18 Year Olds

[Sully]

 

[mynameisearl]

What a world, what a world.

 

[2006gold]

What would we do if a serious build up of our military became necessary?

 

[Catfish]

What would we do if a serious build up of our military became necessary?

Probably build a couple of walls so they couldn't run to Canada or Mexico. My bad!

 

[roadking2]

Probably build a couple of walls so they couldn't run to Canada or Mexico. My bad!

We've already seen the running away during the Vietnam war. Guys running to Canada or going to school for the sole purpose of avoiding the draft. I find it curious that you almost never see anyone from that era that say they DIDN'T serve. Ask anyone and they will say they served. I'd like to know where all those draft dodgers are today because they seldom own up to it.

 

[Catfish]

"Estimates vary greatly as to how many Americans settled in Canada for the specific reason of dodging the draft or "evading conscription," as opposed to desertion, or other reasons. Canadian immigration statistics show that 20,000 to 30,000 draft-eligible American men came to Canada as immigrants during the Vietnam era. The BBC stated that "as many as 60,000 young American men dodged the draft."[SUP][10][/SUP] Estimates of the total number of American citizens who moved to Canada due to their opposition to the war range from 50,000 to 125,000[SUP][11][/SUP] This exodus was "the largest politically motivated migration from the United States since the United Empire Loyalists moved north to oppose the American Revolution."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_and_the_Vietnam_War

Personally, I think it was better than the Military having to deal with their unwillingness. They didn't have the courage to go to war so I'm not surprised that they don't have the courage to admit they ran :xszpv:.

 

[consitter]

I was the firstborn in 1967, and served as my dad's ability to dodge the draft. At least that's what my mom told me years later.

 

[rhino 2]

It was a cruel and unjust war..... Not one Vietnamese was ever coming over here to blow up Americans or crash planes into buildings.... That was a made up war after Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles started Commie hunting.... ''Think Domino Theory''... If we just stayed out of it 58 thousand Americans would have been saved... And upwards of a half million Vietnamese North and South would have been saved ..
Not to say how many Montagnards were killed after we left them to hang when we turned tail and left...
That war started the moral decay that is continuing to this day...At one time i hated the draft dodgers but in retrospect they had more guts than i had...

Nam..66/67....

 

[Catfish]

At one time i hated the draft dodgers but in retrospect they had more guts than i had...

Nam..66/67....

Not sure I agree with that part of your post.

Both put their lively hood on the line, but the Veteran put their literal life in the balance.

...But, I have a similar settlement mentally. Both had difficult decisions for a host of different reasoning. A brother united.

 

[trike lady]

Lost my high school sweetheart to the Vietnam War.
Three of his friends enlisted in the Navy and they told him to go with them and he enlisted in the Marine Corp. They came home, he didn't.
Who will defend America when the time comes?
Certainly not the illegals or the ones who hold green cards for years suddenly want to become citizens to cast votes against Trump. You want to be an America citizen pay your taxes and enlist in the military and prepare to die for a country that gave you everything while you returned nothing back to it. Prove you want to be an American citizen.

 

[Catfish]

Lost my high school sweetheart to the Vietnam War.

It deeply saddens me that you had to suffer that loss so many years ago. The pain that conflict created in large numbers is nearly incomprehensible for far too many.

 

[Rod69]

I'm proud of all of you that served and saddened by all the loss that was personally suffered.
I joined the Air Force in 69'. Was two weeks away from going to basic and broke my wrist in a touch football game. Had to have a bone graft on my wrist. Had it wired back together and lost 75% movement in the wrist. The Air Force wouldn't take me after that nor would the Army.
I'm sorry for all that had to serve and that I couldn't help. I also lost some friends.

 

[hogcowboy]

Then there are the millions like me that took the physical and were rejected and classified 4F. We not only got rejected by our country but veterans reject us as draft dodgers which was/is the furthest from the truth. Took me years to get over that. Wasn't until I joined the PGR that I could finally do something and then found out I could join the American Legion. But I'm still not looked at with respect. Which I have found out is the same way veterans feel that didn't see combat. I have more in common with them and have talked at length about those feelings with them. I did the best I could do by working at the Army and Air Force Exchange Service but I never went to boot camp or saw combat yet still had to follow all military protocol. I found saluting was easier than getting chewed out too.

EDIT: Oh, but now I don't salute even though I want to because I never earned that right. It's tough being a reject and without country.

 

[Taylor]

We've already seen the running away during the Vietnam war. Guys running to Canada or going to school for the sole purpose of avoiding the draft. I find it curious that you almost never see anyone from that era that say they DIDN'T serve. Ask anyone and they will say they served. I'd like to know where all those draft dodgers are today because they seldom own up to it.

One became the President of the United States......twice!

 

[txlander]

.... I'd like to know where all those draft dodgers are today because they seldom own up to it.

One of them became president of the U.S. Now his wife is a candidate.