“Anything’s possible, my friend. But, there are many conceivable explanations for a lack of memory other than desertion.”
Such as?
“If you were a juror, would you convict a defendant based on the ‘evidence’ that nobody remembers what happened?”
Absolutely. If the main issue is whether the person showed up for an 18-month committment (which, incidentally is quite a different thing than not remembering a particular incident — an obvious point which you completely missed) where there were literally hundreds of potential witnesses to remember him (and where, as a jet pilot, he would have certainly cut a most conspicuous figure), where he was the son of an ALREADY famous man and where he had a strong track record as a charmer unafraid of playing of his father’s connections the fact that no one remembers him showing up is intrinsically quite damning. Remember, we’re not talking about one person forgetting the fact that he was there. We’re talking about the fact that EVERYBODY is supposed to have forgotten he was there.
Occam’s razor dictates that the simplest explanation is that he simply never showed up. The only other possible explanation is a conspiracy of silence. Are you claiming a conspiracy of silence?
“Furthermore, the presumption ought to be that if he had deserted or gone AWOL for months, he would have been disciplined.”
Nope. First, he was politically connected up the old wazoo. Second, he was transferring from the National Guard in Texas to the National Guard in Alabama as part of his CONTINUING military obligations. Using Occam’s razor once again, the simplest explanation is that he didn’t show up for his committment and, either because of bereaucratic inertia or because no one had the stomach to make a fuss, the matter was dropped. The rich, powerful and connected do get to play by a different set of rules than you and me.
Look, if there’s on thing I’ve learned in my life is that you can’t convince someone of a point if they’re dead set against getting it. They’ll just come up with one tormented rationalization after another until you get tired of them and go away, after which they’ll decide that they won the argument. Look, Junior, unless you come up with something that doesn’t fall apart after five seconds worth of critical thinking, I’m not wasting my time. I’ve made my case. It’s time to go on to other pursuits. Ta.