I put this on another post today:
Dan Rather is mentioned several times in B.G. Burkett and Glenna Whitley’s “STOLEN VALOR—How the Vietnam Generation was Robbed of its Heroes and History.” Rather helped shape the popular image of the Vietnam veteran as psychotic misfit. He did a “documentary” in 1987, “The Wall Within,” which was later factually discredited. I don’t doubt that Michael Moore as a youth was inspired by 60 Minutes, which has always been 10 percent news and 90 percent entertainment.
Anyway, I quote verbatim from page 107 of Stolen Valor:
“Rather certainly has experience with the military. During the Korean War, when men could be drafted out of college, Dan Irvin Rather joined the Army Reserves while attending Sam Houston University in Huntsville, Texas, thus avoiding the possibility of being drafted. On graduating in 1954, well after the Korean War was over and the killing had ended, Rather quit the reserves and enlisted in the Marine Corps. (This is the same national broadcaster, who night after night during the 1988 presidential campaign, hammered Republican vice presidential candidate Dan Quayle for avoiding Vietnam by joining the National Guard.) Although the press often refers to Rather as an ‘ex-Marine,’ he did not finish Marine recruit training. He joined the Marines on January 22, 1954, but was discharged less than four months later, on May 11, for being medically unfit. (As a boy, Rather had suffered from rheumatic fever.)”
There has never been anything wrong with serving in the reserves—an essential part of the military and the oldest. What has been dishonorable is the way Rather, the news media and later, John Kerry, denigrated reserve service for political effect. By doing this during the 2004 election they insulted thousands of reservists who were serving in Iraq.
Kerry got a six-month early discharge from the Navy. When you add up Kerry’s active duty time and compare it to Bush’s active duty time—OCS, flight training, summer activation—Kerry didn’t do much more time than Bush.
I was under the impression that Bush actually had more active duty time.
Great post.
BTW, you are not a Marine until you COMPLETE recruit training.
Rather was NEVER a Marine.