When the our country called and thousands went to Vietnam...

[Playinghardball]

[zbdent]

1. and cheered on the war ...

[Rosa Luxemburg]

7. and here's a photo of him

[alcibiades_mystery]

2. Thousands? Nearly three MILLION Americans served in Vietnam

Just sayin'...

[Skittles]

3. yes

and TENS OF THOUSANDS were KILLED

[11 Bravo]

13. 58,282 names on the wall. And I know damned well that there are a whole lot more ...

who either succumbed to service-related illness or just decided to punch their own tickets, some of them decades later. They are victims of that war every bit as much as my brothers and sisters on the Wall.

on edit: I'll go with pinboy's number

[DavidDvorkin]

4. The country didn't call

It ordered.

[OldDem2012]

5. Many of my generation were drafted...

...and had no other choice than to go where they were sent, "brave young men" or not.

[pinboy3niner]

9. And more than 17,000 draftees died in Vietnam before the war ended

Out of a total of more than 58,000 U.S. military fatalities.

Currently, there are 58,282 names of the dead engraved on the Wall.

[1-Old-Man]

6. RVN '67-'70, I was there, where was Mitt?

And where are the scars on his back and legs, where is the Malaria parasite hiding in his bloodstream, what kind of nightmares does he have?

[glacierbay]

16. RVN-69-71, I was there too.

And where was the Mittster? In fucking France partying it up. What a fucking hypocrite.

[malaise]

8. And folks like Ali were sent to prison

for refusing to go.

[pinboy3niner]

11. Ali was sentenced to 5 years, but the Supreme Court reversed his conviction

So Ali did not have to go to prison--but I knew of a HS history teacher in Maryland who served 18 months for refusing induction.

[lunatica]

10. They went because they were drafted to go

Today's military are volunteers.

There is a universe of difference.

[bluesbassman]

23. Yes, many were drafted, but there were enlistees too. The point is

that young Mr. Romney chose neither option and used a deferment instead of serving his country in a war that it is documented that he supported.

Not picking a fight with you lunatica, just clarifying the issue.

I would add though, that many of the young men and women serving our country today are really not far removed from a draftee as the educational and economic options available to them give them few choices and military service does provide some light at the end of the tunnel.

BTW, I enlisted at 18 in 1976 for pretty much the same reason.

[lunatica]

24. No fight here either

When Bush was President I predicted that young people were being forced into a situation where their only way out was to join the military. I was right. Allowing and even encouraging the outsourcing of jobs was a door closing on options for the young.

It was deliberately engineered. Cheney and PNAC needed cannon fodder for the military empire they were planning. So it seems you and I agree.

[Useless in FL]

12. MIA

The MIA bracelet I wore while in college and after, was for "MAJ David Holmes - 3-15-66" I still have this bracelet - I would sure would like to know what happened to this poor soul..... This war ruined the lives of many innocent victims to the assholes who profited from it. I can't believe, so many years later, we are still have not found a peaceful way to co-exist and have not drowned out the profiteers!

[pinboy3niner]

14. MAJ (now LTC) Holmes' remains were never recovered, and a presumptive finding of death was issued

He has a page on the Virtual Wall:

http://www.virtualwall.org/dh/HolmesDH01a.htm

[OldDem2012]

18. You may already have this...

David Hugh Holmes

QUOTE:

"David Holmes was carried as MIA, and promoted while in that status, until the Secretary of the Air Force approved a Presumptive Finding of Death on 06 Nov 1978, 12-1/2 years after the incident."

Very sad, as are all the stories behind the names on the Wall.

[FightingIrish]

15. Willard was in France from July 1966 to December 1968

Look at all the fun he missed out on: Tet Offensive, Khe Sanh, John McCain becomes POW....
http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/timeline/index1.html

Knowing that a rich douchebag hiding out in France was cheer leading for the war would have been a real morale killer.

[WillyT]

17. And The Only Reason He Came Back When He Did... Ann Was Staring To Cozy Up To Someone Else...

[Ikonoklast]

19. France was Hell on Earth, man. You don't know. You'll never know.

Brutal.

[WillyT]

22. LOL !!!

You bad...

[lastlib]

20. When our country called, it had to leave a message on Mitt's machine....

I don't think he ever got back to it until he wanted the glory of being C-in-C.....

(Spoiled f*cking richtwit.)

[Ford_Prefect]

21. With all respect and no offense to those who served,

Some of us did a different patriotic duty and resisted the war. We also lost brothers, fathers and friends to the war and the aftermath.

Just like Shrub Mittens avoided meaningful engagement in any aspect of the war and clearly has nothing but contempt for anyone who undertakes the Honor of Citizenship.