Mickey's Musings

Military Service or ?

I'm not knocking the fact that John Kerry served, I'm just sick and tired of hearing him use it as an excuse for a real answer

"I vote my conscience. Unlike Howard Dean, I've fought in a war and I know the responsibilities of commander in chief, of how you send young men and women off to war," Kerry said, flaunting his service in the Vietnam War."
(Source - I Won News)

Does that mean that you have to have served in the military to be president?

The following is a list of Presidents and their various occupations and military service or lack there of

Presidents by Principal Profession

Academic
Woodrow Wilson - No military service

Actor
Ronald Reagan - Captain - Army

Businessman
George Bush - Navy - Lt JG - World War II ****Distinguished Flying Cross Citation
George W Bush - Lt - Texas Air National Guard 1968-1973

Farmer
Jimmy Carter - Navy 1977-81
Harry S Truman - Army - Colonel - WWI
James Madison - American Revolution - Colonel

Lawyer
John Adams - No military service
John Quincy Adams - No military service
Chester Arthur -Army - Brigadier General - Civil War
James Buchanan - Army Militia - Private
Grover Cleveland - No military service
Bill Clinton - No military service
Calvin Coolidge - No military service
Millard Fillmore - Army - Major - Mexican American War
Gerald Ford - Navy - Lt Commander - WWII
James Garfield - Army - Major General - Civil War
Benjamin Harrison - Army - Brigadier General - Civil War
Rutherford B Hayes - Army - Major General - Civil War
Andrew Jackson - Army - Major General - Revolutionary, Indian and 1812 wars ****POW & Purple Heart
Thomas Jefferson - Virginia Militia - Colonel
Abraham Lincoln - Army - Captain - Blackhawk War
William McKinley - Army - Major - Civil War
James Monroe - Army - Major - Revolutionary War ****Wounded in action Dec 1778
Richard Nixon - Navy - Lt Commander - WWII
Franklin Pierce - Army - Brigadier General - Mexican War
James Polk - No military service
Franklin D Roosevelt - No military service
William H Taft - No military service
John Tyler - Army - Captain - 1812
Martin Van Buren - No military service

Military
Dwight D Eisenhower - Army - 5 Star General - WWI, WWII
Ulysses S Grant - Mexican War and 21st Illinois volunteers*
William H Harrison - Army - Major General - 1812
Zachary Taylor - Major General - Mexican American War
George Washington - Army - General - Revolutionary War

Mining Engineer
Herbert Hoover - No military service

Newspaper Publisher
Warren G Harding - No military service

Tailor
Andrew Johnson - Army - Brigadier General - Civil War

Teacher
Lyndon B Johnson - Navy - Lt Commander WWII

None
Theodore Roosevelt - Army - Lt Colonel
John F Kennedy - Navy - Lt - WWII **** Medal for heroism

Posted by Mickey at January 27, 2004 6:28 PM