Let me preface this by saying, so there is no misunderstanding, I am a Vietnam ,"Era", veteran. I never served in combat I knew I would be drafted and the prospect that I might die in Vietnam was very real.
I placed my fate in Gods hands. I supported the Vietnam war even if I didn't support LBJ and his minions. I was drafted in January of 1971 was inducted into the US Army in Louisville Kentucky, took my basic training at Ft Knox Kentucky and reported for leadership training and combat arms training, (field artillery), at Ft Sill Oklahoma. I was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division just after that unit was returned to the states from Vietnam. Many of my friends were not so lucky.
It always interested me that, there was no organized protest against the Vietnam war until the government started drafting college students after they graduated. A collage "draft exemption" turned into a "limited deferment" and all hell broke loose.
To most of my generation, a college education was either an unattainable dream or something unnecessary for work in a factory. For many of us, thanks to the GI bill, a degree became possible and our horizons had been broadened. We may have once been children when we left, (children, as we came to see those spoiled boys and girls who were insulated from a very nasty world and sent off to school with little to do but party and protest), we came back men and blooded warriors.
There is a core in each generation that has a vested interest in this great nation. They have taken an oath and served our country proudly. They never forget. They know who their enemies are.
Today, this core is being refreshed anew. Only this time they are men "and" women. They are volunteers, they are smarter, more healthy and better educated and trained than my generation with a far higher percentage of those that describe themselves as conservative.
They are the pool from which our future leaders, in both the private and public sectors, will come.
The left vilified my generation upon its return to civilian life, and in turn, those that would accept the label, were portrayed as victims.
This will not happen again!
This is the lefts nightmare. A generation of leaders tested in fire, one that does not, and will not, bow down at the alter of political correctness. A generation willing to face reality and ready to cast out silly notions of moral equivalence and "subjective truth". A generation that has taken an oath and served our country proudly. They will never forget. They know who their enemies are.
Leftists, meet your future. It looks pretty grim.
37 comments:
Warren,
This is a great rant my friend.
I hope you are right when you say:
"This will not happen again!"
The world needs the US very much and so the right leadership is so important.
Missinglink,
These kids are marvelous!
The standards for enlistment are high. Over 90 percent have a high school diploma and the rest are required to attain equivalence as a term of enlistment. Only 75 percent of their peers have attained that goal.
The military says:
"A traditional high school diploma is the best single predictor of "stick-to-it-tiveness" and successful adjustment to the military."
We also know a high school diploma is a predictor of success and economic prosperity in civilian life.
"Nearly two-thirds of today's recruits are drawn from the top-half of America in math and verbal aptitudes; a strong determinant of training success and job performance."
"Military recruits mirror the US population and are solidly middle class. A recent report shows that more recruits come from middle income families, with far fewer drawn from poorer families. Youth from upper income families are represented
at almost exactly their fair share."
This can't be said about the Vietnam era veterans. Disproportionate numbers were from poorer families with less education. Morale was low and many of the draftees were motivated only by fear of law. One of our peeve's; we were old enough to be responsible for the lives of our brothers in arms and die for our country but not old enough to vote for its leaders. Today, all citizens of 18 years of age have franchise.
"About half of today's youth are not medically or physically qualified against current, and necessary, enlistment standards."
This was not true of Vietnam era veterans. Drug addicts were "rehabilitated", conditions that are automatically disqualifying today, were ignored, (i.e. asthma, orthopedic injuries, and obesity).
One of my friends was drafted that was missing over 4" (100 mm) of his upper thigh bone which had been replaced with a rod. I remember seeing two heroin junkies shooting up in a hallway before their induction. Draftees that were too obese to past physical tests were simply recycled through basic training until they passed physical proficiency tests. I knew one that was on his third time through and being threatened with courts martial if he failed again.
"Current enlistment standards bar many youthful offenders from enlisting."
I knew many that, "enlisted", pending jail sentence. In other words, the judge said, enlist or go to jail.
Although the left will try to vilify them, these people are committed, motivated and fire hardened. They are "all" volunteers. They know reality and no amount of pedantic leftist drivel will raise feelings of guilt. They will fight back and we will fight with them!
They are truly the best of the best, self chosen highly, motivated, and aggressive, when the situation calls for it.
God bless them all!
The ranks are not filled with unmotivated urban dwellers with feelings of entitlement and a chip on their shoulder.
successful military service has always been a large plus in American business and politics. Perhaps we shall even have new "Scoop Jackson's" that force the far left from the Democrat party and replace their morally repugnant leadership with people that genuinely care about America as a country.
As a student of history, I very much agree with your last statement.
Of course, my being an American might prejudice my opinion slightly. ;^)
Warren,
Of course, my being an American might prejudice my opinion slightly.
No, it's not that. Many Americans still wish to go back to "the splendid isolation" days.
They cannot stand not being "loved" by everybody.
The truth is that there are so few democracies, they are still very young and they are under constant threat that the US is the only natural leader.
The worst enemy is of course the enemy within and the US must overcome this problem.
What you said in your post gives me more confidence that it has already started.
warren:
"we were old enough to be responsible for the lives of our brothers in arms and die for our country but not old enough to vote for its leaders."
that was my arguement for lowering the drinking age back to 18- we're old enough to die and fight for America, but not old enough to have a drink.
DM, I found out, after I was drafted, that on military posts you could drink all the, (3.2 %, or green beer, as we called it), "lite" beer, you could hold. They also tolerated alcoholism in the ranks. I know they don't do that now.
I assume that isn't true today. In 1984 a federal law was passed that required all states to raise the minimum age to 21 for consumption, possession, and transportation of any alcohol. Prior to that time, in NY, IL and some other states, law allowed the drinking of beer below a certain alcohol content.
alcohol laws are a problem, but so is alcohol.
I blog rolled you today. I hope that is cool. I love your blog and I wanted to share it with the 2 people on my blog.
Your point is well-taken. Because many of the enlisted folks are being drawn from the reserves, they will return and seed their area, and the nation, with the warrior spirit. This will in turn make opposition to the Left's irrational national defense policies both widespread and localized, so they're going to have to push their way through a thousand bayonets to get anything done. I love it!
I once asked my father if he was a hippy during the Vietnam War.
His response was classic:
"No, my parents were poor."
beamish - lol - my kids ask me if i was a hippy! the other day one of them asked if i was alive in any part of the sixties - to which i replied, "as far as i can remember, all of it..." of course, i was a very young child ;]
Warren I have written several times about the generational clash between Reagan's Kids and the Woodstock crowd. The Woodstock crowd liked to pretend that they spoke for your entire generation. They can spin their lies to Drummasters generation but with Reagan's kids it was a different matter we were there.
I remember my friends looking at each other as the Professors self promoted the idealism of their generation. My friends asked if the idealism was an excuse for free
sex and drugs. They would talk about a wave of sympathy for their side against the war. Funny, I remember nothing but loathing and derision for hippies.
The boys used to gather to watch our in show Tour of Duty. Our Professors would denounce the show
causing more people to watch it.Even Appocalypse Now boomeranged on the Woodstock crew as my generation viewed this as yet another example of Veterans screwed by the system. To my generation the Veterans were always
the heroes. There were even Vietnam Comic books that I can not find.
Now the Woodstock crew rears its head again. It is no coincedence that the leaders of the so called Peace movement are recycled Hippies/ Commies. The rhetoric is the same our fear of Communism is irrational. Our disdain for a religion seeking global domination
and advocating Jim Crow is unwarranted.
I have been there twice as the Sons of Allah attacked my city. Yet
my opinion is irrelevant. The only opinion that is relevant is to a ghoulish commie anti semite that makes a mockery of her sons life for a pathological need for attention.
NYC is part of America and I would
feel just the same as if the Sons of Allah attacked Stone mountain Ga. We hear the word games and the rationalization from the left. The American Muslim community has done next to zero. Either learn to live in peace or depart.
FB, Thank you, I have blogrolled you also. Actually I was going to add your blog today.
Beamish, That "is" classic!
Nanc, my buddy Tom says that if you remember Woodstock, you probably weren't there.
:^)
Beak, Conservativism, by it very nature, is a "leave me alone" proposition. It takes prodding to make an activist out of a conservative and God knows that you and I have been prodded.
A lot of us have been prodded but these kids are being beat with a club!
The world has grown too small for isolationists, of any stripe, to stick their heads in the sand but some of them have merely removed it from the sand to wedge it firmly up their butts!
We often said that Vietnam, from the soldiers viewpoint, was the unwilling doing the unnecessary for the ungrateful. We were drafted, not allowed to win and then shunned and portrayed as psychotic killers and mentally deranged drug addicts by the MSM and Hollywood.
Our numbers were too small and voices too soft or silenced by the so-called "progressives" that had access to the MSM. The Woodstock crew professed an ideology that would create a classless society, when in truth, they were members of a privileged class and still see themselves as superior to us mere rabble.
The MSM doesn't matter much anymore. They are dinosaurs and seem unable to change, especially with the advent of the "Army of Davids" as Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit calls us.
Yes, we are the cold warriors and we have fought long and hard, but now our ranks are about to be multiplied with those who have did the "wet work".
This isn't to disparage "our" work and that of our friends, but if I have the choice, I would rather be storming the gates than be inside the Alamo.
Let our battle cry be "Freedom" not "El Camaron".
I remember Woodstock, even though it happened before I was born.
I remember Woodstock, I wasn't there. Tom was there, he doesn't remember so he bought the album to see who was playing.
;^)
i didn't say i remember woodstock! i was just a babe - a thirteen or fourteen year old babe - we got my uncle drunk and drove his vehicle to the drive-in to see woodstock (against our parents' wishes) - this i do remember: during the part where the crowd was chanting "no rain, no rain, no rain..." it started pouring down rain on us! we hightailed it home and i never talked about it again...well, until now. please don't tell my mom and dad.
Nanc, although I have been a lay minister in the Catholic Church, being unordained, I am not allowed to hear confessions.
Go and sin no more!
;^)
I was nearby Woodstock as the town my family spent its summers in was Ferndale NY. Ferndale is around ten miles from Bethel NY.
The Beak was nearby but too young to remember much.
thanks warren - i'm glad to get that off my mind - it was getting cluttered in there...
i remember woodstock also and i was born damn near a score away.
"The Man" played there also.
Warren,
There is a core in each generation that has a vested interest in this great nation. They have taken an oath and served our country proudly. They never forget. They know who their enemies are.
Thank God!
Well said. I am a post Vietnam era veteran who is glad not to have seen combat but like all who volunteered, I was willing.
a.c. - the proof is sometimes in the willingness - thank you for your service.
O.T. beak has a couple of new great articles at his sight today and although i usually just sit back and enjoy the scenery, felt the intense need to make comments - what is happening to me? it must be this new job of mine.
and before i remember to forget, warren - thanx for the black and white puppy recipe.
Nanc, can I ask you what that new job is?
Don't mean to pry, just curious.
You're welcome for the recipe, anytime! ;^)
i have been, careerwise, a legal secretary. now, i've offered my services to my husband's company two days per week doing general secretarial - a/p, a/r, payroll, correspondence, etc. they are putting in a new office more central to the jobs (underground construction) and i will probably be womanning it by summer.
i started early in life working at a trucking company doing the same, so should be able to handle construction workers - hehehe!
actually, the people who own the company are powerful, mighty people of God. we like them alot.
p.s. warren, the best part is i get to work with my husband and he's as excited as i! we really like each other...alot...nearly 17 years alot...oh, and he's a fox like i am :] ^j^ ^j^ - angels are watching over us!
I had a writing on my blog a few weeks ago about the other side of the war. It is funny how only a few Americans here and there really know what was going on. I think it was just easier for the masses of college kids to get stoned and trip the shrooms fantastic, protest a war they knew nothing about, and go home feeling like they did something good. Now that alot of these people are now teaching in the schools, they feel it is their job to brain wash the next generation. These people have never stepped out of the class room long enough to know what is going on in the rest of the world.
Oh yeah, Air America has been booted off of the station in NY city that carried them. That is bad when the most liberal place on Earth won't even listen to them.
Nanc, I do a lot of different things for a living. My main job is mechanical in nature. I specialize in suspension work on large equipment and carry a master mechanic cert. I am also a journeyman painter, bodyman and steel fabricator. I do a lot of other things too. Years ago, before the age of specialization, they used to call my job, practical engineering. I'm the guy that makes those things they draw on paper, work.
My wife used to work with me. It was great!
I'm glad you can work with your hubby and work for people you like.
FB,
Most people are sheep, followers not leaders, they are blissfully unaware of what goes on around them let alone what goes on in politics or the greater world. People tend to live in the world of "I", if it doesn't effect them directly, they don't care. At the same time, they see themselves as superior and wonder why everyone else doesn't recognize their "greatness",
I hope, hotair America, doesn't go off the air. We need a showcase of leftist dim-wits.
AC, thanks for posting. Sorry it took me so long to reply
I wish we had more of the othersides view on the radio. Your right. I like for people to hear the dimwittery of these nut jobs.
soooo warren - you must work with blueprints? i do believe blueprints are captivating - my husband is into site development, water treatment facilities, and alternative energy in the past - wind towers, boilers, and the like.
i don't believe i've ever seen anybody more excited over such things, but he is a mathmetician and so are the kidz. he also likes to sneak onto an earthmover or dozer and push dirt around! you guys and your toys - he even has our children appreciating the finer aspects of heavy equipment. they started out at about four and five on forklifts.
i have placed a condition on my working - i must have my own computer and internet line so i can still do this when there are lulls in my day! if i need one to get this benefit, will you sign my petition? ha!
Nanc,
Blueprints, schematics, chicken scratches, you name it, I turn it into something that works. (hopefully) ;^)
Mathematics play a large part in my work, mostly trigonometry. But I do a lot of grunt work also. Your hubby would get a kick out of seeing some of the stuff I do
"i have placed a condition on my working - i must have my own computer and internet line so i can still do this when there are lulls in my day! if i need one to get this benefit, will you sign my petition? ha!"
Sure, why not!
On the way home from work, I stopped at the bank to make a deposit. The teller, told me, that she was ready to go home also. So I gave her the rest of the day off.
She said, her boss, (who was working the next widow) had to say it was ok, so I told her boss I gave her the rest of the day off.
Her boss said she couldn't leave until she could go home too. So I gave her boss the rest of the day off.
Nanc, I really don't know why some people won't take yes for an answer!
(btw, that's a true story) Their smiles weren't forced when I left.
;^)
i do the "here's your sign" things with my favorite banktellers.
hubby and kids think the greatest rainy afternoon activity is getting the drafting table out with all their whatchamawhozitts and use up all the mechanical pencils and paper in the house "creating". those are extremely happy moments. they are trig nerds - i am a useless information nerd! nerds unite!
Dear Warren,
This is such a refreshing point of view! I like the way you, instead of attacking the Left Communists, talk about the good facts about our men and women in the Military. Remarkable!
BTW, I know that Left and Communist is redundant. lol.
Rosemary, Thank you very much for visiting my blog and your kind words.
I am not above bashing any flavor of leftist but usually do so mano a mano.
Our service people are the best of the best!
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