[familyofman]

"...chose the Navy because he wanted to fight the fierce North Vietnam Navy..."

Are you saying that all those in the Navy during the Vietnam War were some kind of wussies? Sure sounds that way to me - how about the Air Force? If you deride 1 sailor's service - you deride them all - jerk!!!

[wideawake]

If you deride 1 sailor's service - you deride them all - jerk!!!

Correct.

Of course, Senator Kerry also apparently applied for a deferment - more details would be useful on that front - and he joined the Naval reserves, not the Navy per se.

Being a Naval Reservist is a laudable way to serve your country, of course. But it seems as if Senator Kerry first tried to get a deferment and then, failing that, joined the Reserves rather than the Navy outright. It looks like he tried to game his chances to give himself the best shot at avoiding combat.

Whereas most Navy vets of the era just signed up for the Navy, willing to go wherever America needed them.

And, of course, thousands of them served valiantly in forward areas for more than 103 days.

[litehaus]

NOT intended as slur on NAVY, but on Kerrycritter's motivation,OK?

[conservative in nyc]

I don't think litehaus was saying Naval service in Vietnam was dishonorable. I think he was saying that John Kerry's joining the Naval Reserves because he couldn't get a deferment and would have been drafted as an infantryman in the army, which was a more dangerous and less glamorous post, is hardly "volunteering" for service. And when John Kerry is trying to claim he was braver than President Bush for "volunteering" to serve in the Naval Reserves instead of the Texas Air National Guard, is a bit disingenuous. John Kerry did the same thing as President Bush and many other Americans at that time --- he tried to both serve his country and minimize personal risk. There's nothing wrong with that.

John Kerry's service in Vietnam was honorable. He did serve his country. But he hardly volunteered. If he could have received another deferment, he would have.

But I didn't serve in Vietnam, so John Kerry says I have no right to discuss it.

[brazzaville]

Good morning.

"If you deride 1 sailor's service-you deride them all-jerk!!!"

What an absurd statement to make. john kerry chose the Navy (actually the Naval Reserve - shorter active duty obligation, you know.) after being denied a deferment to study for a year in France. He did this to avoid the risk being drafted into the Army. He has tried to present his service as that of a heroic volunteer. The reality is that john kerry is a phony and a traitor. How does that statement "deride" the service of anyone else?

Seems to me I first heard your argument coming from kerry shills after the Swifties appeared.

Michael Frazier