_Breaking News_
2004-11-01 22:18:19 UTC
8 candidates for Congress faced draft
Only one served
By Mike Soraghan and Mark P. Couch
Denver Post Staff Writers
Friday, October 15, 2004 -
Washington - In a political year where the legacy of a war that's been over
for 30 years haunts both major-party presidential candidates, most of
Colorado's congressional candidates also have powerful memories of one of
Vietnam's most controversial aspects - the draft.
Records show that eight of Colorado's major-party congressional candidates
were required to register for the Vietnam draft, including both Senate
candidates.
Only one served - state Rep. John Salazar, D-Manassa. He enlisted in the
Army after getting a low draft number in the 1972 lottery.
If he wins, he'd be the only veteran in the delegation. U.S. Sen. Ben
Nighthorse Campbell served in Korea, but he's retiring.
The rest stayed home because they were too young, had medical problems or
had luck with the draft lottery.
Senate candidate Pete Coors had student deferments until 1969.
Coors said he came home from college and sought to join the Colorado Air
National Guard. But two days before he was to ship out to Texas for basic
training, he was pulled for more medical tests. After doctors found a kidney
problem, he said, he was given a medical exemption.
Coors' Democratic opponent, Attorney General Ken Salazar, is nine years
younger. He came of age just as the war ended. Although he was required to
register, he wasn't subject to being drafted.
Coors and Salazar were like most of the 27 million men of draft age during
that conflict - they did not serve. Only 2 million served in the combat
zone.
The draft was in place from 1948 until 1973. It involved a complicated
system of exemptions and deferments. As the Vietnam War heated up, the draft
system drew increasingly sharp criticism that it unfairly targeted the poor
and minorities for combat duty.
Bleeding ulcer
Attempts to make it more equitable included the 1969 creation of a draft
lottery that took much of the discretion from local draft boards, and the
1971 abolition of student deferments.
Many of Colorado's candidates haven't forgotten those times.
U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez, an Arvada Republican, remembers calling home from a
basketball game at the University of Colorado fieldhouse to find out his
draft number. Beauprez's opponent, Dave Thomas, watched the same lottery in
his college student union. Their student deferments were running out.
Beauprez's number was 160, so he wasn't surprised when he got the call to
report for a physical. Numbers up to 195 were called that year.
Beauprez had brought his medical information, which listed his bout with a
bleeding ulcer five years before. Because of the ulcer, he was classified
1-Y, "qualified for service only in time of war or national emergency," a
standard that the Vietnam conflict did not meet.
The ulcer had long since healed, but he didn't complain.
"I never pressed them saying, 'Gee won't you take me, please?"' Beauprez
recalled. "I don't think there was a long line of people saying they wanted
to go. But I was prepared to go."
Thomas had talked to recruiters about officer candidate school, but there
were no openings. So he waited to see what the lottery would bring. His
number was 220. As winter turned to summer, he never got called.
"I don't recall being nervous," Thomas said. "My attitude at the time was,
'If called, I will go."'
Stationed in Germany
John Salazar's number was five. Rather than wait, he enlisted. But it was
much later, 1972. The last troops were pulled out of Vietnam as he finished
basic training, and his time overseas was spent in Germany.
"I'm proud I served my country. I'm not a hero. I never saw combat," Salazar
said.
By the time his Republican opponent, Greg Walcher, turned 18 in 1975, draft
registration had been suspended. The two are running to replace retiring
U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis of Grand Junction.
U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, a Republican from Fort Morgan, turned 18 and
went off to college as the war heated up, but as a woman, she was not
subject to the draft. She said she was disturbed by the violence of the
protests she saw at Colorado State University.
Her Democratic opponent, former state Senate President Stan Matsunaka, came
to CSU several years later, worried about the draft. He made a pact with his
roommate, his best friend from high school.
"We were going to go in under the buddy system," he said. If one went in,
the other would go too. They drew low lottery numbers, but in the end, no
one from their year was called.
Selective Service System records indicate that U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, who
at the time spoke out in favor of the war, appealed his 1-A draft status and
was classified 1-Y, which meant he wouldn't serve. The Littleton Republican
said he recalled appearing for his physical, telling doctors he'd been
treated for depression, and then getting classified as 1-Y.
His Democratic opponent, Joanna Conti, who turned 18 after the war ended,
said Tancredo's draft record should not be a campaign issue.
Of the Senate candidates, Coors came the closest to military service.
He said he returned home after graduation to join the Colorado Air National
Guard. Joining would have fulfilled the obligation of men Coors' age for
military service. At the time, National Guard units were rarely deployed to
overseas combat.
"I felt a duty to serve our country," Coors said in a statement. Coors did
not directly answer a written question from The Denver Post on whether he
sought to join the Guard to avoid service in Vietnam.
But one day before he was to ship out for basic training, he said, he was
told he would be classified 1-Y due to scar tissue on his kidney,
essentially a medical exemption.
"I was drummed out"
"They said 'We could take you, but we don't need to and what are you going
to do if we don't take you?"' Coors recalled. "I said, 'Well, I've been
accepted at the University of Denver to get my MBA. We were going to get
married in December after I finished my active duty, so I guess we can move
it up.' The doc said, 'That would be a much better use of your time.' So
they gave me a medical deferment."
The kidney problem, he said, "has never been a health problem to me as far
as I know. But anyway, I was drummed out, if you will."
"I regret not having been able to join the military," Coors said in his
statement.
In those days, Ken Salazar said, his family's San Luis Valley ranch had no
television, so "I was reading about the war in newspapers and wanting very
much for America to win the war."
The last troops left Vietnam a month before Salazar was classified 1-A.
"I would have gone if I had been called," Salazar said.
With the war over, Salazar was able to go on Colorado College and then to
law school.
Only one served
By Mike Soraghan and Mark P. Couch
Denver Post Staff Writers
Friday, October 15, 2004 -
Washington - In a political year where the legacy of a war that's been over
for 30 years haunts both major-party presidential candidates, most of
Colorado's congressional candidates also have powerful memories of one of
Vietnam's most controversial aspects - the draft.
Records show that eight of Colorado's major-party congressional candidates
were required to register for the Vietnam draft, including both Senate
candidates.
Only one served - state Rep. John Salazar, D-Manassa. He enlisted in the
Army after getting a low draft number in the 1972 lottery.
If he wins, he'd be the only veteran in the delegation. U.S. Sen. Ben
Nighthorse Campbell served in Korea, but he's retiring.
The rest stayed home because they were too young, had medical problems or
had luck with the draft lottery.
Senate candidate Pete Coors had student deferments until 1969.
Coors said he came home from college and sought to join the Colorado Air
National Guard. But two days before he was to ship out to Texas for basic
training, he was pulled for more medical tests. After doctors found a kidney
problem, he said, he was given a medical exemption.
Coors' Democratic opponent, Attorney General Ken Salazar, is nine years
younger. He came of age just as the war ended. Although he was required to
register, he wasn't subject to being drafted.
Coors and Salazar were like most of the 27 million men of draft age during
that conflict - they did not serve. Only 2 million served in the combat
zone.
The draft was in place from 1948 until 1973. It involved a complicated
system of exemptions and deferments. As the Vietnam War heated up, the draft
system drew increasingly sharp criticism that it unfairly targeted the poor
and minorities for combat duty.
Bleeding ulcer
Attempts to make it more equitable included the 1969 creation of a draft
lottery that took much of the discretion from local draft boards, and the
1971 abolition of student deferments.
Many of Colorado's candidates haven't forgotten those times.
U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez, an Arvada Republican, remembers calling home from a
basketball game at the University of Colorado fieldhouse to find out his
draft number. Beauprez's opponent, Dave Thomas, watched the same lottery in
his college student union. Their student deferments were running out.
Beauprez's number was 160, so he wasn't surprised when he got the call to
report for a physical. Numbers up to 195 were called that year.
Beauprez had brought his medical information, which listed his bout with a
bleeding ulcer five years before. Because of the ulcer, he was classified
1-Y, "qualified for service only in time of war or national emergency," a
standard that the Vietnam conflict did not meet.
The ulcer had long since healed, but he didn't complain.
"I never pressed them saying, 'Gee won't you take me, please?"' Beauprez
recalled. "I don't think there was a long line of people saying they wanted
to go. But I was prepared to go."
Thomas had talked to recruiters about officer candidate school, but there
were no openings. So he waited to see what the lottery would bring. His
number was 220. As winter turned to summer, he never got called.
"I don't recall being nervous," Thomas said. "My attitude at the time was,
'If called, I will go."'
Stationed in Germany
John Salazar's number was five. Rather than wait, he enlisted. But it was
much later, 1972. The last troops were pulled out of Vietnam as he finished
basic training, and his time overseas was spent in Germany.
"I'm proud I served my country. I'm not a hero. I never saw combat," Salazar
said.
By the time his Republican opponent, Greg Walcher, turned 18 in 1975, draft
registration had been suspended. The two are running to replace retiring
U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis of Grand Junction.
U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, a Republican from Fort Morgan, turned 18 and
went off to college as the war heated up, but as a woman, she was not
subject to the draft. She said she was disturbed by the violence of the
protests she saw at Colorado State University.
Her Democratic opponent, former state Senate President Stan Matsunaka, came
to CSU several years later, worried about the draft. He made a pact with his
roommate, his best friend from high school.
"We were going to go in under the buddy system," he said. If one went in,
the other would go too. They drew low lottery numbers, but in the end, no
one from their year was called.
Selective Service System records indicate that U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, who
at the time spoke out in favor of the war, appealed his 1-A draft status and
was classified 1-Y, which meant he wouldn't serve. The Littleton Republican
said he recalled appearing for his physical, telling doctors he'd been
treated for depression, and then getting classified as 1-Y.
His Democratic opponent, Joanna Conti, who turned 18 after the war ended,
said Tancredo's draft record should not be a campaign issue.
Of the Senate candidates, Coors came the closest to military service.
He said he returned home after graduation to join the Colorado Air National
Guard. Joining would have fulfilled the obligation of men Coors' age for
military service. At the time, National Guard units were rarely deployed to
overseas combat.
"I felt a duty to serve our country," Coors said in a statement. Coors did
not directly answer a written question from The Denver Post on whether he
sought to join the Guard to avoid service in Vietnam.
But one day before he was to ship out for basic training, he said, he was
told he would be classified 1-Y due to scar tissue on his kidney,
essentially a medical exemption.
"I was drummed out"
"They said 'We could take you, but we don't need to and what are you going
to do if we don't take you?"' Coors recalled. "I said, 'Well, I've been
accepted at the University of Denver to get my MBA. We were going to get
married in December after I finished my active duty, so I guess we can move
it up.' The doc said, 'That would be a much better use of your time.' So
they gave me a medical deferment."
The kidney problem, he said, "has never been a health problem to me as far
as I know. But anyway, I was drummed out, if you will."
"I regret not having been able to join the military," Coors said in his
statement.
In those days, Ken Salazar said, his family's San Luis Valley ranch had no
television, so "I was reading about the war in newspapers and wanting very
much for America to win the war."
The last troops left Vietnam a month before Salazar was classified 1-A.
"I would have gone if I had been called," Salazar said.
With the war over, Salazar was able to go on Colorado College and then to
law school.