Politics, Veteran Pals, Veterans' Spouses, Partners & Families

Supreme Court To Lose Only Veteran

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On April 9th,  United States Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement. Stevens is the only Justice with military experience. Stevens was appointed to the nations top court by President Gerald Ford in 1975. Justice Stevens was a cryptologist during WWll.  Stevens has shared with his biographers that his war time experiences have had a lasting effect on him and have influenced many of his decisions. His studied approach to the detainees at the Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was guided by those prior war imprints.

One may ask, how could it not be that way? War does indeed leave an indelibly significant mark on all of our decisions, both domestic and professional. Is that good?

8 thoughts on “Supreme Court To Lose Only Veteran”

  1. Thanks Mike for mentioning this military service. I checked wikipedia and it says that Justice Stevens  “decided to join the United States Navy, He enlisted on December 6, 1941, one day before Pearl Harbor and served as an intelligence officer in the Pacific Theater from 1942 to 1945. Stevens was awarded a Bronze Star for his service in the codebreaking team whose work led to the downing of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto‘s plane in 1943.” 

    1. Well, on the current Tucson City Council, I know that newly elected Councilmember  Richard Fimbres is a  U.S. Army Vietnam veteran, but not sure of anyone else.  Mike, do you know which other local politicians are vets or have served in the reserves?

      1. of course you know I meant,”make” quite a team. ADD is hell!
        Mayor Bob Walkup served in the Army Corps of Engineers. Steve Leal, while he is out of office, but still engaged politically with a talk show on 1330 JOLT, served in the United States Navy in Vietnam.   On the State level you have Jonathan Paton/ Army and Frank Antenori/ Army Special Forces.
         
        As a footnote to history, few ever knew that Councilman  Rudy Bejarano was an Army Bronze Star recipient. Rudy Castro was a Marine. John Jones the Director of Special Projects for the City was an Army Captain in Vietnam.
         
        One thing I do know, is that veterans, having seen and accomplished tasks that polite society does not see,  are often motivated by a magnanimity that stays with them for life. They just want to make the world a better place.  Remember, that St. Francis of Assisi and Ignatius Loyola were warriors first. The founding of the Orders of Franciscans and Jesuits came later. I love to tell friends it was because they had a problem with  authority!
         
        Maybe I will take some time to share with TC.com readers the biographies of some of  our nations leaders, artists and activists who were inspired to serve by their own service in the Armed Forces.

  3. Well, I find it interesting tha so many Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are now running for office. I good friend of mine who is a Veteran of the Gulf War is running for a County Supervisor seat in a liberal county of Maryland and he is doing well. I think in general, people are waking up a little to the fact of no politicians with military experience means, weak politicians who have never served a purpose greater than themselves. We need people, men and women, who understand serving a greater good, subjugating their own wants for the needs of the whole. The Veteran understands that.

  4. Consider the proportion of the populatio0n in the services in WWII, then Vietnam, and now our little joke wars like desert storm or Panama.
    You can’t expect to maintain as high a percentage of veterans under current conditions.
    cholla has a point: “We need people, men and women, who understand serving a greater good, subjugating their own wants for the needs of the whole.”
    We need more community organizers :)

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