Don’t know what to say about medical deferments. They can seem a little screwy at times. For instance, my grandfather was not drafted into WWII because of a heart murmur. And he badly wanted to go fight.
He led a very active life, working as a steelworker and farming and enjoying the outdoors in his spare time. When he dies, in his late 70s, is wasn’t his heart that did him in.
He didn’t talk about it much, but my grandmother told me that some people had whispered at the time that there must be some funny business, since he obviously was a healthy young man, and yet hadn’t gone to fight. I know this sort of talk must have hurt my grandfather badly.
He served the war effort by making steel.
I think there should be some provision for alternate service, in the event of a draft, for conscientious objectors and those with medical issues. However, until and unless the law is changes, we’re left with this system, which some will take full advantage of.
I also expected McCain to get the nomination in 2000; he was victim of a truly vicious smear campaign by Karl Rove. I can’t believe he thinks Bush is a better CIC than Kerry would be.
It occurs to me that maybe, if folks like Bush and Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz had actually served in Vietnam, or at least read something besides the sports and business sections of the paper at the time, or possibly read some history books, maybe they wouldn’t be so goddamned surprised at the insurgent guerilla warfare in Iraq.
They do, but I don’t see any real actions that suggest he supported the war. During his time in the guard, he did work in two political campaigns, for Rep. Gurney and Winton Blount, both of whom were pro-war. However, they were both also friends of his family, so I don’t know that his support for those candidates in itself, indicated prowar views.
I agree. My father wanted to go to Vietnam with his big brothers. He volunteered for the Air Force and went to boot camp. However, they gave him an honorable discharge because he might have had kidney disease later in life, according to their tests.
My dad was third in the state for wrestling in high school. He went to college at Wayne State and played football. He was extremely athletic and healthy. The reason they didn’t want him in the military was not because he wasn’t healthy, but they didn’t want to pay for his sickness later in life. He’s still got his honorable discharge papers framed on the wall in his study.
The only thing my dad suffers from is a dicky heart. He’s never had problems with his kidneys, even though he had a bad heart attack six years ago. (He’s doing fine now, thanks, lifts weights and bikes and exercises four times a week)
I don’t know why the military lets people out of the service for such strange reasons. I’m grateful they did in his case. Just don’t judge people for what they were let go for.