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"A parental deferment, for example, would sound very reasonable to a lot of people. "

It might. OTOH, I was born when my father was flying B-17s over Germany. On my birthday, he was on a raid of Linz, one of the nastiest bombing runs there was at that time. I guess he didn't get that parental deferment.

In reality, deferments had more to do with other things than education and marriage. Those who felt the need to give something to their country...to preserve what is so precious...joined up and went, despite the interruption to their education or their families.

No doubt Cheney is a good administrator. He chose whether he would serve in the military or not. He could have, at any time, done what so many young men his age did. He chose to have "other priorities."

There were many young men of Mr. Cheney's age who had "other priorities" as well but who ended up in Vietnam because they didn't want someone else taking their place. Now they've ended up on the Vietnam Wall instead of those who had "other priorities". I have never said Cheney was a draft dodger; unlike clinton, he apparently pursued the system legally so he could chase his "other priorities". I do believe, however, that Cheney might be a bit less hawkish on invading Iraq (and apparently having the US run the place afterward which will probably be the hardest and most dangerous part) if he had seen combat.

I have no problem calling a volunteer policeman to put his life on the line when I see a crime, even though I’ve never been a cop. I have no problem calling on a volunteer Fireman too storm a towering inferno to do their heroic jobs, even though I’ve never been one. I also have no problem with our Commander ‘N Chief calling on our “volunteer” military to smash a brutal murderous torturing dictator, even though I’ve never severed. And today’s military people (my brother and brother ‘n law included) all volunteer knowing full damn well what their signing up for And while calling all the above to do the jobs they signed up for, I have no problem saying most of them are probably better men then I. The damn draft issue is moot point these days (kind of like bringing up slave reparations so far as I’m concerned). I’m too young to remember it, so I don’t give a damn about it anyway (nope not with BJ either even though I hate his guts). Does not ring a single figging bell with me, other then the fact that I’m as tired of hearing friggin whining about 60’ Draft-Dodgers and Chickenhawks, as I am about thugs like Jessie J talking about Slave reparations.

Mr. Cheney also served a crucial role when America needed him most. As Secretary of Defense from March 1989 to January 1993, Mr. Cheney directed two of the largest military campaigns in recent history - Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East. He was responsible for shaping the future of the U.S. military in an age of profound and rapid change as the Cold War ended. For his leadership in the Gulf War, Secretary Cheney was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George Bush on July 3, 1991.

No offense, MM, but we are all lucky that VP Cheney is where he is today. He's seen sides to military service the average soldier never will....including daily briefings containing horrific details of potential attacks on the land he loves (and his grandchildren...you can be sure - a specialty of militant Muslim terrorists - to go after the innocent members of high ranking enemy leaders; Bush's family, then Cheney's...24/7 threats to his grandchildrens' lives).

Deferment and draft. In Vietnam, we had a noble goal, but it didn't have the dire urgency of WWII. Your father didn't have a deferment because our backs were to the wall.

That wasn't the case in Vietnam. In Vietnam, we were slowing down communist aggression. Every year you guys kept them down, God knows how many civiliain lives you saved all over the world. And God knows how much land they would have taken if you guys weren't there. Reagan might have faced a communist Mexico. It was important. But there wasn't the need to risk fathers there.

Further, in WWII, we weren't well prepared. Your father was flying in what could later be called an antique. We needed more warm bodies to make up for lack of preparation. In Vietnam, we had better quality weapons, and thus, we could allow the cry babies to run home. That is the cost of a high tech military, the cry babies aren't worth messing with. If you consider Cheney to be that, I certainly don't blame you.

I hope your father made it home safely. If he didn't, you can thank anti-military doves prior to WWII. It's generally the war hawks who keep the fathers home.