W_D_Great Divider

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."

Rocketman

"W_D_Great Divider" <dkat@hotmail.com> 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

W_D_Great Divider

It was the best laugh I had this week. DK
"Rocketman" <rocketman@bikerider.com> wrote in message
news:vQTXb.316870$I06.3195607@attbi_s01...
>
> "W_D_Great Divider" <dkat@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:wMQXb.10359$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
>
>