“By the way, we’re selling out every concert on this “Love Grenade” tour. And I do exactly what the good Marine Corps taught me every night.”
Maybe I am reading something into this, but this sure sounds like a claim to have been a Marine.
Also, does anyone know if the 1990 Detroit Free Press article/interview with Nugent is for real, i.e., where he claims to have soiled himself for a week and done other nasty deeds to flunk his physical? I have a copy of the supposed physical results that show he flunked.
I don’t blame you for being vigilant about frauds when it comes to the Marine Corps - - there’s nothing I hate worse than a Dan Rather “Marine” - - but it’s only the nobodies who think they can get away with it.
Your worry about Nugent is over the top. He’s a smart man.
Semper Fidelis,
LH
it sounds like something intended to make people who weren’t listening very hard think he was a Marine, but gives him wiggle room if he gets called on it. Maybe I’m just cynical.
I heard the same thing 20-30 years ago. If true, I'm sure it will be big time regurgitated news. That rumor has always bothered me about Ted. I'd like to finally find out if it is true.
Some people sometimes don’t say what they actually mean!
I think he meant that the Marines have taught him to be tough every night!!
That does seem rather extreme to me Gunny. It does remind me of one of the guys at my draft physical who put a glass eye in his butt to be a wise guy.
Can’t we all learn something from the US Marines?
Values: (excerpt from Warrior Culture of the U.S. Marines, copyright 2001 Marion F. Sturkey)
Why are U.S. Marines considered the world’s premier warriors? Why? What puts the Marine Corps above the rest? Other military services have rigorous training and weapons of equal or greater lethality. So, why do U.S. Marines stand head and shoulders above the crowd?
The truth lies in the individual Marine. He (or she) did not join the Marines. Roughly 40,000 try each year. Those who survive the crucible of Marine basic training have been sculpted in mind and body. They have become Marines.
Once he has earned the title and entered the Brotherhood of Marines, a new warrior must draw upon the legacy of his Corps. Therein lies his strength. In return, the strength of the Corps lies in the individual Marine. The character (often defined as “what you are in the dark”) of these warriors is defined by the three constant Corps Values: honor, courage, and commitment.
Honor: Honor requires each Marine to exemplify the ultimate standard in ethical and moral conduct. Honor is many things; honor requires many things. A U.S. Marine must never lie, never cheat, never steal, but that is not enough. Much more is required. Each Marine must cling to an uncompromising code of personal integrity, accountable for his actions and holding others accountable for theirs. And, above all, honor mandates that a Marine never sully the reputation of his Corps.
Courage: Simply stated, courage is honor in action — and more. Courage is moral strength, the will to heed the inner voice of conscience, the will to do what is right regardless of the conduct of others. It is mental discipline, an adherence to a higher standard. Courage means willingness to take a stand for what is right in spite of adverse consequences. This courage, throughout the history of the Corps, has sustained Marines during the chaos, perils, and hardships of combat. And each day, it enables each Marine to look in the mirror — and smile.
Commitment: Total dedication to Corps and Country. Gung-ho Marine teamwork. All for one, one for all. By whatever name or cliche, commitment is a combination of (1) selfless determination and (2) a relentless dedication to excellence. Marines never give up, never give in, never willingly accept second best. Excellence is always the goal. And, when their active duty days are over, Marines remain reserve Marines, retired Marines, or Marine veterans. There is no such thing as an ex-Marine or former-Marine. Once a Marine, always a Marine. Commitment never dies.
The three Corps Values: honor, courage, commitment. They make up the bedrock of the character of each individual Marine. They are the foundation of his Corps. These three values, handed down from generation to generation, have made U.S. Marines the Warrior Elite. The U.S. Marine Corps: the most respected and revered fighting force on earth.
We had the “crapped his pants” thread
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1887384/posts
Then an unspecified “local station” where Ted refutes
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1887742/posts
Unless someone is claiming this quote is fabricated also, I don’t know what else he would be referring to as his “guilt and embarrassment”.
TED NUGENT insists he has paid his dues for avoiding the draft to fight in Vietnam - he spent “a couple of weeks ready to rock” with a giant machine gun in Afghanistan two years ago (04). The Republican rocker feels awful about avoiding the army in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but he believes he has more than made up for it. He says, “Do I feel guilt and embarrassment? Yes. “I wish I’d understood how important America’s fight against our enemies was. “But did I go to Fallujah two years ago? Damn right I did. “And was I in Afghanistan, manning a 50-calibre machine gun in a Chinook, ready to rock? Yes. “Was I there for years? No, a couple of weeks. But I am not a coward.”
I too found references to a Free Press article (dated July 15, 1990 some said).
There are tons of Free Press articles mentioning Ted Nugent dating back to the 1980s found using http://nl.newsbank.com/
A search of the Free Press articles found no such July 15, 1990 article. There were July 3, 1990 and August 9, 1990 articles plus several more that year in other months.
You can read the first paragraph but must purchase the whole article. Nothing in the first paragraph suggested that the subject matter was his personal early experiences.
I have not attempted to search the Free Press articles on that (or any) site looking for anything about a draft physical.
While I could be wrong, I read it as: the Marine Corps taught him something and that he does it every night. Exactly what the Marine Corps taught him, I'm not sure.
“By the way, we’re selling out every concert on this “Love Grenade” tour. And I do exactly what the good Marine Corps taught me every night.” Maybe I am reading something into this, but this sure sounds like a claim to have been a Marine.
I thing you're missing some context.
In 2005, Nugent was one of the stars of a USMC benefit concert called "Rockin' the Corps". His current tour seems to be based on that idea.
What he is doing in this tour - the message he's sending, the way he's sending it, and the importance of sending it - may well be based on what he learned from the retired marines who organized the earlier concert.
Every account of the tactic Nugent is supposed to have used to dodge the draft has listed him as the source. And I have never seen anything to indicate that Nugent himself has ever denied it. It's probably true.
No it doesn’t.
He does not explicitly state “I am a Marine.”
Eventually followed my dad's legacy of the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Army Air Corps during his stint as a combat pilot.)
I still think the Marines have the best looking uniforms.
As for Ted, well... he's a patriot, and a damn sight better than alot of those folks out there in Hollywood, or Rock & Roll land.
There are a couple of ways that can be taken. That he's doing something the Marine Corps taught him every night because he was in the Marine Corps. Or that he's doing something every night that he learned from them by meeting or working with them. He phrased it in such a way that makes it difficult to understand. HOW & WHAT did the Marine Corps teach him & when? He definitely needs to explain what he meant.