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Prominent Democrats
Representative Richard Gephardt, former House Minority Leader - Missouri Air National Guard, 1965-71. Representative David Bonior - Staff Sgt., United States Air Force 1968-72 Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle - 1st Lt., U.S. Air Force SAC 1969-72 Former Vice President Al Gore - enlisted August 1969; sent to Vietnam January 1971 as an army journalist, assigned to the 20th Engineer Brigade headquartered at Bien Hoa, an airbase twenty miles northeast of Saigon. More facts about Gore's Service Former Senator Bob Kerrey... Democrat... Lt. j.g., U.S. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam Senator Daniel Inouye, US Army 1943-'47; Medal of Honor, World War Two Senator John Kerry, Lt., U.S. Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, and three awards of the Purple Heart for his service in combat Representative Charles Rangel, Staff Sgt., U.S. Army 1948-52; Bronze Star, Korea Former Senator Max Cleland, Captain, U.S. Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) - U.S. Army, 1951-1953. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) - Lt., U.S. Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) - U.S. Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91 Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC) - served as a U.S. Army officer in World War II, receiving the Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons. Gray Davis, former California Governor, Army Captain in Vietnam; received Bronze Star. Chuck Robb, US Senator from Virginia, served in Vietnam Howell Heflin... Democrat... Silver Star George McGovern, famous liberal, awarded Silver Star & DFC, dozens of missions during WWII. Pete Stark, D-CA, served in the Air Force Former President Bill Clinton - avoided the draft through student deferments; in the autumn of 1969, Clinton entered the draft but received a high number (311) and was never called to serve. Former President Jimmy Carter, most recent recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, seven years in the Navy. "Except for his fellow service-academy graduate Dwight Eisenhower, no President of the twentieth century spent more years in uniform than Carter." (New Yorker Magazine) Former Vice President Walter Mondale, U.S. Army 1951-1953 Former Senator John Glenn, D-OH (1974-1999) - Served in WWII and Korea; extensive military commendations include the Distinguished Flying Cross on six occasions, and the Air Medal with 18 Clusters. Congressman Tom Lantos, D-CA - Did not serve in the US military; did serve in the Hungarian anti-Nazi underground in WWII. Saved by Raoul Wallenberg, is the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress. Representative Leonard Boswell (D-IA) - Lt. Col., U.S. Army 1956-76; two tours in Vietnam, two Distinguished Flying Crosses as a helicopter pilot, two Bronze Stars, and the Soldier's Medal. Former Representative "Pete" Peterson, Air Force Captain, POW, Ambassador to Viet Nam, and recipient of the Purple Heart, the Silver Star and the Legion of Merit. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-CA: Staff sergeant/platoon leader with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, U.S. Army; was wounded and received a Purple Heart. Bill McBride, Democratic Candidate for Florida Governor - volunteered and served as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam; awarded Bronze Star with a combat "V." Gray Davis, former California Governor, Army Captain in Vietnam; received Bronze Star. Pete Stark, D-CA, served in the Air Force 1955-57 Wesley Clark, Democratic Presidential Candidate - lengthy military career. Prominent Republicans
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert - avoided the draft, did not serve. Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey - avoided the draft, did not serve. House Majority Leader Tom Delay - avoided the draft, did not serve. "So many minority youths had volunteered ... that there was literally no room for patriotic folks like himself." House Majority Whip Roy Blunt - did not serve Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist - did not serve. (An impressive medical resume, but not such a friend to cats in Boston.) Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, R-KY - did not serve Rick Santorum, R-PA, third ranking Republican in the Senate - did not serve. Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott - avoided the draft, did not serve. Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld - served in the U.S. Navy (1954-57) as an aviator and flight instructor. Served as President Reagan's Special Envoy to the Middle East and met with Saddam Hussein twice in 1983 and 1984. GW Bush - decided that a six-year Nat'l Guard commitment really means four years. Still says that he's "been to war." Huh? VP Cheney - several deferments, did not serve, the last by marriage (in his own words, "had other priorities than military service") Att'y Gen. John Ashcroft - did not serve; received seven deferments to teach business ed at SW Missouri State Jeb Bush, Florida Governor - did not serve. Karl Rove - avoided the draft, did not serve, too busy being a Republican. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich - avoided the draft, did not serve Former President Ronald Reagan - due to poor eyesight, served in a noncombat role making movies for the Army in southern California during WWII. He later seems to have confused his role as an actor playing a tail gunner with the real thing. "B-1" Bob Dornan - avoided Korean War combat duty by enrolling in college acting classes (Orange County Weekly article). Enlisted only after the fighting was over in Korea. Phil Gramm - avoided the draft, did not serve, four (?) student deferments Senator John McCain - McCain's naval honors include the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. Why did the Bush campaign smear him so? At least Senators Cleland (D-GA), Kerry (D-MA), Kerrey (D-NE), Robb (D-VA) and Hagel (R-NE) defended him. Former Senator Bob Dole - served Chuck Hagel - two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star, Vietnam. Duke Cunningham - nominated for the Medal of Honor, received the Navy Cross, two Silver Stars, fifteen Air Medals, the Purple Heart, and several other decorations Senator Jeff Sessions U.S. Army Reserves, 1973-1986 Colin Powell. What are we to make of Powell? On the one hand, a long career as a military manager. On the other hand, accused of covering up the My Lai massacre. Back on that first hand, one of the seemingly sane voices in this administration when it comes to Iraq (or at least he used to be). On the other hand, a clear hypocrite ("I am angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and well-placed... managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units...") Representative Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD), served in USMC in Vietnam; wounded in action. Senator Richard Shelby, did not serve Senator Jon Kyl, R-AZ - did not serve Senator Tim Hutchison, R-AR - did not serve Rep. Christopher Cox, R-CA, fifth-ranking Republican in Congress - did not serve. Representative Saxby Chambliss, Georgia - did not serve, had a "bad knee" (yet somehow feels he has a right to attack Max Cleland's patriotism) Former Representative JC Watts - did not serve Jack Kemp, did not serve (was unfit because of a knee injury, though he heroically continued as a National Football League quarterback for another eight years - source) Former Vice President Dan Quayle, avoided Vietnam service, got a slot in the journalism unit of the Indiana National Guard when the unit was at 150% capacity (at least he showed up for his duty, unlike GW) Eliot Abrams, did not serve (however, played a key role in subverting democracy in South America) Paul Wolfowitz, did not serve Former Representative Vin Weber, did not serve Richard Perle, did not serve (is the current bloodshed in the Middle East a direct result of his treasonous meddling in Clinton Administrstion foreign policy?) Douglas Feith, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy - did not serve. Rudy Giuliani, did not serve Michael Bloomberg, did not serve George Pataki, did not serve Spencer Abraham, did not serve John Engler, did not serve Lindsey Graham (R-SC) - website used to claim service as a "Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm veteran." A current biographical website makes no such claim. In reality, was a National Guard lawyer who never left South Carolina during the Gulf War. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-CA, did not serve Rep. Darrell Issa, R-CA/49th, there were some problems with his service. Rep. John M. McHugh, R-NY - avoided the draft, did not serve Arnold Schwarzenegger, CA Republican Governor - went AWOL from his Austrian army base to enter a bodybuilding competition George Herbert Walker Bush, pilot in WWII. Shot down by the Japanese; was lone survivor out of airplane Tom Ridge, Bronze Star for Valor in Vietnam Representative Sam R. Johnson, combat missions in both Korea and Vietnam, POW in Hanoi from April 1966 to February 1973 (don't ever run for president Sam, they'll spread rumors that you're crazy) Senator Ted Stevens, R-AK, WW II pilot, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Air Medals, and the Yuan Hai medal awarded by the Republic of China. Sen. John Warner, R-VA - Served in the Navy during WWII as a RM3 Congresswoman Heather Wilson, R-NM, served in the Air Force 1978-1989 Former President Gerald Ford, served in the Navy, WWII Former Senator Strom Thurmond - apparently believes, along with Trent Lott, that America should have been a segregated society. Still, he served.
George Will, did not serve Chris Matthews, Mediawhore, did not serve. Bill O'Reilly, did not serve Paul Gigot, did not serve. Bill Bennett, Did not serve Pat Buchanan, did not serv Rush Limbaugh, did not serve (4-F with a 'pilonidal cyst' Michael Savage (aka Michael Alan Weiner) - did not serve, too busy chasing herbs and botany degrees in Hawaii and Fiji John Wayne, did not serve Pat Robertson - claimed during 1986 campaign to be a "combat veteran." In reality, was a "Liquor Officer." Bill Kristol, did not serve Sean Hannity, did not serve. Kenneth Starr, did not serve Antonin Scalia, did not serve Clarence Thomas, did not serve Ralph Reed, did not serve Michael Medved, did not serve Charlie Daniels, did not serve Ted Nugent, did not serve Radio Host Phil Hendrie, did not serve. Ollie North - Convicted in the Iran-Contra scandal, at least he served. Charlton Heston - served in WWII. Independents Gov. Jesse Ventura, U.S. Navy SEAL training, did UDT work Senator Jim Jeffords, U.S. Navy 1956-1959
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