how many children, when they died, what they accomplished. Most of the Marines are dead or near death. A notable quote from the HBO sight, "For those that lived through the worst of it, it was a war that was never over................" If you can find the time to read this page on HBO, do so, it's that revealing. HBO Pacific< By all means see this film. MC</p>
NY Times
May 17, 2010
Candidate’s Words on Vietnam Service Differ From History
By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ
At a ceremony honoring veterans and senior citizens who sent presents to soldiers overseas, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut rose and spoke of an earlier time in his life.
"We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam," Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. "And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it — Afghanistan or Iraq — we owe our military men and women unconditional support."
There was one problem: Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat now running for the United States Senate, never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid going to war, according to records.
The deferments allowed Mr. Blumenthal to complete his studies at Harvard; pursue a graduate fellowship in England; serve as a special assistant to The Washington Post’s publisher, Katharine Graham; and ultimately take a job in the Nixon White House.
In 1970, with his last deferment in jeopardy, he landed a coveted spot in the Marine Reserve, which virtually guaranteed that he would not be sent to Vietnam. He joined a unit in Washington that conducted drills and other exercises and focused on local projects, like fixing a campground and organizing a Toys for Tots drive.
Continued at the New York Times:
NY Times