Dan Rather is Not an Ex-Marine

Personal knowledge/opinion | September 20, 2003 | Donald J. Taylor

[eeriegeno]

In the army back then, the recruit who wanted out simply patted the CO's butt a few times. That plan also worked with the 'platoon sgt' but was a bit more dangerous......

[Revelation 911]

ping to the graphics in #8 LOL

[coconutt2000]

That would be like saying a girl is your ex girlfriend, without ever actually dating her. You asked her out, she turned you down.... that don't make her your ex-girlfriend.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

"You're traveling through another dimension,
a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind;
a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are
that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead-
- your next stop . . .
The Twilight Zone!"

[Stashiu]

I was in Army Basic Training at Ft. Benning in 1968. Some folks just can't handle the stress and 'wash out' or get sent to those 'motivational companies'. Rather's story is very suspect. You got screened pretty well if you were enlisting.

Rather and Kerry are "wannabe's". They should be outed. I just have never have met real vets and real combat vets who wore it on their sleeves for public display like that.

Cripes, it took me 35 years to finally wear a baseball cap with "Vietnam Veteran" on it. I wear it so people won't forget the sacrifices that were made.

[gobucks]

Potential TROLL ALERT:

HEY DJ: very creative writing. Very imaginative. Bed wetters. Most marines I know, especially noncollege types (... you claim to be non-college by implication), can't write very well.


Oh, yes, indeed .... Sept 19, 2004 .... mmmmmm....


No offense .... but are you a troll?

I mean, i can't stand Dan BLather. But, what if FR were tagged with spreading false rumors about Dan? That doesn't help us, yes?

All the college guys ahem washed out via bed wetting? You know what? This doesn't pass the smell test.

If I am wrong, I'm sure a few marines will chime in.


But for a first post from a day one newbie .... this is fishy.

[rocksblues]

It can't get better than this

Dan Rather, suspected liar, coward and bed wetter!

Until the day that some bright young reporter can state with sincerity "Based on a preponderate amount of Evidence" Dan Rather is a lying, cowardly bed wetter!

[Hold DiMayo]

First let me say that I'm not sticking up for Danny boy.
I entered the Marines in 1968 and we had a bed wetter in our boot camp platoon. The way the DI's countered this ploy was to have the fire watch wake the bed wetter every hour to go take a piss. I don't recall what happened to the bed wetter but I do remember the way it was delt with.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Never got past the larval stage in his military career ("maggot"). Never even graduated to "lady!!!".

[MCRD]

Great post! When I was in the Corps in 72 we had a bed wetter, the DI's cured him in 2 days, once an hour all nite long the fire watches had to wake him up and take him to the head where he had to stand at a urinal until he accomplished his mission. He decided he'd rather sleep than be a bed wetter. Semper Fi

[Aquinasfan]

In the army back then, the recruit who wanted out simply patted the CO's butt a few times. That plan also worked with the 'platoon sgt' but was a bit more dangerous......

LOL!

[maddawg99]

I went through bootcamp at MCRD San Diego August through November 1954 and you're correct, a bed wetter would not have been tolerated. We didn't have any in my platoon but we were told that a bed wetter would have to sleep outside until they could kick him out.

[Mamzelle]

I'm not sure (and I'm looking for the info)--but didn't Dan join another service after the danger of VN was behind the servicemen? Why wouldn't the other service have noticed the "rheumatic fever"--?

[AppyPappy]

According to something I saw, Rather was discharged 4 months after he entered service. What took 4 months?

[Aquinasfan]

I entered the Marines in 1968 and we had a bed wetter in our boot camp platoon. The way the DI's countered this ploy was to have the fire watch wake the bed wetter every hour to go take a piss. I don't recall what happened to the bed wetter but I do remember the way it was delt with.

Makes sense to me.

Any idea what the reason would be? Does his excuse make sense to you?

[quadrant]

I won't dispute the argument that during the 1950's a recruit was discharged for bed-wetting because during that period the Corps was very selective.
However, when I began boot camp in the late 1960's, we were warned about attempting to get out by wetting the bed. Out DI told us the Corps had a treatment for bed-wetters.

A recruit who wet the bed was awakened by the fire watch four hours after lights out and escorted to the head.
If the recruit still wet the bed, he was awakened two hours after lights out and then every two hours after that.
If he still wet the bed, he was awakened every hour after lights out for a trip to the head.
If he still wet the bed, he was discharged.

I don't know if this treatment was actually used because no one in my platoon wet the bed. Perhaps, they, as did I, needed the sleep and were willing to hold their water.

[Graybeard58]

I have an uncle who was a marine in the 50s and he pretty much says the same thing you do about bed wetters.

He too had rheumatic fever as a child but says he simply didn't tell them about it. It wasn't the only thing he lied about either. He was not quite 17 years old when he joined so he got away with lying about his age too.

My uncle truly wanted in and stayed in. Dan Rather wanted out.

[two23]

"Did you see Ollie North Last night on War Stories?"

I saw it--turned to the mister and said, "ooh---SLAP"!

(LOL)

Oliver North on H&C last week:

"I turned down my 3rd Purple Heart so I could STAY with my guys."

[Corin Stormhands]

I have no idea why you pinged me to that. ;-D

[Drawsing]

I thought Marine boot camp was 13 weeks. That would be less than 3 months. Somebody set me straight on this please.