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'I Have Held A Job, Howard'Date Added: Nov. 6, 2005
Hindsight may be 20/20, but in the world of e-mail chain letters, it is often mighty near-sighted. This chain takes a small nugget of truth, embellishes it significantly for dramatic effect, attaches unrelated information, then tries to attribute that information to someone who has absolutely nothing to do with it. First, the original chain letter, as it began circulating around 2000: John Glenn tells it like it is. Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This exchange Between Senators John Glenn and Sen. Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive and impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why men and women in the Armed Services do what they do for a living. This IS a typical, though sad, example of what some who have never served think of the Military. Senator Metzenbaum to Senator Glenn: "How can you run for Senate when you've never held a "real job?" Senator Glenn: "I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by antiaircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the Space Program. It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my Life on the line. It was not a nine to five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank. I ask you to go with me .... as I went the other day... to a Veterans Hospital and look those men - with their mangled bodies - in the eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold a job! You go with me to the Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee...and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their DADS didn't hold a job. You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch those waving flags. You stand there, and you think about this Nation, and you tell ME that those people didn't have a job? I'll tell you, Howard Metzenbaum, you should be on your knees every day of your life thanking God that there were some men - SOME MEN - who held a REAL job. And they required a dedication to a purpose - and a love of country and a dedication to duty - that was more important than life itself. And their self-sacrifice is what made this country possible. I HAVE held a job, Howard! ---What about you?" For those who don't remember - During WWII, Howard Metzenbaum was an attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA. Now he is a Senator.
This chain became incredibly popular following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on civilian targets in the U.S. and the subsequent start of military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. It builds on the notoriety and clebrity of John Hershel Glenn, Jr., a Democratic Senator from Ohio probably best known for being the first American Astronaut to orbit the Earth in 1962 (aboard Mercury-6) and the oldest astronaut to do so again in 1998 (aboard Space Shuttle Discovery). Glenn is indeed a hero to many, being an accomplished Marine pilot in World War II and Korea. In addition to these impressive credentials, Glenn is also an accomplished politician, having represented his home state in the U.S. Senate from 1974 to 1999. Glenn first went head-to-head with fellow Democrat Howard Metzenbaum in 1970, as the two men were contending for Democratic candidacy. Though he was the favorite, Glenn lost the battle for his not in a remarkably nasty campaign. Metzenbaum went on to lose to Republican opponent Robert Taft, Jr. in the public election. Metzenbaum would eventually be assigned to the Senate upon the resignation of Ohio's other Senator, William B. Saxbe, in 1974. So, Glenn and Metzenbaum once again touch gloves in 1974, as the men complete for party's nomination in the battle for Metzenbaum's seat in the Senate. Metzenbaum, a businessman and lawyer, launched a campaign highly critical of Glenn's military career - capitalizing on the post-VietNam era's general disdain of all things military. In advance of a May 3rd debate, Metzenbaum criticized "Colonel Glenn" of having never "Met a Payroll," leading many to assume the Senator was implying that his opponent's long (and distinguished) military career didn't qualify as a "real job" and alienated him from the 'common man.' While Metzenbaum did not actually bring the issue up during the debate, Glenn nonetheless addressed the suggestion that he had never held a 'real job' at the televised meeting. This portion of the chain letter above accurately represents the prepared speech Glenn gave during that 1974 debate: Senator Glenn: "I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by antiaircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the Space Program. It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my Life on the line. It was not a nine to five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank. I ask you to go with me .... as I went the other day... to a Veterans Hospital and look those men - with their mangled bodies - in the eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold a job! You go with me to the Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee...and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their DADS didn't hold a job. You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch those waving flags. You stand there, and you think about this Nation, and you tell ME that those people didn't have a job? I'll tell you, Howard Metzenbaum, you should be on your knees every day of your life thanking God that there were some men - SOME MEN - who held a REAL job. And they required a dedication to a purpose - and a love of country and a dedication to duty - that was more important than life itself. And their self-sacrifice is what made this country possible. I HAVE held a job, Howard! ---What about you?" Glenn would go on to gain his party's nomination and later win the seat in the public election. He would even start his term early, being appointed by the Ohio Governor to replace Metzenbaum, who resigned before his term ended. Both men would enjoy long political careers. So, in summary, While John Glen did, indeed, utter the words attributed to him above, the circumstances weren't exactly as represented. It was not an impromptu exchange on the senate floor, but rather a prepared speech delivered in response to an implication in another political candidate's campaign. Later versions dated this supposed exchange to 2004, despite the fact that both men had ended their congressional careers long before. Footnotes in some version also contend that Metzenbaum was a lawyer who represented the communist party. While he was a lawyer, there is no reliable record of him representing the communist party (while it is possible that he represented a communist client or two, that's not quite the same as the implication made above - but let's not split hairs here). In late 2004, the above chain was combined with another, unrelated chain letter in which an anonymous author compares President George W. Bush's motivations for and handling of the Iraq operation with previous administrations' foreign policy. The juxtaposition of the two pieces led many forwarder to assume that Glenn was the originator of that argument as well. WHAT SENATOR JOHN GLENN SAID : Things that make you think a little: There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq in January. In the fair city of Detroit there were 35 murders in the month of January. That's just one American city, about as deadly as the entire war-torn country of Iraq. When some claim that President Bush shouldn't have started this war, state the following: a. FDR led us into World War II. b. Germany never attacked us; Japan did. From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost an average of 112,500 per year. c. Truman finished that war and started one in Korea. North Korea never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost .. an average of 18,334 per year. d. John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us. e. Johnson turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost .. an average of 5,800 per year. f. Clinton went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent. Bosnia never attacked us. He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions. g. In the years since terrorists attacked us, President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, Crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya, Iran, and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist Who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people. The Democrats are complaining about how long the war is taking. But It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the Branch Davidian compound. That was a 51-day operation. We've been looking for evidence for chemical weapons in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find the Rose Law Firm billing records. It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Ted Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick It took less time to take Iraq than it took to count the votes in Florida!!!! Our Commander-In-Chief is doing a GREAT JOB! The Military morale is high! The biased media hopes we are too ignorant to realize the facts. Glenn has nothing to do with these additional comments except that someone thought they'd be more compelling if they came from such a notable American hero. Break this chain. References: John Glenn Congressional Biography, John Glenn NASA Biography, Howard Metzenbaum Congressional Biography, Snopes.com |