a quote from the article..."Otherwise, it starts with the president, who missed Vietnam by securing a cushy number in the Texas air national guard after (so everyone assumes) his congressman father pulled strings to get him in."
Dan Quayle also was derided for his service in the Indiana National Guard when he was VP, and it just seems there are those who believe that serving our nation in the National Guard is somewhat questionable in the honor department.
Just a few facts:
The 1960's began with a partial mobilization of the National Guard as part of the U.S. response to the Soviet Union's building of the Berlin Wall. Although none left the United States, nearly 45,000 Army Guardsmen spent a year in Active Federal Service.
As the decade progressed, President Lyndon Johnson made the fateful political decision not to mobilize the Reserves to fight the Vietnam War, but to rely on the draft instead. But when the bombshell of the Viet Cong Tet Offensive struck in 1968, 34 Army National Guard units found themselves alerted for active duty, eight of which served in South Vietnam.
During the Vietnam war, almost 23,000 Army and Air Guardsmen were called up for a year of active duty; some 8,700 were deployed to Vietnam.
Twenty Army National Guard units from 17 states were mobilized for service in the Vietnam War on May 13th 1968. Company D (Ranger) of the 151st Infantry, Indiana Army National Guard arrived in country in December of that year. The Indiana Rangers were assigned reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions. Operating deep in enemy territory, Ranger patrols engaged enemy units while conducting raids, ambushes and surveillance missions. "Delta Company" achieved an impressive combat record; unit members earned 510 medals for valor and service.
Air National Guard units began flying supply missions to Vietnam in 1965, and the Air Guard was mobilized twice during the Vietnam War.
In May 1968 one aeromedical airservice group and two tactical fighter groups were federalized. Four tactical fighter squadrons--the 120th (Colorado), 174th (Iowa), 188th (New Mexico), and 136th (New York)--deployed to Vietnam. And although not a Guard unit, the Guard can claim credit for a fifth squadron, the 3755th: 85 percent of this tactical fighter squadron's personnel were Air Guard volunteers from New Jersey and the District of Columbia.
In April 1967, the North Carolina Air National Guard made its first C-124 flight to Cam Rahn Bay, Vietnam. Between January 1964 when the unit was designated the 145th Air Transport Group (Heavy) and then redesignated the 145th Tactical Airlift Group in May 1971, the unit accomplished a great deal. They airlifted over 23 million ton miles of cargo, 18 1/2 million passenger miles, 1.1 million patient miles, and over 11 million miles with a safety record of over 65,000 hours without an aircraft accident.
Seems like guardsman have contributed a full measure of devotion to the cause. Next time you read an article like this, keep in mind that the names of guardsmen are etched on the wall.
