Next time you talk to a Marine who served on recruiting duty, ask them if they ever met a veteran who served in the famed “Charlie Company.” Most likely they will roll their eyes in recognition and tell about the time they were stopped by a scruffy looking man who claimed that he served in “the ’Nam” with “The Walking Dead”, one of the most legendary units of that era. After it became a badge of honor to have served in the Vietnam War, the "vets" returned from manning their posts in Canada to share their war stories, tales they had picked up at the local video store.
At the time I came to expect such ridiculous claims from the local “braggart soldiers.” What I didn’t know was that the “brag sheet” of former Marines that I carried around to impress potential recruits had an exaggeration of its own. In the section on former Marines who became journalists, next to the picture of Bernard Shaw, was a photo of Dan Rather.
The only problem is that Rather was never a Marine.*
In an interview with the Academy of Achievement, Rather admitted:
I went in the Marines, had one of the shortest and least distinguished careers in the whole history of the Marine Corps and came out.
His choice of wording is rather fitting. While he enlisted and went to boot camp, he never actually graduated. As B.G. Burkett uncovered in his research, Rather was discharged four months into his training for being medically unfit. As a boy, Rather had suffered from rheumatic fever which may have adversely affected his stamina.
To be fair, I’ve never heard Rather claim to have been a Marine, so I'm not claiming that he's misrepresenting himself. I will also say that I respect his decision to enlist and do not hold it against him that he was unable to make it through the initial phase of training. Boot camp is physically arduous and many young men and women are unable, whether because of an injury or a preexisting condition, to meet its demands.
Regardless of how much effort is spent in recruit training, though, unless a person has passed the the requirements for graduation, they do not merit the title of “Marine.” When I went to boot camp in 1987, I was called a “recruit” until the day of graduation. Today, privates earn the honor of wearing the eagle, globe, and anchor after surviving The Crucible. But the one aspect that remains the same is that you’re not called a Marine until you’ve earned the title.
In the Navy, you can’t claim to Navy Seal until you finish BUD/S Training. In the Army you can’t wear the Ranger patch until you complete Ranger School. And it doesn’t matter if you can beat up Evander Holyfied, you aren’t a Marine until you complete Boot Camp.
*I wasn’t planning on pointing this out but since Michael Medved mentioned it on his radio show I thought it deserved some clarification.
[Note: Photos are taken of recruits long before graduation in order to have the "yearbook" ready on graduation day. That is why there is a picture of Rather in his dress blue uniform. I have no explanation, though, for why he is smiling. No private today would dream of showing their teeth for the camera.]
1
You know who I think really scored on this thing? Not the right or the left or the 'mainstream' media or the government. The Bloggers. It was bloggers who started it all and held CBS' feet to the fire until they cried uncle.
Blogs are it.
posted on 09.20.2004 9:59 PM2
So you were called a "recruit" through basic training?
That's impressive. I was usually called "sh1thead", "sh1tforbrains", "dumb@ss", or my all time personal favorite, "ate-up @ssmunch".
US Army 1989-1998--and I had to get married to hear myself get called names like I did for those 12 weeks.
I'd do it all over again, too. ((The Army, that is, not marriage.))
3
LOL. I can get called those names by the BTDTs over at SOCNET without enlisting at all :-)
I'm still trying to work up the courage to enlist in the Marines... Rather has me beat there.
posted on 09.20.2004 11:46 PM4
I don't see the point of the post, though.
From what you've quoted, Rather never said he was a "Marine." (He said he was "in the Marines", which is certainly true. I don't object to the "recruit"/"Marine" dichotomy, but "recruits" are still certainly part of the Corps.) It was the Marines' own recruiting literature that listed him as a Marine. If anything, the Corps is trading on Rather's reputation, not the other way around.
posted on 09.21.2004 9:06 AM5
Kevin,
I don't see the point of the post, though.
As I said, mostly it was to clarify a point that was made on Michael Medved’s radio show. I’ve also heard a caller on another talk show refer to Rather as a “Marine Officer” so I’m sure the misperception is rather widespread.
From what you've quoted, Rather never said he was a "Marine." (He said he was "in the Marines", which is certainly true. I don't object to the "recruit"/"Marine" dichotomy, but "recruits" are still certainly part of the Corps.)
True enough. I should clarify, though, that many people (including Bernard Goldberg) claim that Rather has referred to himself as a Marine in the past. I have never seen it myself so I don’t want to make a claim that I can’t verify.
It was the Marines' own recruiting literature that listed him as a Marine.
Unfortunately, until people such as B.G. Burkett started verifying claims made about military service, there were few reliable sources for such data. I used to hear, for example, stories about Mister Rogers being a former Marine and how Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo) saved Lee Marvin’s life in Iwo Jima (neither story was true).
If anything, the Corps is trading on Rather's reputation, not the other way around.
The Corps certainly got the raw end of that one, didn’t we?
posted on 09.21.2004 10:22 AM6
Joe,
Great stuff. I linked to your post at the 'Cutter.
Semper Fi ...
posted on 09.22.2004 2:25 AM