Is there anyone on DU-3 who lived through Vietnam War Era..whose life was changed by the DraftWar?

[AnotherMcIntosh]

34. As a result of the Viet Nam War, I became a full-fledged liberal and I'm never going back.

By way of background, I'm a 12th generation American whose ancestors have fought in every war that we've had in or for this continent. This includes the Pequot War in 1636 that one of my ancestors, John Endecott, was credited with starting. If you name any American war, my ancestors or their relatives fought in it.

As examples, my grandfather, father, and uncle were Marines in WW I, WW II, and Korea, respectively. It was a family tradition to join, and I did. This doesn't necessarily mean that we were grunts. One of my cousins was in charge of the Seventh Fleet for a portion of the time during Viet Nam.

I never signed up for the draft. I just never registered. I didn't want others to be drafted and had no feelings one way or another with respect to those who wanted to avoid being drafted or those who simply went along with the program. I never considered it to be my miltary duty to support the draft.

We were skeptical about Westmoreland's numbers, as were other Marines. Our skepticism was ultimately verified with the Tet Offensive. If you want to talk about a wake-up call, that was it.

I didn't go in for a military career but was simply going to do what I considered to be my duty. I could have stayed in, and was even offered a chance to fly, but Tet changed that. I had enough of the lies and one tour was enough.

When I got out, I bought some property in the Bay Area and joined the ACLU of Northern California. They have some of the best people that I ever met. Intellectual, compassionate people who believe strongly in the right of free speech. Since that early time period, I relocated to the Mid-West and ultimately retired. I never received any injuries, but each of my three brothers has.

Viet Nam changed the military tradition for us. None of my sons and none of my grandsons will ever be in the military. I didn't have to impose my will upon them, so there was never anything for them to rebel against with respect to the military tradition. All we ever had to do was talk. Please don't get me started on chicken-hawks.

Now, from time to time, I post a few comments just to keep some juices flowing. Sometimes mine. Sometimes others'. I try to encourage more liberalism while realizing that some people, most people, are going to think and do what they want anyway. What we post often doesn't have any effect on anything.