In today's edition of The Zen of McConnell, we look at Sen. McConnell and the Vietnam. And this is in letting the narrative drive it.
Today McConnell deemed it appropriate to proudly pin a Purple Heart on a veteran at a Kentucky event.
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McConnell is a proud veteran. Let's look at his service in the Vietnam era:
Vietnam - An Honorable Alternative
“No one helped me get into the Reserve, no one helped me get out of the Reserve.”
Mitch McConnell in 2006 remarking on his five-week stint in the U.S. Army in 1967. He was given a discharge because of a minor optical condition.
The discharge just came five days after Sen. John Sherman Cooper (R-KY), for whom McConnell had been an intern, sent a letter to the general in charge at Fort Knox. Cooper wrote:
"Mitchell anxious to clear post in order to enroll NYU," the senator told the general on Aug. 10, 1967. "Please advise when final action can be expected.”
Why had McConnell enlisted in the reserves at all when he opposed the Vietnam War?
It was a “kind of ‘honorable alternative’ that wouldn’t ruin my career or taint my advancement.”
From The Zen of McConnell at page 89.
Sources:
Lexington Herald-Leader, 10-23-08 and
Republican Leader, page 19.