Ansel12, I respect people who serve in our reserves. I also respect folks who serve in the military and don’t have to go to the front lines.
I consider the front lines, or even serving on active duty in a submarine to be an experience that more or less tries you by fire. It should leave a mark, a loyalty to the service and the nation.
Carter didn’t have that.
What I was trying to express when addressing Reagan, was that although he hadn’t had the active military service on the same level as Carter, he still none the less did have a loyalty to the service and the nation.
To me it seemed a paradox to the theory I first addressed, presidents who had served in our armed forces and those who hadn’t.
Reagan had served on active duty, but not in a military role.
No slight was intended to him. I was in all instances conferring on him a devotion to the service and the nation.
You certainly can’t say that about Carter IMO.
To me Reagan’s almost secret desire to serve in the `930s when the military was seen as low grade and wasn’t popular, (and was tiny) showed his heart, as you describe, to me that shows a guy who has a private, personal desire to serve.
When looking closely at Carter’s service, it would be easy for someone to say that they see a less passionate, more career oriented, officer type, something that fits Carter, it’s a good thing that Reagan managed to sneak into that Reserve unit because if he had tried to enlist cold in WWII, he probably would have been kept out because of his eye problem that kept him here in the states.
Interestingly, Reagan served more years total than Carter.