I thought Ford pardoned the draft dodgers as a conciliatory gesture.
If half the statements attributed to presidents, politicians, and military leaders in the Burns series are true, one can legitimately question whether or not we should have sent troops to South Vietnam. Eisenhower & Kennedy didn’t think it feasible to fight there, and I can’t for the life of me figure out what Johnson expected when he escalated the war.
Ford offered conditional amnesty to those who'd perform public service (I didn't know that). Carter issued a pardon of all draft evaders.
If half the statements attributed to presidents, politicians, and military leaders in the Burns series are true, one can legitimately question whether or not we should have sent troops to South Vietnam. Eisenhower & Kennedy didn’t think it feasible to fight there, and I can’t for the life of me figure out what Johnson expected when he escalated the war.
He really thought Kennedy's best and brightest knew what they were doing and would win the war.
Also, 'Munich" and "Chamberlain" were powerful words back then. Nobody wanted to be seen as soft on communism or accused of losing Vietnam.