Unexplained 6 Month Gap in Alternative Service
Published on February 20, 2004 By Larry Kuperman In Democrat
That George W. Bush did not serve in Vietnam, but rather was a member of the National Guard is an acknowledged fact. How he came to be in the Guard is questionable, but I haven't seen any damning evidence that his father broke the law to keep his son safe. If, however, the President did not report to duty when he was transferred , at his request, from Houston to Alabama that to me means that he is no longer qualified to be the Commander and Chief.

Quoting from the article linked above, we find "The next move from Bush apparently came in a Sept. 5 letter in which he requested permission to perform "equivalent duty" with the 187th Tactical Reconnaissance Group in Montgomery, Ala. The request was immediately approved, and on Sept. 15 the Alabama Guard approved Bush and directed him to report to Lt. Col. William Turnipseed. Turnipseed has said he never met Bush, and the only documentation that Bush was at a Guard facility in Alabama was a one-page dental exam from January 1973, previously released by the White House."

It is not unique to the Bush family for wealthy and influential parents to secure "safe" positions for their children. Al Gore, for example, did go to Vietnam, but as a photojournalist. Not exactly "in harms way." But to not show up for your assigned duty is derelict.


John Kerry, on the other hand,served as an Ensign on the Navy frigate USS Gridley and then on a Swift boat patrolling the rivers of Vietnam. He fought in combat and was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in 1968. In 1969, he pursued a Viet Cong fighter into a hut, killed him and retrieved a rocket launcher. He was awarded a Silver Star. Because he was wounded 3 times, he was eligible for a transfer to a non-combat position.

When John Kerry spoke out against the war in Vietnam, it was based on what he had seen and experienced. He was far from the only decorated soldier to speak out against the war and against crimes that he had seen committed there. By the late 1960's the Vietnam Veterans Against The War numbered 40,000 former soldiers. As a young man myself, I was at first in favor of the war. In large measure, it was listening to returning veterans that changed my opinion. Despite that, I registered for Selective Service on my 18th birthday and would have served had I been called. Why? Because thats the law.

If a person opposes a war, or any action of the government, our Constitution offers ways to protest. If you can't stop the war and your conscience prohibits you from serving, then apply for conscientious objector status. Accept alternative service. But fulfill your obligation to the society that nurtured you.

When people believe that they are above the law, that if military service is "inconvenient" they don't have to go, they remove themselves from society. If that person is the President of the United States, he becomes a danger to our "government of laws, not men."


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