Son of a Son of a Miliary Man

 I started college in 1966 and dropped out after the first semester in 1968 or 2.5 years out of 4.  My reason was that I was not happy in college and did not want to continue.  Because I dropped out, I was eligible for the draft, so I enlisted in the Navy for two years but only spent 21 months because I received an EARLY OUT to retun to college.

I never supported the Vietnam War but did not run away from my obligation to serve either.  My military expertise was communications.  First I was a radioman then a communications technician which basically amounted to the collection of data that was then analyzed by someone else.

Most of the people in the Navy around me, spent almost all of their free time drinking in bars and chasing females.  While I did my fair share of drinking, I also knew when to quit and saved most of my money.  When we were deployed on a Med Cruise, I used the money I had saved to buy camera and stereo equipment along with leather jackets and some cut crystal wine glasses.  I also went on a lot of historical tours of the various places we visited.

Twenty one months later after requesting an early out to return to college, I was offered $20,000 and a bump from E4 to E6, if I re-enlisted for 6 more years, but refused.

The GI BILL paid for my last two years of college plus two years of grad school...  all because I had served in the military during the Vietnam War.  NO COLLEGE DEBT...

Whether I was sent to Vietnam is none of your business and it is something that only I can deal with, so why share...

I don't like the military.

I don't like military wars.

I don't like political leaders who cannot solve problems without going to war.

Of course, I don't like SOCIALISM either.