Dear Fox News; Mario Rubio is not a Vietnam veteran
Let me be clear that I don’t think this is Mario Rubio’s fault at all. It’s completely the fault of the Fox News producers who didn’t do their research. But, Greta Van Susteren did an interview with Marco Rubio’s older brother, Mario, and the on-screen banner said that he was a Vietnam veteran;
Mario Rubio did serve during the Vietnam War, he was a Special Forces-qualified Sergeant and he was assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, but he didn’t serve in Vietnam. I’ve read several articles this morning about Mario and his military service and in none of those other articles does it state that he was a Vietnam veteran, so I have to think that this is a Fox News error, not Mr. Rubio being deceptive.
According to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, more than 9 million Americans served during the Vietnam War (Aug. 5, 1964 – May 7, 1975) but only 3.4 million Americans served in the theater of operations (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Flight Crews based in Thailand, and sailors in adjacent South China Sea Waters). Only 2.5 million of them served within the borders of Vietnam (Jan. 1, 1965 – Mar. 28, 1973). It was pretty much the luck of the draw. I have many friends who served during that period in places like Germany and Newfoundland. They don’t call themselves Vietnam veterans.
Mario Rubio says that he was injured in training and that he was discharged in 1971 before he could go to Vietnam and I can find no reason to doubt that.
We salute his service as a Cuban-born American citizen who served in a time when many American-born citizens wouldn’t serve.
The media should do it’s research better.
Category: Media
Yeppers! One would think they might ought to do that…
Freakin Frakin Reporters. We see it all the time. They see that a Veteran served during a time of War. And they automatically assume that the Veteran served in that war.
I hope that Fox news retracts this statement. Or Marco Rubio and or his brother call fowl on Fox News.
In order to get the TV NEWS PEOPLE involved in VIETNAM HERO HIPPIE ARMY RANGER GUNDOG TEAM F POSER JOHN LOUIS WOODWARD of HEMPHILL, TX, I had to get friends to help investigate the bastard and send them HINTS. Now their biting to get everything but we’re not ready.
Who on mother earth is going to believe that President Obama would cry his eyes out about a letter written to him and not investigate the assholes story.
Well, I sure as hell did as did some citizens of Hemphill because the bastard had a SHITLOAD of other posers backing his bullshit.
Now my investigation is over, every I dotted and T crossed. I didn’t give the news reporters anything that will out WOODWARD, because that’s MY JOB. When we come rolling into HEMPHILL, IT’S NOT ME IN THE FRONT of the the line.
Its veterans who actually served with honor in many WARS and left their body parts behind. This is still a plan in the works, but, rest assured that the WORLD WILL KNOW WHO AND WHAT THE HELL JOHN LOUIS WOODWARD DID that I believe is the most heartbreaking and shitty STOLEN VALOR SCAM I have every heard of.
WOODWARD and his BAND OF BROTHERS want to be known and THATS EXACTLY WHAT THEY’LL GET, LIVE ON TV with mugshots, criminal history AND THE TRUTH!
I was doing this in the name of SSGT JAMES M. RAY, BUT, now in the names of every POW-KIA and veterans who served our country with honor and didn’t brag about A DAMN THING..
Did he say anything to correct the statement? Makes me wonder.
It likely wasn’t a statement said to his face, but edited into the report post-interview. Can’t correct what you don’t hear.
tangent question…
How do the numbers stack up for service in Iraq and Afghanistan as compared to Vietnam? i mean in service VS in country VS actual combat?
That’s difficult to ascertain, currently. I read somewhere that the number was up around 2 million who deployed in support of either but that was a few years ago and determining who actually served within either border or directly engaged in combat is not easy.
I imagine it will take a few years or more before they actually get a full/accurate count. Some of us also did multiple deployments so I am sure they’ll have to sort that out. The optempo slowed down immensely in the past few years so one could imagine it may not be much more than the 2 million I read about a few years ago but I can’t find anything definitive published recently.
Also, determining how many saw combat will also be difficult. It will depend on which definition you use. If you go off the VA’s determination then anyone who served in an area of operation could be considered a “combat veteran.”
If you choose to only count those that received a combat badge/medal/ribbon then it will be an even smaller number of folks.
It would be interesting to see the final tallies.
Yeah.
Everyone is a “combat” Veteran to here them tell it.
Good luck ironing that one out.
I always thought the best yardstick was whether or the individual in question qualified for the pertinent campaign medal. You had to at least go where you were physically at-risk for more than a “tourist trip” or two to do that.
The comment above was for “vet of XXXXX war”.
For combat, my “take” was that if you got shot at, you qualify. And in my book IDF counts. IDF kills just as dead as someone shooting a rifle.
Agreed.
Yeah. Please don’t confuse my SWA serice medal for actually being in the goo. I was in cozy Sinop, Turkey WAY after the war, but we were authorized. Same with the GWOT service. Did deploy to the Med on a hunt for a month, but only to relieve some folks who had been out there a very long time.
I guess Fox does not know the difference between a Vietnam Veteran or Vietnam Era Veteran? Yes, time for reporters and the news media to do their homework. Also time for the 1st SEAC of the JCS to do his homework as well, i.e. read the Regulation, sumbit his documentation to the Army Board of Corrections to verify he only earned 2 NDSMs and get a corrected DD125 annotated in his records. Also, change his Bio and confess to everyone he was ignorant and made a mistake. No wonder he believes Killam is a Vietnam POW and a PH recipient. He failed to do research on Killiam as well.
No, the brother is not a Vietnam Veteran but the brother-in-law is an ex-con.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-marco-rubio-helped-his-ex-con-relative-get-a-real-estate-license/2015/12/30/a1d96816-ae7f-11e5-9ab0-884d1cc4b33e_story.html
Marco Rubio at New Hampshire Debate: “Well, my brother’s a veteran. We’re very proud of him in our family. He served as a Green Beret from 1968 through 1971. And as part of his training he jumped out of an airplane and he lost his two front teeth.”
I don’t like Rubio. At. All. The fact that he was a member of the Gang of Eight after the Tea Party helped to elect him sealed it for me. I have no idea why his brother matters with respect to Marco’s aim to be president. As far as I am concerned, Veteran Rubio has done more for this country than Marco did and probably ever will.
I consider myself a member of the TEA Party. I am quite proud to admit that. Ialso was happy to support Rubio get elected.
Then that rat-bastard turned on all of us and showed how false his word is by joining with McCain in that quisling Gang of 8 cabal.
After all their false promises they attempted to sell our birthright for amnesty for millions of criminal immigrants.
Fuck him. Rubio’s reputation makes him, in my eyes, a charter member of the DRC. He’s a perfect fit for those lying crapweasely jackwagons.
Hell, even I get people telling me I was a DS/DS veteran, even though I never went west of Australia. Serving DURING the war doesn’t mean you were IN it.
I will note for those of you who missed it that Marco’s pride in his brother’s military service does not extend to accurate knowledge of that service. Marco’s brother was not a knowing about, as Marco said, “a Green Beret from 1968 through 1971.”
That was supposed to have read–but the puter went haywire (I hold Skynet responsibe!)– Marco’s brother was not, contrary to what Marco said, “a Green Beret from 1968 through 1971.”
The Greta interview was bad enough.. Saying he is a Green Beret and Vietnam Veteran.. But, it is being continually said.. I would think he would have corrected it by now.. I know of at least seven different places where the claim of being a Vietnam Veteran is made.. … ..Clay
Don’t know about you, but I have no way to tell if or how many attempts he has made to get that mess corrected. It’s very unlikely that he knew it was happening as it was originally aired, but not having seen it, I am only guessing about that. It’s a stretch to think that he saw the banner during the interview, and if the words were spoken, he may or may not have had the opportunity to correct the mistake at that time.
Sure, he likely discovered it later, but no matter how forthrightly his attempts might be, he is unlikely to ever get that genie back in the bottle.
In other words, I hold no animosity for the man until someone shows me it was he who made a false claim.
Actually I agree with you OWB.. I don’t believe it is Mario who is the driving force saying he is a Vietnam Vet.. I believe it is his Brother Senator Rubio that has been doing this..
https://marcorubio.com/news/marco-rubio-brother-veteran-reform/
Above link shows him claiming his brother a Vietnam Vet.. Even Jeb Bush in the National Review says he is a Vietnam Vet.. I assume Jeb got his info. from something Marco said..
I have nothing against Mario Rubio.. He served his country, and was with the 7th. SFG, stateside.. If I met him I would shake his hand and thank him for his service..
It’s Marco I have the problem with.. He knows Mario is not a Vietnam Vet, but has not corrected it..
I am a Vietnam Vet, and if your not, don’t claim it, or in this case, your brother said it..
.. … ..Clay
My father was a hydraulic systems mechanic in the Air Force, served a year in Thailand in the early ’70’s. I never heard him refer to himself as a Viet Nam vet. I was in Germany when Desert Shield and Desert Storm went off- following dad’s lead, I don’t refer to myself as a vet if those actions. I served while it was happening, didn’t serve in the conflict. It is just that easy to keep the record straight…
*of those actions…damn “smart” phone
Someone said that the inventor of auto-correct has passed away and the fanfare will be next Museum.
“The media should do it’s research better.”
Well, in general, yeah. But, imo, the media should start by putting in some effort to acquire personnel that actually have a clue and some understanding of the issues they run their sumps about.
As it is now, and for at least the last century, the media gathers together personnel that have a compulsion to tell everyone else how to think, without actually having that ability themselves.
You know that is so true and FOX has several VETS that are reporters and work for the company. You would figure that they would go to them and ask what they thought.
It should also do “its” research better. That poor apostrophe is overused.
The media, being totally ignorant of all things military, think all military vehicles are tanks and that anyone who served during the 1960s or 1970s is a Vietnam veteran.
Very true. I was on a TDY to US Embassy- Moscow in 1993 during the October coup. CNN did a remarkable job of getting everything wrong. It didn’t help though, that one of our own state department personnel referred to BTR-80s (APCs) as “the tanks with wheels.”
“CNN did a remarkable job of getting everything wrong.” Nice line. I guess somebody has to set the standard others can aspire to meet.
I know several guys that served during that time and never set foot in Vietnam proper. they are careful to say that they are a Vietnam Era Vet and good for them to serve when others cut and run.
Fox should get it’s shit straight on this. I’ve never seen a story that Mario claimed anything other than what he did.
Bizarre world. Men say they identify as women, women identify as men, non-veterans say they are veterans, democrats are socialists, republicans are liberal, white folks say they are black, black conservatives are called race traitors, Christians are extremists, atheists are discriminated against, islam is the religion of peace, perverts are normal and it’s lawful and right to kill the unborn and the only guy (Cruz) in the Senate to stand-up for the Constitutional rights of all of us is called a wacko-bird.
God Help us.
“Cats living with dogs. . .. “