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"Parsons enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was assigned to the 26th Marine Regiment which was attached to and operated as part of the 1st Marine Di
by nik_0_0 15y ago
"Parsons enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was assigned to the 26th Marine Regiment which was attached to and operated as part of the 1st Marine Division. In 1969 he served as a rifleman in the Delta Company of the 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, during a tour of duty in Vietnam, in the Quảng Nam Province."
Looks like the owner of GoDaddy fought for your freedom as well.
- burgerbrain 15y agoWere the North Vietnamese threatening my freedom? I wasn't aware that they were. US military Veteran != Fought for my freedom. In some cases they did, in some cases they did not.
- malandrew 15y agoIs it possible for a member of the US military to refuse to participate in an armed conflict that is not being wage in defense of the US Constitution? Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 (the Wars Power clause) grants congress the right to declare war and Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1 gives the US President the title of commander in chief. The legitimacy of military power in the US derives solely from the US Constitution. If war is waged in a way that does not support the Constitution, I would imagine it should not only be every soldier's right, but duty to disobey an order. The Armed Forces Oath even suggests that should be the case: "I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God." The Oath states that they are to defend the Constitution, not Congress, not the President, not Wall Street, etc. When soldiers take the Oath, are they also required to learn the Constitution in detail? If not, how are they to know whether or not their actions are in defense of it?
- burgerbrain 15y agoI do not see how this is relevant. Perhaps you could explain that to me.
- malandrew 15y agoIt is OT from the OP and probably a better to ask this on Quora, but your comment led me to ask this question
- burgerbrain 15y agoFair enough. Afraid I don't know the answer.
- chc 15y agoI guess we're pretending the part about obeying orders isn't in there, then?
- malandrew 15y agoWeird. I had edited it to reference that, but my edit was saved. Doh!
- mkramlich 15y agoRespect a soldier but not necessarily a war. The US did not need to be in Vietnam. We were not defending our country. It was a huge game played by certain people in power, and a military adventure that cost tons of money and ended thousands of lives. Big payday for military suppliers, much devastation for the people living there.
- austenallred 15y agoWe've gotten a bit away from the topic at hand, have we not?
- yaix 15y agoAmericans and their glorification of war. :( Losing the massacre in Vietnam seems not to have had any negative impact on the freedom of Americans though (it only had on the lives of millions in south east Asia).