No Military Sons: For the First Time Since 1944, Neither Major Candidate has Military Background

[alcibiades_mystery]

This will be the first election since 1944 for which neither of the two major party candidates has any military service in his background. I offer the following information purely as an interesting set of data points, rather than to make any point. If there was a point to be made, I think it would be just another demonstration of the professionalization (which is to say, de-democratization) of the US military post-Vietnam; conversely, it could be a simple demonstration of the mass mobilization required by World War II (and its fading influence today. In any case, a fun set of facts to pore over:

In the 17 elections since 1944 (2012 inclusive),

• Both major candidates have had some military service 11 times


• Only one candidate has had military service 5 times


• When only one candidate has military service, that candidate has won 2 times (Truman 1948, Nixon 1968) and lost three times (Bush 1992, Dole 1996, McCain 2008)


• One candidate had only brief, non-combat related service (two year enlisted stint) 4 times(unlike many Republicans and journalists who liked to mock him, Michael Dukakis actually served in the United States Army)


• At least one candidate served in a combat zone during a major conflict 13 times (including Gore, excluding Goldwater, though he flew resupply, excluding Carter).


• Both candidates served in a combat zone during a major conflict only 2 times (1960 and 1972), excluding Johnson’s dubious stints as a sit-in on some bombing runs

1944: Roosevelt (No military service) v. Dewey (No military service)

1948: Truman (U.S. Army / World War I) v. Dewey (No military service)

1952 and 1956: Eisenhower (U.S. Army / World War II / European Theater of Operations) v. Stevenson (U.S. Navy / Enlisted) (1952 and 1956)

1960: Kennedy (U.S. Navy / World War II / Pacific Theater of Operations) v. Nixon (U.S. Navy / World War II / Pacific Theater of Operations)

1964: Johnson (U.S. Navy / Pacific Theater of Operations) v. Goldwater (U.S. Army Air Forces / World War II / Pacific Theater of Operations)

1968: Humphrey (No military service) v. Nixon (U.S. Navy / World War II / Pacific Theater of Operations)

1972: Nixon (U.S. Navy / World War II / Pacific Theater of Operations) v. McGovern (U.S. Army Air Corps / World War II / European Theater of Operations)

1976: Ford (U.S. Navy / World War II Pacific Theater of Operations) v. Carter (U.S. Navy / nuclear submarine officer)

1980: Carter (U.S. Navy / nuclear submarine officer) v. Reagan (U.S. Army Air Forces)

1984: Reagan (U.S. Army Air Forces) v. Mondale (U.S. Army/ enlisted)

1988: Bush (U.S. Navy—World War II / Pacific Theater) v. Dukakis (U.S. Army / enlisted)

1992: Clinton v. Bush (U.S. Navy—World War II / Pacific Theater of Operations)

1996: Clinton v. Dole (U.S. Army—World War II/ European Theater / Wounded in Action)

2000: Bush (Texas Air National Guard—Draft Dodger) v. Gore (U.S. Army—Vietnam)

2004: Bush (Texas Air National Guard—Draft Dodger) v. Kerry (U.S. Navy—Vietnam)

2008: McCain (U.S. Navy—Vietnam/ POW) v. Obama (No military service)

2012: Obama (No military service) v. Romney (No military service)

[JI7]

1. Romney Claims to have wanted to serve , so that counts as something doesn't it ?

and Paul Ryan said he has experience because he voted to send people to war.

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. Interestingly, when a candidate has no military background, the claim of "desire to serve"

has come out in the past. Humphrey in particular was rejected TWICE for health reasons while attempting to enlist.

I suspect Romney - who could have easily walked into any enlistment office in California and be sent directly to Quang Tri province when he left Stanford in 1966 - has no such record of health rejections.

[JI7]

7. But Romney DID joint a Protest calling for sending other people to War

[Ganja Ninja]

16. And his sons were serving to get him elected so there's that.

[bluestateguy]

2. First time since 1940 that both President and VP nominees had no service

In 1944, Dewey's VP had WWI service.

In 1940 is the even better analogy to what we have now.

Only Joe Biden even has a child who served.

[alcibiades_mystery]

6. Truman was also an artillery officer

(1944-wise)...

[dimbear]

4. Give a hat tip to Beau Biden, many years in the service, then compare the Romney 5.

There's talk on one side, deeds on the other.

[ProSense]

5. Has any of Mitt's five sons served?

It's not too late.

[niyad]

8. oh, yes, they "served". do you remember mittwit's comment during the 2008 campaign that

the five sons were serving their country by working on his campaign?

[xocet]

9. Romney took an exemption and protested for others to go to war in his place....

Saying that Romney has no military service is not saying enough. He is a bona fide chickenhawk.

Preppy protester: The moment a 19-year-old Mitt Romney demonstrated in favour of Vietnam War draft
By Graham Smith
UPDATED: 08:06 EST, 6 January 2012

...

Taken at the height of the swinging Sixties, Mr Romney holds a sign declaring 'Speak Out, Don't Sit In' as, alongside like-minded individuals, he proclaims his support for Lyndon Johnson's ever-expanding draft.

...

George Romney headed American Motors before becoming Michigan governor in 1963, a position he held for six years before being appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by Richard Nixon.

Ironically, he later had a change of heart and turned against the Vietnam War.

His pro-war son, meanwhile, never served in south-east Asia because his status as a Mormon missionary exempted him from the draft.
...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2083002/Mitt-Romney-19-demonstrated-favour-Vietnam-War-draft.html#ixzz24L9R0JxY

[Historic NY]

10. FDR was Asst. Sec. of Navy 1913-1920....

while a civilian position he did take the lead during WWI & created the Navy Reserve.

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. Yes, but not in the military himself

I did turn over this point as I constructed the list, though. I wanted to be fairly strict about what I considered a military background for the purpose of the demonstration. Thanks!

[yortsed snacilbuper]

11. Maybe they can claim they served on a Battleship!

[Robb]

13. "CINC, US Armed Forces, 2008-present."

Not for nothin', but it's somethin'.

[lame54]

14. Obama does...

4 years as Commander in Chief

[alcibiades_mystery]

19. I understand what you're saying, but no

I'm not counting that.

[former9thward]

22. He does not. Commander in Chief is a civilian position.

Constitution 101.

[Ganja Ninja]

15. Neither Romney nor his sons or his father have ever served in the military.

George worked as a production coordinator and administrator for the auto industry in WWII.

[Major Hogwash]

17. Well, slight correction here.

When only one candidate has military service, that candidate has won 2 times (Truman 1948, Nixon 1968) and lost three times (Bush 1992, Dole 1996, McCain 2008)

I would say --

When only one candidate has military service, that candidate has won 3 times (Truman 1948, Nixon 1968, Bush 1988) . . .

But then Bush lost in 1992.

I also don't consider Ronnie Raygun to be a veteran.
He may have served in the Hollywood division making movies for the Department of Defense, but he was not a member of the Army Air Corps, as far as I am concerned.

[alcibiades_mystery]

18. Since Dukakis served in the U.S. Army, you'd be wrong on that

Bush won in 1988, but in 1988 he wasn't facing an opponent who hadn't served.

Reagan's service was indeed a question I turned over before listing. My criterion there was fairly simple: had he actually passed through training and served in a unit. The answer in both cases is yes. Reagan was in the military for eight years, in fact, with his service predating World War II, and he attained the rank of Captain. That's military service by any criteria, I think, even if he was making movies in Hollywood rather than flying planes over the Pacific. Indeed, I think Johnson's service is in many ways more dubious than Reagan's, since Johnson joined as a visiting Congressperson and already well-known politico, and was essentially sent to the Pacific on a fact-finding mission, though certainly as a commissioned officer.

[Ben_Caxton]

20. Too bad...

I always prefer that my candidate is a veteran.

[glacierbay]

21. Did Carter serve

on Boomers or H/K's? Not really important, just curious.