Such self-aggrandizement is offensive. Blumenthal got deferments (as did I - M. And then suffered insults. There is NO EVIDENCE of such events. As an activist against the war in Vietnam I do not recall a single word spoken against the troops. They were, of course draftees. And we were all subject to the draft. We did denounce the war and tactics like carpet bombing, use of napalm, strategic hamlets, deforestation via agent orange, and the entire effort as a neo-colonial sequel to the French suppression of a legitimate movement for national independence.
Blumenthal’s Words Differ From His History - NYTimes.com
In an interview, Jean Risley, the chairwoman of the Connecticut Vietnam Veterans MemorialInc., recalled listening to an emotional Mr. Blumenthal offering remarks at the dedication of the memorial. She remembered him describing the indignities that he and other veterans faced when they returned from Vietnam.
“It was a sad moment,” she recalled. “He said, ‘When we came back, we were spat on; we couldn’t wear our uniforms.’ It looked like he was sad to me when he said it.”
Ms. Risley later telephoned the reporter to say she had checked into Mr. Blumenthal’s military background and learned that he had not, in fact, served in Vietnam.
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