XPost: alt.politics.clinton, alt.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics
XPost: us.politics
From: rocketman@bikerider.com
"W_D_Great Divider" wrote in message
news:wMQXb.10359$cE3.16552223@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net...
> OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
> My War
> By LARRY DAVID
>
> Published: February 15, 2004
>
> LOS ANGELES
> I couldn't be happier that President Bush has stood up for having served
in
> the National Guard, because I can finally put an end to all those who
> questioned my motives for enlisting in the Army Reserve at the height of
the
> Vietnam War. I can't tell you how many people thought I had signed up just
> to avoid going to Vietnam. Nothing could be further from the truth. If
> anything, I was itching to go over there. I was just out of college and,
> let's face it, you can't buy that kind of adventure. More important, I
> wanted to do my part in saving that tiny country from the scourge of
> Communism. We had to draw the line somewhere, and if not me, then who?
> But I also knew that our country was being torn asunder by opposition to
the
> war. Who would be here to defend the homeland against civil unrest? Or
what
> if some national emergency should arise? We needed well-trained men on the
> ready to deal with any situation. It began to dawn on me that perhaps my
> country needed me more at home than overseas. Sure, being a reservist
wasn't
> as glamorous, but I was the one who had to look at myself in the mirror.
> Even though the National Guard and Army Reserve see combat today, it
rankles
> me that people assume it was some kind of waltz in the park back then. If
> only. Once a month, for an entire weekend - I'm talking eight hours
Saturday
> and Sunday - we would meet in a dank, cold airplane hangar. The
temperature
> in that hangar would sometimes get down to 40 degrees, and very often I
had
> to put on long underwear, which was so restrictive I suffered from an
acute
> vascular disorder for days afterward. Our captain was a strict
> disciplinarian who wouldn't think twice about not letting us wear sneakers
> or breaking up a poker game if he was in ill humor. Once, they took us
into
> the woods and dropped us off with nothing but compasses and our wits. One
> wrong move and I could've wound up on Queens Boulevard. Fortunately, I had
> the presence of mind to find my way out of there and back to the hangar.
> Some of my buddies did not fare as well and had to call their parents to
> come and get them.
> Then in the summer we would go away to camp for two weeks. It felt more
like
> three. I wondered if I'd ever see my parakeet again. We slept on cots and
> ate in the International House of Pancakes. I learned the first night that
> IHOP's not the place to order fish. When the two weeks were up, I came
home
> a changed man. I would often burst into tears for no apparent reason and
> suffered recurring nightmares about drowning in blueberry syrup. If I
hadn't
> been so strapped for cash, I would've sought the aid of a psychiatrist.
> In those days, reserve duty lasted for six years, which, I might add, was
> three times as long as service in the regular army, although to be
perfectly
> honest, I was unable to fulfill my entire obligation because I was taking
> acting classes and they said I could skip my last year. I'll always be
> eternally grateful to the Pentagon for allowing me to pursue my dreams.
> Still, after all this time, whenever I've mentioned my service in the
> Reserve during Vietnam, it's been met with sneers and derision. But now,
> thanks to President Bush, I can stand up proudly alongside him and all the
> other guys who guarded the home front. Finally, we no longer have to be
> embarrassed about our contribution during those very trying years.
> Larry David, who served in the Army Reserve in the 1970's, appears in the
> HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
That is beautiful, man.
R
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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