# Is this story true? Snopes doesn't have the answer. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 31, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721 "2003-08-31T00:57:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/21 "2003-08-31T15:56:52Z")
And don’t forget that all four engines failed in flight. Luckily, the marines had all sorts of handtools on them and they went wing walking to fix them. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/22 "2003-08-31T16:10:17Z")
**Mr. Babbington** , stories like this and other forms of glurge even more offensive have been circulated for years and years. Despite this, we’re somehow _still_ a long way from ‘totalinariansim’. For reference, I suggest you look up: Comunism, stalinism, nazism, and fascism. IRT to commercial fligts for military movement, I too spent plenty of time on commercial flights while serving. It’s a damned sight cheaper to pay (reduced) fare on a commercial carrier than to route a whole aircraft for a few bodies, or hold up transfers & travel while waiting for a large enough number of people all headed in the same direction to accumulate at one location. Definately faked, and not well, either. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/23 "2003-08-31T21:04:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by David Simmons \* > \*\*Probably just a story. With the amount of traffic being handled, a plane can’t leave (Major Terminal) for (major terminal) without having an assigned place in the landing rotation at the destination. Delays for any reason really screw things up and I think only result from mechanical difficulties or air traffic snarls such as for inflight difficulties or other unexpected events. \*\* Unless, of course, they’re holding up a flight for a pilot catching a ride home. For 35 freakin’ minutes! Not that I’m bitter, or anything. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/24 "2003-09-01T00:04:29Z")
what’s there to doubt? gi’s returning from overseas combat get on plane which has been delayed. since it is a war, and there has been a ton of news about it on a daily basis, one can’t blame a stewardess for being breathless. gi’s get free drinks. hardly something snopes needs to verify. it’s about as much a story as ‘hot babe goes into bar. single men buy her drinks. they go home with different thoughts than when they went in.’ the story isn’t in what happened…it’s the person’s ann landeresque telling of it. i bet it happened at least a hundred times since april. (the scenario, not the glurge). ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/25 "2003-09-01T15:43:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shade \* > \*\* > > Also I feel constrained to point out that buying drinks for, praying for, and generally respecting soldiers is a good thing (normally), and is unrelated to whether the war was justified. They didn’t choose it. \*\* S’funny. I had the impression that people volunteered for the forces in the US, rather than being conscripted so yes, they did choose to make themselves eligible for whatever battles their leadership sends them into. Whether or not that makes them heroes such as the glurge suggests is a different matter altogether. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/26 "2003-09-01T19:51:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Futile Gesture \* > No, even better! An 8 year old orphan flying to hospital in a coma comes around on hearing the cheering. He later goes into surgery clutching the dog-tags of the soldier who befriended him. > > A 36 year old alcoholic, flying out to the coast to walk into the ocean and bid the cruel world goodbye gets the inspiration to go back to his family and give up the drink. > > An elderly widow, grieving for her recently departed husband and flying out to her daughter’s to live out her empty life is invited by one of the kindly soldiers back to his home, where she meets and falls in love with his widower father, a veteran of the Korean war. > > _Now_ we’re getting an urban tale worth emailing to _all_ your friends! You forgot the bit about how these soldiers are able to reveal that they have captured (and stored in the cargo hold) Saddam Hussein, who turns out to be Osama Bin Laden, which justifies the whole war. And one of them has found the missing chads from Florida, which shows that Bush was elected with a majority. And another has redesigned the oil extraction process, so that the US need not worry about future energy supplies. Now **there’s** a story… ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/27 "2003-09-01T21:26:28Z")
Hang on, hang on… where’s the Angel in this story? Surely an angel has to appear at some point. Or at least a stunning coincidence proving the truth of a bible verse. No? What a rip-off. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/28 "2003-09-01T21:53:34Z")
I think this is better described as [glurge](http://snopes.com/glurge/glurge.asp). As an U.L. it’s pretty mundane and is focused on the moral lesson rather than any extraordinary event. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/29 "2003-09-01T22:27:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kniz \* > \*\*I waited over an hour in Memphis for a plane to Tupelo to leave. The reason was that an FAA inspector was scheduled to inspect that flight and her plane was late getting in from Little Rock. Point I’m making is the FAA makes exceptions. > \*\* If the airplane required an inspection then not taking off until the inspection was made is not in any sense an “exception.” I believe that if a plance has been repaired or had any alterations done that affect performance an inspection is required before it can be flown again. Any fault in your case goes to the airline for scheduling that plane to fly with so little margin of time for the inspection to be made. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/30 "2003-09-01T23:51:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Martiju \* > \*\*S’funny. I had the impression that people volunteered for the forces in the US, rather than being conscripted so yes, they did choose to make themselves eligible for whatever battles their leadership sends them into. > > Whether or not that makes them heroes such as the glurge suggests is a different matter altogether. \*\* Does volunteering mean you can retire at any time? I thought most armies signed you up for x years, and then you were pretty much stuck until they let you go even if you had second thoughts. This would mean plenty of soldiers wouldn’t have a choice, even if they joined the army for duty, not just as a career. But I’m willing to be told that the US is different. I googled quickly and couldn’t find a cite either way. Either way, I’m sorry, I was trying to avoid hijacking with my post. I agree it’s hard to say whether soldiers are heros or not. I just meant that it’s relatively common and reasonable to treat them as they are, whether that’s strictly true or not, so the general theme of the glurge isn’t very surprising. (Yes, it could well be a backlash against people who despise soldiers for the war in general. Still…) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/31 "2003-09-02T03:31:39Z")
For what it’s worth, the story as it appeared in the May 30, 2003 posting over at [Sgt. Grit’s](http://www.grunt.com/newsletters/May30_2003news.htm) Marine Corp website would indicate from the language used, that it was written by an ex-Marine. Not trying to disparage anyone or any organization. Glurge is glurge. JUst trying to show how it spreads. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/32 "2003-09-02T04:46:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shade \* > \*\*Does volunteering mean you can retire at any time? I thought most armies signed you up for x years, and then you were pretty much stuck until they let you go even if you had second thoughts. \*\* Enlistments are for a certain number of years. However, if you are found to be definitely unsuited for service for one reason or another, other than bad conduct, you will probably get a General Discharge. For example, our neighbors son enlisted in the Navy, went through Boot Camp (Basic Training) and was assigned to a Guided Missile destroyer which went to the Med. He was seasick and unavailable for duty the whole trip and was returned to the US and given a general discharge. If, during the term of your enlistment, a war breaks out you can be held indefinitely I think. At least for the duration of the war and some period after. It used to be for the duration and six months, with the war not being ended until an actual peace treaty was signed. Wars don’t happen that way much any more so I’m not sure how this is handled now. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/33 "2003-09-02T04:48:45Z")
Incidently, during wartime our neighbor’s son would probably be classified as “limited duty” and assigned to shore stations. The need for lots of personnel overrides the bother of keeping track of limited vs. full duty status. Peacetime services don’t want to be bothered with such niceties. ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/34 "2003-09-02T05:06:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by David Simmons \* > **If, during the term of your enlistment, a war breaks out you can be held indefinitely I think.** This is true. During Desert Storm several soldiers I knew were highly pissed to be held back from their normal expiration of term of service (ETS). In the Army it’s known as Stop Loss. I believe it was enacted again recently due to the events in Iraq. People clapping and cheering when soldiers return home aren’t neccessarily congratulating them on their heroics. I’ve often taken it that they are simply happy for the soldiers and their families that they have arrived home safely (and hopefully not wounded either) from dangerous duties abroad. I certainly didn’t feel like a hero when I came home; I didn’t feel as if I’d done anything particularly heroic sitting in front of a computer working in a personnel unit for 12 hours a day. It was simply something I signed up to do (military duty), and when the time came, I did what I promised I would do (serve in a war). As for the “glurge” that some people purport the OP to be (and it might well be), I’ve had something similar happen on a more personal level. After getting off work one day I went to Wal-mart (still in uniform) to look for some blank CD’s. An woman in her 60s approached me and offered her hand. I put mine out and she grasped my hand with both of hers and said “Thank you, and God bless you” in a very sincere tone. In my surprise I just said, “You’re very welcome” and then she walked away. This happened a few weeks after troops in Afghanistan started looking for ObL in his network of caves. That’s the first time that that’s ever happened to me. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/35 "2003-09-02T05:20:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handsomeharry \* > **what’s there to doubt?** Well, for a start, as **Reeder** already pointed out, 340 Marines cannot fit onto a 767 by themselves, let alone with any civilian passengers as well. It only holds up to 325 passengers all told. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/36 "2003-09-02T11:12:42Z")
It doesn’t say “340 Marines”, just “340 people”. Not that that makes a whole lot of difference. I agree that the whole thing is just nauseating though. What on Earth prompts people to write, and even worse forward, these things is beyond me. (Hey look, I’m such a sensitive guy. God bless America – and more importantly, God bless my smug little behind!) ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/37 "2003-09-02T11:21:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by David Simmons \* > \*\*Enlistments are for a certain number of years. > > \ > > If, during the term of your enlistment, a war breaks out you can be held indefinitely I think. At least for the duration of the war and some period after. It used to be for the duration and six months, with the war not being ended until an actual peace treaty was signed. Wars don’t happen that way much any more so I’m not sure how this is handled now. \*\* Yeah sorry, just got back to this thread and grateful for the clarification. My point was that when people sign up they are signing up knowing, presumably, that they might have to be involved in active service. As a said before, the issue of whether soldiers are heroes are not is more of a personal one. My WAG is that people are projecting a ‘Go [my country]’ emotion onto those that physically are required to carry out governmental orders. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/38 "2003-09-02T13:10:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by David Simmons \* > **Enlistments are for a certain number of years. However, if you are found to be definitely unsuited for service for one reason or another, other than bad conduct, you will probably get a General Discharge. For example, our neighbors son enlisted in the Navy, went through Boot Camp (Basic Training) and was assigned to a Guided Missile destroyer which went to the Med. He was seasick and unavailable for duty the whole trip and was returned to the US and given a general discharge.** Typically when something like this happened in the Army the discharge would have been Honorable. There’s nothing dishonorable about an illness. FWIW the discharge types (IIRC) are Honorable, General Under Honorable Conditions, Undesireable, Bad Conduct, and Dishonorable. The “norm” is Honorable, and it’s essentially what everyone gets at separation. Early-outs due to various reasons are informally the decision of the company commander. General isn’t “less than honorable” but it’s not the best, and so wasn’t typically given without some mitigating circumstances. I’ve seen AWL and drug offenders get booted with General discharges (usually after accepting non-judicial punishment in lieu of a court martial – kind of a plea bargain). ---
**Author:** ![the\_O-man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9f8e36/32.png) [@the\_O-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_O-man)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721/39 "2003-09-02T13:33:42Z")
Snopes is currently researching the story: [http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/comehome.asp](http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/comehome.asp) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-true-snopes-doesnt-have-the-answer/198721.md?page=1)