A Brief History
On August 2, 1943, US Navy torpedo boat PT-109 commanded by a young John F. Kennedy was rammed by a Japanese destroyer, cutting the boat in half and sinking it. Lt. Kennedy later became President Kennedy in January of 1961. Although we have pointed out the lily-livered chicken hawks that either dodged the draft or merely failed to enlist in the military, today we honor those politicians that also served in the US Armed Forces. (See our May 22 article 10 Celebrities that Fought in a War and our March 24 article 10 “Patriots” that Dodged the Draft or Did Not Serve. We will not list politicians listed in the May 22 article on this list.)
Digging Deeper
1. John F. Kennedy, World War II, President.
JFK not only joined the Navy in the biggest war in human history, he volunteered for the highly dangerous job of serving in PT boats, 80 foot long craft made of plywood designated for maximum combat action. Kennedy lost 2 men when his boat was sunk, but he bravely towed an injured sailor and led the other survivors to shore where they were eventually rescued, but not until Kennedy had repeatedly swam out into shark infested waters at night in an effort to flag down a US vessel! In fact, the 4 Presidents that followed Kennedy were all World War II veterans, with Lyndon Johnson serving in the Army and asking to be sent to a combat zone, earning a Silver Star, Richard Nixon serving in the Solomon Islands with the US Navy after requesting a combat posting, Gerald Ford serving in the Navy aboard the light carrier USS Monterey in the Pacific, and George H.W. Bush who served in the Navy as a bomber pilot in the Pacific and was shot down. We have not had a combat veteran for President since these men.
2. Theodore Roosevelt, Spanish American War, President.
Teddy actually resigned his job as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in order to join the “Rough Riders” whom he famously led up San Juan Hill, Cuba, in a harrowing battle in 1898. TR had previously served in the New York National Guard. Roosevelt later became the 26th President of the United States when William McKinley was assassinating in 1901.
3. Bob Dole, World War II, Senator.
A US Representative from Kansas for 8 years and then a US Senator from Kansas from 1969 to 1996, Dole had previously served in the Army in World War II, when he was grievously wounded by machine gun fire in the upper back and right arm fighting in Italy. His serious wounds almost killed Dole, and he suffered a crippled right arm the rest of his life. In addition to the service in Congress, Dole ran for Vice President with Gerald Ford in 1976, and sought his party’s presidential nomination in 1980 and 1988, and finally ran as the Republican nominee for President in 1992, losing to draft dodger Bill Clinton.
4. Daniel Inouye, World War II, Senator.
This patriotic Japanese American from Hawaii was initially not allowed to serve in the US military, as persons of Japanese ethnicity were banned from service from 1941 to 1943. Daniel, a medical student, instead served as a medical volunteer until he was allowed to enlist in the Army in 1943. Moving up the ranks and given a commission as an officer, Inouye lost his right arm to a grenade blast fighting in Italy in 1945. So valiant were his efforts, Inouye won the Medal of Honor among his other medals and commendations. Daniel spent 4 years as a Congressman from Hawaii and then served as a US Senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012.
5. Ladda Tammy Duckworth, Iraq War, Senator.
This pioneering brave woman was a Lt. Colonel in the US Army, and had the misfortune of losing both of her legs in combat in 2004 in Iraq, when the helicopter she was piloting was hit with an RPG. Duckworth later became the first woman born in Thailand to serve in the US Congress, the first handicapped female Congressman, and the first Asian-American woman elected to Congress from Illinois. In January of 2017, she was sworn in as Senator from Illinois, only the second Asian-American female in the Senate. She has a PhD from Northern Illinois University, Capella University. Duckworth has also served in other Government positions.
6. Abraham Lincoln, Black Hawk War, President.
Famous for being a “wartime president,” Lincoln was a veteran of the Black Hawk War of 1832, and though he did not actually see personal combat, he was close enough to fighting to have to take part in burial of dead soldiers, and certainly was in the combat zone during his service. Lincoln served as a Captain in the Illinois Militia.
7. Jefferson Davis, Mexican-American War, Senator, President of Confederate States.
Like his Union counterpart, Abe Lincoln, Davis was also a veteran of the Black Hawk War, though he too did not see personal combat. Later, in the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848 this West Point graduate served in combat and was even wounded in service to the United States. He later served as a US Congressman, as US Secretary of War, and as US Senator from Mississippi before the Civil War in which he served as President of the Confederate States of America.
8. John F. Kelly, Iraq War, Secretary of Homeland Security, White House Chief of Staff.
As a US Marine since 1970, Kelly has worked his way up to 4 star General and was serving as Secretary of Homeland Security under President Trump until July 31, 2017 when President Trump asked him to switch jobs and become the White House Chief of Staff. While serving in combat in Iraq in 2003 as a Marine Corps Colonel, Kelly was promoted to Brigadier General, the first time a Marine Colonel in an active combat zone was promoted to General since Lewis “Chesty” Puller in 1951.
9. Tom Cotton, Iraq War, Senator.
This patriot was already a lawyer when he enlisted in the Army in 2005 at almost 28 years old. Turning down a commission as an Army Lawyer, Cotton instead enlisted and earned a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in Officer Candidate School. Airborne and Ranger qualified, Cotton went to Iraq in 2006 with the 101st Airborne Division, and went on combat patrols. Cotton later went to Afghanistan in 2008, another war zone. Cotton entered the US Congress from 2013-2015 and entered the US Senate from Arkansas in 2015 where he currently serves.
10. Martha McSally, Iraq/Afghanistan, Congressman.
A US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II (“Warthog”) pilot, Martha served in the Middle East combat zones after 9/11, including dropping ordnance in combat in Afghanistan in 2004. McSally sued then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the Defense Department in 2001 over the order for American military women to wear a Muslim cover-up form of clothing when in public while serving in Saudi Arabia. McSally’s suit was successful, and she was elected to Congress, representing Arizona in 2014, taking office in January of 2015.
Question for students (and subscribers): What notable politician would you add to this list? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Doyle, William. PT 109: An American Epic of War, Survival, and the Destiny of John F. Kennedy. William Morrow, 2015.
The featured image in this article, a photograph of PT-109 crew and Kennedy standing on right, is a work of a U.S. military or Department of Defense employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain in the United States.