Celebrities during world war 2

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says:

It was not all that easy to get into action for men like Nixon. My father (born 1906) saw action, but he had to wage a campaign for over a year. And he had joined the Navy in June, 1941, more than 6 months before Pearl Harbor, as the star on his 'pre-Pearl Harbor ribbon' testifies. Even in WWI, the ratio of in action to support was about 1 to 3 in the USA armed forces. Being a Stars and Stripes reporter qualities as 'in action' as both Andy Rooney and Al Gore will tell you

Leaving apart the silliness of this particular poster criticizing the 'prejudice' on this newsboard, I want to make it clear that I'm not, by any stretch of the imagination, criticizing Nixon for not seeing service: he did the job he was assigned to do. I was wrong in recalling that Nixon served in California, I admit.

What bothers me about Nixon is that he then came back and used his war-record to win his first Congressional election, claiming that he was a combat veteran who was exposed to danger while his opponent stayed safe at home. Nixon was a veteran, NOT a combat veteran.

Nate Gordon

'The sea was angry that day, my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.'

You know I remember as a young boy at a local parade seeing local WW2 and WW1 veterans marching in a parade. Knowing my dad had served in the U.S. Army I asked him why he wasn't marching. He told me that the parade was for 'real veterans'. My dad served 1942-1946 mostly in the U.S. and then the occupation of Japan and never saw combat. He did not think he deserved to be considered a veteran. In my town or at least in my family Veteran only meant Combat Veteran. That is a distinction that has certainly been lost over the years.

John Dupre'