This is in response to a June 7 letter to the editor (“Ali deserves disease for avoiding draft? Appalling!”) written about an earlier letter criticizing the boxer Muhammad Ali for dodging the draft during the Vietnam era.
The letter writer, John Manderino, compared Ali, for refusing to serve, to former President George W. Bush, “who dodged the draft as well.”
Although I agree with Mr. Manderino’s sentiments in regard to his overall point about Ali, someone who chose to serve with the National Guard is hardly the same as someone who outright refused to serve at all.
The letter writer actually insulted all those men and women who did serve in the National Guard whether during the Vietnam era or at other times. Choosing to serve in the National Guard was an honorable choice and should not be compared to those who chose to hide or run away.
Furthermore, many people in the Guard were called up to active service during this conflict and most others, including Korea and Iraq. I knew a lot of people who chose to go the Guard route during the Vietnam era. We should all respect their service, including once and future politicians.
P.F. Sturdivant
Standish
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.