corrente

In the NYTimes, no less, Mr. David chronicles his own experience as a reservist during the Viet Nam war and authenticates, in his own inimitable style, the internal truth of the President's presentation of himself in those years.

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?

(edit)

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.

Like the President, Larry was able to skip his last year in the reserves to pursue his education - acting classes.

I'll always be eternally grateful to the Pentagon for allowing me to pursue my dreams.

There's more.

Maybe we should all email the column to those cool cats at The Corner, the site of the new hippness, to show them a., that not everyone in Hollywood has nothing but nasty things to say about Mr. Bush, and b., what real satiric humor looks like.