The veteran factor: how it might play

"What did you do in the war?"

It's a question that generations of American men have asked. Sometimes of others, sometimes of themselves. Sometimes directly, sometimes silently.

It's true of remaining members of the "greatest generation" who came of age during World War II. And it's certainly true of middle-agers who had to decide where they stood - and what to do about - the Vietnam War.

With Vietnam combat vet John Kerry now leading the pack of Democratic presidential hopefuls, the question of one's military history forces itself into the political consciousness of the nation as never before. That this is the first presidential election in more than 30 years in which American soldiers are dying in a war zone almost daily sharpens the distinctions.

As a young man, Bill Burke was a tail gunner in B-17s, trading fire with German fighters during the liberation of Europe from Nazi oppression.

Does he care whether a political leader has had military experience? "Yes, I do," says this conservative octogenarian now living in Roswell, N.M. "It makes them think hard and long before they send men and women into harm's way."

Bill Clinton avoided service in uniform. Al Gore volunteered but served in a noncombat role (as did most Vietnam-era vets). Like former Vice President Dan Quayle, President Bush snagged a relatively safe National Guard slot, which kept him stateside. Both men were members of influential families.

Senator Kerry was in the thick of it: protecting his men in jungle firefights, killing enemy soldiers, and suffering wounds - heroically, according to the battlefield decorations he was awarded.

But he also came home to lead the antiwar movement, growing his hair long, wearing his fatigues in defiance and sorrow along with other vets who hurled their medals back at the symbols of a government they felt had betrayed them.

For many voters, it brings to mind bravery and patriotism - witnessed or experienced in their own lives or in the lives of loved ones. For others, it's a reminder of the first (and only) foreign war the United States has ever lost.

Kerry's actions, during his combat tour and after he'd come home to publicly protest, thus span the range of perceptions and feelings about one of American history's defining episodes. It forces everybody of that generation to examine how they conducted themselves back then - whether they enlisted or were drafted into uniform, actively opposed the war, or eventually became known by some veterans as "chicken hawks" (pro-military conservatives who avoided military service).

Can Kerry's privileged background and liberal image be offset by his genuine wartime heroism - especially in the South, with its long tradition of military service?

Retired Army Colonel Dan Smith, a West Point classmate of Wesley Clark who served in Vietnam as an intelligence officer, thinks so. "In that he served in a very dangerous and dirty mission and seems to have the genuine affection of his immediate comrades from that period, his background can be cast much the same way John Kennedy's was," says Colonel Smith.

Regarding Kerry's antiwar activism, Smith says, "Considering that I don't know anyone ... who defends the Vietnam War and that Kerry didn't verbally attack the troops or destroy property, his opposition might be a plus."

Bill Burke, the World War II vet, disagrees. He likens Kerry to "Hanoi Jane Fonda," declaring that "he would be the last person I would vote for."

A bipartisan poll last fall showed Bush with a 60 percent approval rating among veterans, 54 percent of whom said they'd vote to reelect him. But a lot has happened since then - in Iraq and in the presidential campaign. A Gallup poll this week shows Kerry leading Bush 53 percent to 46 percent among all likely voters. A month ago, Bush led Kerry by 12 points.

Veterans are a diverse lot. Many served brief tours and never saw combat. Others made it a career, and are heavily dependent on economic benefits resulting from their service. Some have seen their lives permanently disrupted by injuries and other wartime traumas. All of this translates into very diverse voting behavior.

Page: 1 | 2