# I pit DrDeth **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 28, 2021, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971 "2021-02-28T19:52:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 65
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1285 "2022-10-23T20:28:25Z")
Actually, while breveting might be the wrong term, in battle, there was a system of bumping up rank for enlisted. Corporals made acting Sgt and if they were successful and lived, it usually took. No clue what the proper term was. So I took Breveting to mean that. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1286 "2022-10-23T20:37:43Z")
There are all manner of terms. Temporary, acting, field, take your pick. The point is… breveting ain’t it. So I take it as yet another example of the extent to which the story we are getting may be tainted by the filter, not necessarily the source. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1287 "2022-10-23T20:50:55Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Actually, while breveting might be the wrong term, in battle, there was a system of bumping up rank for enlisted. Corporals made acting Sgt and if they were successful and lived, it usually took. No clue what the proper term was. So I took Breveting to mean that. Correct. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1288 "2022-10-23T20:51:49Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Taunting? Really? We’ve been telling him for 2 years to learn to let things go. …and if he’d “let things go” in that thread, he wouldn’t be shown up as a coward who makes shit up and then runs. How many chances _are_ you going to give him? Motherfucker just. Won’t. Be. Told. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > Not returning to that thread is a good choice. I’d agree - if the little shitweasel hadn’t been such a sanctimonious prick about things while bathing in the dung-wallow of his own diarrhea-spew of wrongness: > [@D & D got woke and that's good because you should have all been playing that way (or not if you didn't prefer))](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-d-got-woke-and-thats-good-because-you-should-have-all-been-playing-that-way-or-not-if-you-didnt-prefer/933114/812): > > Look, you are wrong here. Stop digging deeper (which I am a master of , so mea culpa on that), and just do a Emily Litella. So no, fuck that noise - he should apologize. Or give a cite. Neither of which is actually going to happen, since he’s both a coward and a liar. But letting him just slink off with his lies and spinelessness is not on. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1289 "2022-10-23T21:34:36Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > So no, fuck that noise - he should apologize. Or give a cite. > > Neither of which is actually going to happen, since he’s both a coward and a liar. > > But letting him just slink off with his lies and spinelessness is not on. Yeah–“letting it go” is a good thing _sometimes_. But I also am not crazy about his habit of saying some crazy bullshit in the world’s most condescending way, and then when he’s called on it slinking off. It’s not real fun to read his condescending nonsense, and it’d be way better if he’d knock that shit off instead of pretending like he never did it and then coming back and doing the exact same thing a few months later (see: first post in this thread). So I’m pretty okay with giving him a hard time about it. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1290 "2022-10-23T21:49:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@What\_Exit](#): > > > > Actually, while breveting might be the wrong term, in battle, there was a system of bumping up rank for enlisted. Corporals made acting Sgt and if they were successful and lived, it usually took. No clue what the proper term was. So I took Breveting to mean that. > > Correct. On the subject of how “letting it go” is not always called for… No. To be clear, if you had half a fucking clue what you were talking about, you wouldn’t describe your dad as being brevetted to E7 or E8. Just like if you had half a fucking clue what you were talking about, you wouldn’t have insinuated your dad had some special knowledge about MacArthur’s decision-making (or ack of decision-making) on December 8, 1941. You don’t have a fucking clue. The sooner you stop pretending like you do, the sooner no further questions will be raised about your father’s service during WWII. Because your reckless insinuations about his service are the _only_ reason there is any question on that subject. Shut the fuck up about it, and then we can all move on and “let it go” for real. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1291 "2022-10-23T21:54:19Z")
To be perfectly fair, this thread was bumped because DrDeth [did this all over a thread](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiVsCzRJKaY) entirely unrelated to WW2. Somebody else brought that up. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1292 "2022-10-23T23:46:29Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Sure, _maybe_ his dad has some relatively unique name which can be used to track _him_ down but he won’t even say _that_ much. You may have stumbled upon the secret - that this is the only thing holding him back from revealing that his father is actually Gary Gygax. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1293 "2022-10-24T00:27:10Z")
> [@Dissonance](#): > > You may have stumbled upon the secret - that this is the only thing holding him back from revealing that his father is actually Gary Gygax. Gary Gygax doesn’t have military credentials. I think his dad is Rocky the Flying Squirrel. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1294 "2022-10-24T02:27:29Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > Just like if you had half a fucking clue what you were talking about, you wouldn’t have insinuated your dad had some special knowledge about MacArthur’s decision-making (or ack of decision-making) on December 8, 1941. He didn’t, nor did I ever claim he did. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1295 "2022-10-24T02:52:00Z")
Did I say claim? No. I said _insinuated_. You referenced the circumstances of your dad’s service to _insinuate_ that he (and therefore you) had special knowledge about a historical incident, and that your assertion should be given weight by virtue of your vicarious association with MacArthur through your father (which, as it eventually turned out, was at best a _very weak_ association). The infamous post on the day of infamy would appear to be this one: > [@Question about the Lead Up to WWII](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-lead-up-to-wwii/711903/17): > > My Dad served with MacArthur and Dad had a interesting theory; The USA thought the “surprise attack” would hit the Philippines, and FDR ordered Mac to “act surprised”. This\*\* could\*\* explain why he was caught with his pants down so badly, he still was following secret orders from FDR. > > Mind you my Dad despised Mac, which Mac did not know. Dad also said that the “true story of how Dug-out Doug escaped from the Philippines would never be known”. So, again, it’s not your dad’s service that I consider suspect, but rather your retelling of it. Sometimes the reason there is excessive chloride content downstream of the filter isn’t on account of some excess in the influent, but rather a defect in the filter itself. (Sorry, water treatment reference—one of my jobs in the Navy involved water chemistry for a propulsion plant). You are the filter. Stop acting like you’re providing us with pure, unadulterated history through your stories and we’ll have far less cause to doubt the circumstances of your father’s service as you’re relaying them to us. Just “my dad served on the periphery of MacArthur’s staff for portions of the Pacific Campaign, and there was a suspicion among many—but never any proof—that he might have had muddled orders to take the first hit if war broke out” would have been just fine. Not that it would give much weight to the conspiracy theory it represents, but then that’s kind of the point. It’s that you try to give it undue weight by _implicitly_ overstating your father’s connection to MacArthur that causes problems. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1296 "2022-10-24T03:00:48Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > It’s that you try to give it undue weight by _implicitly_ overstating your father’s connection to MacArthur that causes problems. More to the point, it’s that he tosses undue weight all over the place. His father, himself as a “fed”, convenient friends, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1297 "2022-10-24T05:23:59Z")
Dude, didn’t you embarrass yourself enough [in this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/1) about your complete lack of knowledge of things military? I give you “Full Captain”. So, what did your dad do, then? Was he the general’s aide? Was he the G1, G2, G3, etc? Was he assigned as an enlisted, warrant officer, or commissioned officer member of one of the general staff sections? Was he the general’s driver? What, exactly, was his position as defined by what’s currently known as the Table of Organization and Equipment? You really should know by now that there are enough posters here with actual military knowledge and experience to recognize that you’re pulling a shifting definitions stunt here. And, as I said in the linked thread, nobody’s mocking your father; they’re mocking _you_. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1298 "2022-10-24T05:44:01Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Maybe brevet E8 There was no such creature in the United States Armed Forces as an E8 during World War II. Can you please just STFU about all matters military since you never get any of it correct? ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1299 "2022-10-24T05:53:50Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Dude, didn’t you embarrass yourself enough [in this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/1) about your complete lack of knowledge of things military? I give you “Full Captain”. Well, since you didn’t link to any specific post, I’ve been perusing that thread. I have to say the _real_ standout was **aruvqan**. At lest until **DrDeth** brought up Dakota Meyer and the former SecNav in a fallacious appeal to authority. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1300 "2022-10-24T06:52:17Z")
Hey, there was more than one embarrassment in that thread! I figure I’d just mention Dr “Full Captain” Death’s performance and not the other’s/others’. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1301 "2022-10-24T14:45:35Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Dude, didn’t you embarrass yourself enough [in this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/1) about your complete lack of knowledge of things military? I give you “Full Captain”. > > (. . . post abreviated . . .) > > You really should know by now that there are enough posters here with actual military knowledge and experience to recognize that you’re pulling a shifting definitions stunt here. > > And, as I said in the linked thread, nobody’s mocking your father; they’re mocking _you_. Damn. That’s embarrassing. “My father served in WWII so therefore I know more than you, someone who has 20 years of actual service.” is what he’s saying. Also, “You weren’t under direct fire so I know more than you because my father was.” And he doesn’t understand that is why _he_ is getting mocked. @Martin_Hyde was outed as faking his supposed military service record by inconsistencies and this is no different, except it’s Dr “Full Captain” Deth’s father and not himself. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1302 "2022-10-24T15:15:02Z")
My grandfather served in WWII, family legend says he was a tail gunner in a Lancaster bomber. I used to have his “Old Tin Hat” and his hobnail boots, until my mum donated them to a local theatre. I am pretty sure, seeing he was an accountant, he sat out the war in some boring place doing what accountants do, and his claims of being a tail-gunner were purely made up to impress his young grandsons. Certainly his helmet had not a single scratch. I woder if the good Doctor has fallen for a similar ruse? ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1303 "2022-10-24T15:42:15Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Certainly his helmet had not a single scratch. Why should it (have a single scratch on it)? Anyway, at least one thing checks out: Lancasters did in fact have a tail-gunner position! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1304 "2022-10-24T15:59:51Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > My grandfather served in WWII, family legend says he was a tail gunner in a Lancaster bomber. I’m sorry, I truly am, but the first thing that came to mind as I read this was “…I was a military man myself” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971.md?page=64) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971.md?page=66)