Is my Honorable Discharge now worthless?

[Elwood P Dowd]

If George Bush can get one, then anyone can. Sorta' like one of those
mail order college degrees.

I got a little ill with one of my Bush-loving friends today who was trying his best to defend the little draft dodger. Without thinking, he asked me could I produce absolute proof I served with distinction and without an AWOL charge. Out came the file in about one minute. Every Vet I know keeps one of these unless they're ashamed of it. Even if you don't have it, you can get most of the important documents like the DD 214.

I showed him every pay voucher, every general order, every promotion,
Soldier Of The Month Citations, my Army Commendation Medal Citation, a letter from my CO (a full-bird colonel) sent to my parents after my discharge, my initial orders from the draft board, you name it!!!!

I do not personally know one single person from that time period who served in the military who doesn't have a record on file similar to what I have. We all keep those records. Even though I was a lowly draftee and never saw combat, I still have mine. They're old, faded,
and have that unique old Army smell, but they're still here.

Bush probably kept his up until a point. Then he reached that point where he wished they would just disappear - about 1973. If he had served his country in a patriotic and honorable fashion, he would produce those records.

My republican friend read through some of mine and shook his head after I told him, "All your prez has to do is pull out an old file folder like this, make several copies of the contents, and then hand
them out to the press. Until then, I won't believe a damn word he says on this subject."

I took a crazy chance with this repub, but he is a little more understanding than most. I've done work for him before, and he won't hold my opinions of Bush against me. Many of them will disown you if you insinuate that Bush might not rank Number Three behind God and Jesus.

[lcordero]

1. Yes, yes it is. I know that my Honorable Discharge is

going to be worthless
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58250-2004Jan28.html

Some companies are interpreting language in new national overtime pay rules as possibly allowing them to exempt workers who have received military training.

[Columbia]

2. It's still worth something

Be proud of your honorable discharge knowing you've earned it. I have my DD-214 filed away, but I take it out every now and then and reminisce about times, good and bad. Don't let Bush tarnish your faithful service to our country. At the end of the day, you know you earned yours through blood, sweat, and tears while Bush knows he bought his.

[JasonDeter]

3. I smell a scripted news conference comming up.

[moondust]

4. What a coincidence!

Not more than 5 minutes before reading this thread I was digging through some of my old military papers: DD-214, EERs (performance evals), orders, etc. from the mid 70s. You just don't lose these things. You may someday need them to prove something to somebody. For benefits or something. You figure the gov't will probably lose their copies or throw them away.

At the very top in the middle of the DD-214 it says: "THIS IS AN IMPORTANT RECORD. SAFEGUARD IT." Apparently ChimpBoy couldn't read back then either.

Good post Elwood!

[Elwood P Dowd]

5. Yes, we all keep them

They may be in an old beat-up file cabinet or even folded up in an old
shoe box, but most Vets keep those military records. My father kept his old World War II records in his SD box at the bank. When I got out in 72, he had me go to the courthouse and have the damn things filed with the Probate Judge's office in case they were lost.

When this AWOL thing came up, I asked all my friends who served. They all still had their records, either at home or filed away somewhere safe just in case they needed them.

[Wickerman]

6. Like others I have maintained a variety of records

from my military "career". Enough to show I was there - performance evals, citations and the 214. It sounds like Bush still has his 214, but that is it.

Why would we want a president that has such a history of not being able to keep track of things? First, he has no other records than his 214. Next, its records to various companies he ran into the ground. Later, his records in TX are so bad they are lost in his father's library in College Station.

I am a horrible record keeper, but even me, a random packrat, slob, short attention span man who has moved 9 times since discharge can lay his hands on his records.

Bush has had handlers all his life - I fail to understand why he can't produce records. :think:

[justsam]

7. the DD214 is

the most important paper for any veteran, the actual discharge is just wall decoration, there was a fire on July 12 1973 where some records was stored in St.Louis and thousands of DD214 records were destroyed, but the military will send an NA Form 13038 certification of military service that will serve as proof of military service abd can be used for benifits.