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Expert: Dan Rather Exaggerates Military Record
News Max ^ | Jan. 16, 2002 | Wes Vernon

Posted on 09/14/2004 5:44:26 PM PDT by CT

Expert: Dan Rather Exaggerates Military Record
Wes Vernon, NewsMax.com
Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2002

One of the nation’s top military researchers is angry that CBS News anchorman Dan Rather continues to exaggerate and make misleading statements about his military record.

The researcher, B.G. Burkett, says that Rather’s inaccaurate statements about his military service can be found in the new hit book "Bias,” written by veteran CBS reporter Bernard Goldberg.

Burkett, co-author of the book "Stolen Valor,” a history of the media’s portrayal of the Vietnam conflict, says he’s tired of Rather’s double-talk and hypocrisy.

Case in point are Rather’s claims in "Bias.” Goldberg's book details a confrontation he had with Rather over the anchorman's compulsive liberal bias.

Goldberg recounts that when he told the network star in 1996 of his upcoming Wall Street Journal op-ed piece citing a specific CBS News report as an example of left-wing bias, Rather replied he was "getting viscerally angry about this.”

"Angry I was expecting,” Goldberg tell his readers. "What came next, I wasn’t.

"Rather’s voice started quivering, and he told me how in his young days, he had signed up with the Marines – not once, but twice!”

This is not the first time Rather has hid behind the flag and his own military service claims to deflect criticism of his reporting, Burkett said.

Burkett added that Rather is greatly exaggerating his record. First, Burkett says, Rather "misspoke” when he claimed he signed up for the Marines twice. He didn’t.

And Burkett is flabbergasted that Rather continues to proudly describe himself as a "Marine.”

"What he did, he signed up for the military twice, not the Marines,” Burkett said after thoroughly reviewing Rather’s military records.

But Burkett notes that Rather "never got through Marine recruit training because he couldn’t do the physical activity.”

Rather 'Unfit'

As Burkett explains in "Stolen Valor," Rather "was discharged less than four months later on May 11, 1954 for being medically unfit.” As a boy, Rather had suffered from rheumatic fever.

"This is like a guy who flunks out of Harvard running around saying he went to Harvard,” Burkett said.

Burkett also believes that, far from being a gung-ho military enlistee, Rather’s record shows he deftly avoiding entering the military during the Korean War.

Burkett says that Rather was a student at Sam Houston University at a time during the Korean War when "you could be drafted right out of college,” with deferments available only short term, for a semester.

"The way he got around being eligible for the draft was he joined a reserve unit – Army reserve but not the Marines.” Rather stayed in the reserve for the entire war.

"The second the Korean War was over, and he wasn’t in jeopardy anymore, he dropped out of the Army Reserve. He later graduated from college, and then went into the Marine Corps. So he signed up for the Marine Corps once,” Burkett said, not twice.

Rather knows he is skirting the truth about his record, Burkett believes. "He’s made such a big deal out of this ‘I’m a Marine’ thing. I mean, to a real Marine, you’re not a Marine – I mean even though you swore an oath and you’re technically on the payroll, you’re not a real Marine until you get out of basic training. And he never got out of recruit training.”

During Rather’s angry confrontation with Goldberg, the author of "Bias” says that "to his credit,” the anchorman emphasized that his Marine service was during "peacetime” so that "he was trying not to sound like some kind of war hero.”

Still, Rather never disclosed that his Marine service never got him past basic training.

Meanwhile, Burkett is miffed that Rather led media criticism of former Vice President Dan Quayle’s military record during his White House campaign.

"This is the same national broadcaster who, night after night during the 1988 presidential campaign, hammered Republican presidential candidate Dan Quayle for avoiding Vietnam by joining the National Guard,” he said.

"CBS was particularly heavy on Dan Quayle and his Guard experience. … It’s exactly the same thing Dan Rather did during the Korean War.

"If I had been in Rather’s position,” added Burkett, "I wouldn’t even have ever brought up the Marine Corps.”

Burkett has tracked Rather’s claims for years. In "Stolen Valor,” Burkett investigated a CBS TV documentary, "The Wall Within,” hosted by Rather.

The thrust of Rather’s report was that hordes of Vietnam veterans were dysfunctional, mentally disturbed or harbored guilt because their superiors had forced them to kill Vietnamese civilians.

Burkett did his own investigation and found that this was all hype. And while he was at it, he looked up Rather’s own military history. So determined was he that the story be put in perspective that Burkett ended up collaborating with ABC on a "counter documentary” on that network’s "20/20.”

This attempt to set the record straight won "20/20” a Cine Award, a significant honor within the industry.

"We attacked Rather’s documentary as being a bogus piece of work,” Burkett recalled to NewsMax.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: phoney; rather
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Hey Dan: You don't BECOME a Marine until you graduate from Boot Camp, FOOL!

No wonder he and Kerry are chummy. Both are serial exaggerators.

1 posted on 09/14/2004 5:44:27 PM PDT by CT
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To: CT

BTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


2 posted on 09/14/2004 5:46:33 PM PDT by ConservativeMan55 (http://www.osurepublicans.com)
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To: CT
For the record, I am NOT a Marine either... i only made it 8 weeks into boot camp and had a seizure. Then i got a medical discharge because of epilepsy, it has always pissed me off that my stupid condition costed me so much! I was kicking ass then screwed...
3 posted on 09/14/2004 5:49:13 PM PDT by FesterUSMC
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To: CT

BUMP!


4 posted on 09/14/2004 5:49:32 PM PDT by jmstein7 (A Judge not bound by the original meaning of the Constitution interprets nothing but his own mind.)
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To: CT

Aw, MAN!!!

And I'm reading Bias again -for the third time. I just got to that part, too!


5 posted on 09/14/2004 5:50:27 PM PDT by RandallFlagg (<a href="http://www.michaelmoore.com" target="_blank">Hatriotism)
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To: CT

MY, my, my.
It just keeps getting better.
But my face is starting to hurt.
Can't stop smiling.


6 posted on 09/14/2004 5:50:29 PM PDT by MaryFromMichigan (We childproofed our home, but they are still getting in)
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To: CT

WOW!!! I did not know that Dapper is a fake as well.
http://www.authentiseal.org/wos.htm This is what the Navy Seals do when they find a fake.


7 posted on 09/14/2004 5:51:02 PM PDT by grace522 (Let's not slander our intelligence to that degree.)
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To: CT; cyncooper

I didn't know this. I only read parts of Stolen Valor before wrapping it as a Christmas gift for my brother :-)

Cyn - did you know this about Rather?


8 posted on 09/14/2004 5:52:12 PM PDT by Peach (The Clinton's pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
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To: RandallFlagg

I would have to agree in that if rather failed boot camp than he was not a Marine. He did not cut the mustard.


9 posted on 09/14/2004 5:52:13 PM PDT by Parley Baer
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To: CT
"We attacked Rather’s documentary as being a bogus piece of work,” Burkett recalled to NewsMax.

Rather?? "Bogus"?

Naah....

10 posted on 09/14/2004 5:52:32 PM PDT by F16Fighter
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To: grace522

Dan was behind the grassy knoll during the JFK assn....no seriously, that's his story...

Actually, he has THREE FRICKING VERSIONS of what he did that day...


11 posted on 09/14/2004 5:53:01 PM PDT by Keith (JOHN KERRY...IN VIOLATION OF ARTICLE III SECTION 3 OF THE US CONSTITUTION)
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To: FesterUSMC

We had a guy in boot who had a seizure, right about the beginning of third phase. You weren't PLT 3014 MCRD San Diego 1982 were you? Probably not- but it wouldn't be the first small-world story I got out of the service.


12 posted on 09/14/2004 5:53:25 PM PDT by Riley (Need an experienced computer tech in the DC Metro area? I'm looking. Freepmail for details.)
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To: CT

Here's what I've got to say Rather:


Free Republic and the New Media
Self | 09/12/2004 | Chris Davis


Posted on 09/12/2004 4:54:35 PM PDT by writer33


It all started in 1988. President Ronald Reagan’s second term was ending, Americans were ready to launch the presidency of George H.W. Bush, and in Sacramento, California, a “loveable little fuzzball” stepped behind a microphone, replacing Morton Downey, Jr, and giving us his brand of conservative truth. It was astonishing. It was exhilarating. And it was unheard at the time. Before 1988, Americans had been treated with the nightly news from the “Big Media.”

The “Big Media” owned the airwaves of our televisions. Every morning, noon, and night we were fed stories, pictures, and commentary from a leftist press. A media content in spreading the truth that served its purpose, giving us little tidbits of salacious information, but not reporting the full story. Facts had been withheld to give the unaware their view of the world and how it should be. Their mission: Save the world by keeping people ignorant of the truth. And just like the song, “Along Came Mary,” along came Limbaugh.

Limbaugh perforated our eardrums with common sense and startling commentary. His sharp wit and sarcastic humor brought a smile on our faces. His love of country and support of our troops spurred a belief that was held in the majority of Americans’ minds. America loved it. They loved Limbaugh. They loved the truth. In fact, America loved the truth so much they gave him his own television show in 1992. This opened the door to audiences that had never heard from Limbaugh before. A chance to spread “a disease caused by casual contact.” A chance to open American eyes to the “Big Media.” CBS, NBC, ABC, and CNN hadn’t seen the like of it. They were in shock and awe. They were furious. They were overwhelmed at the number of stations Limbaugh overtook. They didn’t know how to respond to this “loveable little fuzzball.” So they did what they always do: Manipulate the facts and distort the truth about Limbaugh. Before long, his books were on shelves, spreading more conservative views on topics of interest to Americans, topics such as National Security, Feminism, Abortion, and Liberalism. Now, even more Americans had become aware of Rush Limbaugh. Suddenly, the “Big Media” had to compete for the attention of the American people. As Rush said before, “There wasn’t any of this fifteen years ago. I know. I was there at the creation.” He was. And we are forever grateful.

Through all of this, a cable news channel was created. Fox News, a channel that reported the whole story. They were young and brash, and in 1996, they gave a young, fire-breather his debut on Hannity & Colmes. Sean Hannity began to slice and dice liberalism on a cable news network. His efforts in broadcast journalism led him to his own radio show on September 10, 2001. Not only does he reach millions on his television show, but is second only to Rush Limbaugh in talk radio with nearly 400 stations across the nation. As conservatives, we were starting to get a stranglehold on the old monopoly of the “Big Media.” We were fighting mad and it was showing.

And there would be more to follow. More talk show hosts to come. More conservative news, exposing the truth of the spin in the “Big Media.” There would be the internet, the new age of conservative news, opinions, commentary, and information throughout the globe. Soon, a gutsy, young journalist would risk it all and shake the foundations of the White House from the internet. Matt Drudge risked his entire reputation, career, and livelihood by breaking the Monica Lewinsky story. This no nonsense conservative uncovered what no “Big Media” would uncover. He would expose the corruption and debauchery under the desk in the Oval Office.

Matt Drudge was the beginning of the internet and the new media. Now, Americans of all stripes of red, white, and blue could access news. In the last year, Drudge has had nearly three billion visitors to his site, which is broadcast every Sunday from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. eastern standard time. Drudge began the wave of the conservative future. No longer did conservatives have to call in to their favorite talk radio program to express their frustration of the liberal media. No longer did they have to sit idly by their televisions throwing pillows at the television while ranting and raving at the blatant media partisanship. Now they had a new outlet. They had a forum called Free Republic.

Through the brainchild of Jim Robinson, a forum was created where Americans of all flavors could rant, rave, and could even continue the pursuit of conservatism while crushing the socialistic tyranny of the “Big Media.” In a statement on their website, Jim Robinson states, “In our continuing fight for freedom, for America and our constitution and against totalitarianism, socialism, tyranny, terrorism, etc., Free Republic stands firmly on the side of right, i.e., the conservative side.” And in that statement, sums up the mission of conservatism and Free Republic. Now we’re dangerous to the “Big Media.” Now we’re available to everyone. We’re in homes, in offices, and in laptop computers. We’ve become an infectious disease that will debilitate the Democratic Party and liberalism’s veined effort to garnish power. We’re putting a stranglehold on a defunct enterprise known as CBS, NBC, ABC, and CNN.

From Anchorage, AK to Miami, FL, we’re spread across the United States in search of one crushing blow to end the “Big Media’s” tyranny over the news, to stop the lies, and end the oppression of facts from news commentary, such as 60 Minutes. We’re here to mobilize and stop the incestuous relationship with the Democratic Party and their socialistic tendencies. In a nutshell, we are here to end liberalism’s final, desperate grip on a media that has become so partisan they’ve lost all objectivity. Free Republic, this group of “amateurs” has put their testicles in a vice and tightened ‘em down.

But the media doesn’t know the full power of Free Republic. The media doesn’t know it is made of up individuals across the globe. “Amateurs” of all walks of life, willing to make the leap in refuting liberal terrorism in the press. From housewives to airline pilots, from ministers to talk show hosts, and from architects to engineers, comprise diversity so great that the media’s group of so-called experts can’t keep up. We even have our own range of military personnel from every branch of service, willing to battle lies and distortions within the media elite. And as much as we hate to admit it, we have lawyers that lurk, lawyers that Freep, and lawyers that make sure no lawsuit is left behind.

From our makeup, we are Americans: Conservative Americans. Americans united in one common goal: We won’t stop till the mission is complete. For we are the new media. We are the new truth in America. We are the amateurs that have rocked the status quo. These merry bands of amateurs, known as Freepers, have shown their expertise at exposing the truth. This forum called Free Republic will supercede the admonishment of the liberal media and conquer all those that oppose us. After all, we are the best in the world. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: “Free Republic is made up of some of the finest minds I’ll ever know.” And for that, I am forever grateful for their expertise. I am forever grateful for this new media.


13 posted on 09/14/2004 5:53:59 PM PDT by writer33 (Try this link: http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/books/electivedecisions.shtml)
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To: CT
typical..... he's a wanna be that couldn't hack it. Now he hates all those that could cut the mustard. What a candy a@#ed little pu@#y.

Hey, Dan... momma wasn't there to tuck you in. You gotta EARN the globe and anchor, b#tch. Then your a brother.... forever.

oh Dan.... "wimper fi" ...roflmao....

you can't make this stuff up....if you did then people would think you're a democrat or something.

14 posted on 09/14/2004 5:54:02 PM PDT by Dick Vomer (liberals suck......... but it depends on what your definition of the word "suck" is.)
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To: FesterUSMC

You mean to say you didn't know you had epilepsy when you signed up, and then it just popped up? Or did you think you could get through your enlistment without having one seizure?


15 posted on 09/14/2004 5:54:43 PM PDT by wimpycat (John Kerry has a fevah, and the only prescription is "MORE COWBELL".)
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To: CT
"This is like a guy who flunks out of Harvard running around saying he went to Harvard,” Burkett said.

"This is like a guy who drops out of the Rhodes Scholar program running around saying he was a Rhodes Scholar," Petronski said.

"This is like a guy who flunks out of divinity school running around saying he went to divinity school," Petronski added.

;O)

16 posted on 09/14/2004 5:54:51 PM PDT by Petronski (With what? Spitballs!?!)
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To: Peach

Peach,

This all came out at that Vietnam Veterans for Truth Rally last Sunday. B.G. Burkett was one of the speakers and that's the first time I heard this then.


17 posted on 09/14/2004 5:55:54 PM PDT by writer33 (Try this link: http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/books/electivedecisions.shtml)
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To: writer33

I'd only read some of the book Stolen Valor before giving it to my brother for Christmas but I understand Rather's lies are in that book.

This is amazing gall on the part of Rather. We really need to use this against him.

I'm so sorry I missed that rally Sunday. We weren't home all day and I forgot to set the VCR.


18 posted on 09/14/2004 5:57:55 PM PDT by Peach (The Clinton's pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
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To: CT

A bogus piece of work by a bogus piece of a human. Let's hope his days of presenting bogus and biased reporting are over. The country will be better off for it. CBS might even gain back a little bit of credibility...maybe.


19 posted on 09/14/2004 5:59:36 PM PDT by conshack
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To: Peach

"I'm so sorry I missed that rally Sunday. We weren't home all day and I forgot to set the VCR."

I know this will be hard, but you need to take your punishment like a man. Your punishment: Watching Dan Rather and CBS for one whole week! :)


20 posted on 09/14/2004 6:01:19 PM PDT by writer33 (Try this link: http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/books/electivedecisions.shtml)
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