Conn. AG Made ‘Plainly Untrue’ Remarks About Military Service, NYT Says
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal avoided service in Vietnam with at least five military deferments, but that isn’t the impression he left during veterans’ events.
Some of Blumenthal’s remarks were “plainly untrue,” the New York Times reports. “At other times, he has used more ambiguous language, but the impression left on audiences can be similar,” the Times says. He tells of serving during the Vietnam era, or refers to the time “we” returned from the war. The confusion has led several newspapers to report that Blumenthal is a Vietnam veteran.
Blumenthal, a Democrat running for the Senate, didn’t always leave the wrong impression, however. In a March speech, he clearly stated he didn’t serve in Vietnam.
Blumenthal served in the Marine reserve after receiving the deferments and did not go to Vietnam, the story says. His unit in Washington conducted drills and worked on local projects such as a Toys for Tots campaign.
The Times story begins with an illustration of a “plainly untrue” comment, made in 2008 at a ceremony honoring veterans and senior citizens who sent presents to soldiers overseas. “We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,” Blumenthal said. “And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it—Afghanistan or Iraq—we owe our military men and women unconditional support.”
Blumenthal told the Times he misspoke about his service at the ceremony, and might have done so at other events. “My intention has always been to be completely clear and accurate and straightforward, out of respect to the veterans who served in Vietnam,” he said.
Blumenthal’s campaign manager Mindy Myers criticized the Times story as “an outrageous distortion of Dick Blumenthal’s record of service,” the Associated Press and Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) report.
Myers said Blumenthal voluntarily joined the reserves and served for six years.
