When Uncle Sam Calls - Military Service and the Draft

When Uncle Sam Calls, You Go!
A Personal Opinion:
This is my take on the matter of military service and the draft. My opinion only. If you disagree, that’s fine.

I am a Vietnam-Era Veteran who was lucky enough to spend my overseas tour in Germany. Three of the soldiers I knew in the Army died in Vietnam.

Of my high school class, as far as I know, over half of the guys went into one of the military services, many courtesy of the draft. Where I come from and for that period, it was expected that a male would serve, usually because of being drafted. You put in your two years or so and then you got out and got on with your life. It was simply a matter of culture and environment. You might get a deferment, but that was only a temporary thing. One of my classmates died in ‘Nam.

Of the guys I knew of in my college class, only one other served. He probably got drafted. I know he was in Vietnam.

So you have a difference, quite common in those days, between those who were high school types and those who went to college. The better educated, usually better off, did not serve. That’s the way it was. My problem is with how they went about not serving.

About Draft Dodging:
I define a draft dodger as someone who took extraordinary means (or had them taken for him) and will not say so. It’s not being open and honest about it that bothers me.
If a guy wants to brag about how he dodged the draft or if he simply used the legal and ethical steps allowed to stay out, I don’t care. More power to them. Just don’t be two-faced about it, hiding your past, while at the same time telling everyone how great a patriot you are. Doing that is what you call being a chickenhawk, someone who wouldn’t take the risk but is ready to have the other guy go and die for your cause. Someone who legitimately got out of serving can be just as much a patriot, but I have never observed one of them proclaiming how great a superpatriot they are.

Beyond the ethical considerations, there are a couple of practical issues I have with draft dodgers.

First of all, those who dodge the draft often later become flagwaving superpatriots, to ‘make up’ for what they had (not) done and/or to divert attention away from themselves and their dereliction of duty.
This kind of mindset also means that a draft dodger will question the motives and loyalty of anyone who doesn’t agree with them or do as they want. They will be in the vanguard of any witch hunt.

The second reason to fear the draft dodgers is that they are more inclined to advocate or initiate military adventures. They do not really understand how the military works or the military life. They do not value a military person’s life as much as would someone who knows the costs of war. A draft dodger gets his military ‘knowledge’ from John Wayne war movies and reading comic books. They believe that it is a military person’s duty and expectation to die for his or her country.
A case in point is the Iraq War. Look at all of the politicians and commentators who promoted the war against Iraq. Every male who would have faced the draft during the Vietnam War era did not go. I have only found one exception to this, and he was a secondary figure.
Is one of their reasons for going to war to make up for having dodged their own war? Are they getting a vicarious thrill of war? Are they overcompensating and thinking they are macho because they sent others off to fight and die? Whatever reasons they have are not good enough.
If you ducked the fight earlier, either admit it or keep quiet.

One thing that has bothered me over the years is how many of our politicians at the national level are draft dodgers (using my definition).
They pass laws and budgets affecting the military, they participate in patriotic parades and ceremonies, they piously talk of sacrifice – but they never went. When the chips were down, they took a powder on us. This is particularly true of those who should have served during the Vietnam era.
So why haven’t the veterans organizations, always on the alert for unpatriotic activity, done anything about this? It doesn’t take much to figure out who should have served and then question them on it.
The American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and other veterans’ groups should check the background of every candidate running for an office in Washington, D.C. It is not too late for this year’s elections.
Of course, they will probably not want to do this, since the draft dodgers are such good flag wavers. So it will be up to the rest of us to challenge the candidates.