A couple days ago, I was on an "America the Right Way" thread, and wrote in three different posts something I'll copy here:
........
oldngray's post#123 generated as part of response to prairie's post#34 that I just saw jogs my memory
now. To whit: every officer in both Navy and AF, and probably Army, who were not Academy
graduates, were given a "Reserve" commission. There was a chance that they would be OFFERED a
"Regular" commission at some time in the future, and I believe that was essential if they were to be
career military.
While serving actively, it made no difference to anybody which you were. It only mattered to
promotion boards.
Ao, at the time, unless you were Academy, joining the officer corp MEANT being a reserve officer,
and you knew you were virtually automatically placed on active status for 4 years, though that may
have varied a bit.
Many of us who had a choice attempted to minimize the likelihood of our death while we were serving
our country, and as I said before, I do not fault either President Bush or Sen.sKerry for the service
route they chose. By doing so, they served their country in the way the country asked. Where they
served was up to the country: for some (many) it was being a soldier slogging around the jungle
(rainforest, for you in RioLinda) or keeping his head down in 'Nam; for a very lucky friend of mine, it
meant spending his whole service as a carpool driver in Washington, DC. By doing what the country
asked, and doing it well, they all did their duty.
That being said, I suspect that it didn't turn out as either of them really hoped it would... From what I
read, it seems that when sKerry volunteered for SwiftBoats, they were not usually expected to
participate in combat, but that changed about the time he volunteered for them. From what I know, the
F-102 aircraft Pres.Bush's Air National Guard unit flew had been used in 'Nam and was phased out of
that service in favor of F4's about the time Bush volunteered for 'Nam - and BELIEVE ME - every
fighter-qualified pilot wants to get into a combat situation (at least once).
And:.........
The main thrust is that EVERYONE who was not a gung-ho "kill the commies" type was trying to keep from dying
somehow. People like me (Draft# 156 or so, wouldn't have been "drafted") who felt they were OBLIGATED to serve
our country (they probably were active Boy Scouts or were from military families) and went nevertheless often did
so in the AF or Navy, and many with lower draft numbers who realized that they were going to be called regardless
often tried to get a better situation for themselves in the Navy or AF or some other branch than the Marines or
Army.
I DO NOT fault sKerry OR President Bush for doing the same. I have no idea what their respective draft numbers
were, and that DOES have a big bearing on what I would think of their behavior. If they had high numbers and
would not have been called up, and went Navy/AF/Guard/CG anyway, or joined up before getting a number, they
get big time points for their service. If their numbers were low, their motivation STILL might have been that they
believed it was RIGHT to serve our country, but I'm not giving automatic points for that ambiguous behavior.
and:.............
All that being said, it is CERTAIN that sKerry decided to go to the Navy in order to avoid, NOT to ENGAGE, in
combat.
Every single person I know of who was in the Navy during 'Nam was either 1) avoiding the Army or 2) had a Navy
father.
I know of NONE of my contemporaries who TRIED to get into a combat assignment in 'Nam, though (I was at
Cornell at the time) so I'm not condemning that he tried to do so (heck, I went AF for somewhat similar reasons -
wanted to serve, but avoid dying, and was pleasantly surprised to find myself pilot qualified - my best friend joined
the Peace Corps and got deferred that way - I really wonder how sKerry was denied a student deferrment, though) ...
I condemn that he tries to make it sound he did differently.
sKerry clearly was avoiding the Army, no matter what he says. He thought the Swift Boats would be "fun" so
volunteered for them and when they ended up in close combat, he said, "Oh, sh.." He thought he would be safer in
the Naval Reserves, but found himself in real combat in 'nam getting shot at by mistakes he brought on himself.
.
Interesting. I found myself out of college in December 1966, and rather than worry about when, I volunteered for the draft. I also wanted to avoid dying, but I figured my 20/400 vision would keep me out of close combat. Not a good Idea. When I reported for my physical, they said my vision was fine and not to worry because they'd give me two pairs of glasses.
Then, first days in Basic Training were devoted to aptitude tests. They were multiple choice, something I can ace in my sleep. The tests were graded and we lined up to get preliminary MOS assignments. All the guys ahead of me came out with infantry assignments, except one, who had a Master's degreein History. MPs.
I got in to my interview and the guy hands me a two inch thick book and says pick something, anything. I had aced the multiple choice tests.
I thought about my first love, photography, but decided that might involve some risk, so I asked for Intelligence. I had visions of examining aerial photographs in some safe headquarters. Bad idea.
I went through Basic thinking I had it made. Then I was assigned to crypto equipment repair. That was even better. I figured no one would ever risk that stuff being lost in combat. Bad thought. About six months the Pueblo was captured.
So I aced school, hoping to become an instructor, or at least get to Germany or D.C. But Of course I was assigned to Nam. Quy Nhon. Rumor had it that this was at least adjacent to the boonies. But it was not to be.
I get to Vietnam, three days before TET, as it turned out. TET in a replacement company was rather weird. I could tell that something unusual was up, because guys like me, fresh out of electronics school, were told to man M-50s and such, but it was pretty quiet where I was. I didn't really know it was a big deal until I read about in Time Magazine.
Instead of Quy Nhon I stayed at Cam Ranh, where the major risks were being run over by Korean trucks, dying in tragic water skiing accidents, and fragging oneself from Boston Whalers. (Actually, my unit did take some casualties several years later, in 1972.)
What's my point? Simply that planning to be safe or be in the thick of things didn't always work out. Things happen, and in war you are not in control of anything other than yourself. You do not get to decide whether an assignment is safe. And if you find yourself in combat, you do not get to decide whether you survive or not. All you can do is do your best and do it honorably. Or not.