Re: Conscientious Objector

There are two basic Selective Service classifications for consciencious objectors -- Class II-O (I think - never had to deal with any) and Class I-A-O. The former is an individual, usually a devout Quaker or other fundamentalist religious believer, who will not serve as it is against his religion and is accepted as such. A Class I-A-O is one who will serve his country but not take up arms against his fellow man.

Many medics in Korea and Vietnam were I-A-O consciencious objectors, or so I was told by a I-A-O intelligence analyst in my unit in Can Tho. Medics by the Laws of Land Warfare are not supposed to be targets, but they also are not supposed to carry any arms or provide weapons and ammunition to other soldiers. A medic in Korea -- the type described as removing wounded and dead from the battlefield in Korea -- would be typical. A number of medics have been awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism under fire, so simply not carrying arms does not mean that they carried any stigma for objecting. (As noted by Ed, it goes way off topic to get into draft dodgers using this ploy in Vietnam, so I am only giving what I have on this.)

Cookie Sewell
AMPS

PS -- the guy in Viet Nam was a I-A-O until one day when a Vietnamese "cowboy" -- street punk -- put six rounds from a .32 revolver through the windshield of his jeep. The next day he renounced his objector status and came to work carrying an M16, .45, .38 revolver, and an M79 plus ammo -- looked like an Albanian hill bandit...