During the Vietnam War, an estimated 55,000 deserters or draft-dodgers fled to Canada. There were amnesties for both groups in the late 1970s under President Jimmy Carter, but many stayed.

An estimated 5,500 men and women have deserted from the U.S. Army since the invasion of Iraq, reflecting growing problems with troop morale in the United States. Many people are fleeing to Canada, according to the Sunday Telegraph, a trend that rekindles memories of the draft dodgers who flooded north to avoid service in Vietnam.

55,000 + 5,500 = 60,500 Yankees who became Canadians !

Not so bad ! :)

If you know anything about " reading " :
http://www.vermontguardian.com/national/0904/Deserters.shtml

Mr. Lucas,

Yes, we do know something about "reading". Enough to recognize it is an activity you have difficulty with.

Had you read carefully -- or just skimmed attentively -- you might have gleaned that we are inviting the disaffected to leave for Canada. Bye bye.

And now for those damning numbers. Hhmmm, 55,000/5,500. What does this mean? Well, it means nothing.

First the 5,500 number comes from where? The Vermont Guardian, which cribs it and the whole story from the Telegraph. Neither paper sites a source for this "estimate". This fabulous number is supported by the single sad anecdote of Mr. Hinzman, who joins the Army for college tuition and is shocked -- SHOCKED! -- to discover he will be deployed as a cook to Iraq.

Second, the vast number of desertations during the Viet Nam war were conscripts not soldiers, and they occurred toward the end when many thought scoring at Grateful Dead concerts was a higher moral calling than fighting in Viet Nam.

We are at a loss to suss your muddled point. But if you are offering Canadian hospitality, then please contact the disaffected celebrities we've detailed in the post.

DGB

The 55000 is hooie as well. Nobody knows how many dodgers and deserters ran off to Canada but the last I saw the military estimated it at about 30,000.

Coincidentally, about 30,000 Canadians came south to joing the US military during Viet Nam, about a third of whom served over there.

I'd say a damn good trade (tho I imagine a fair number went back to Canada after their enlistments).

Oh great Lucas! What impressive heroes! Maybe the coward weasels who refuse to kick Saddam's ass are the children of those who refused to fight Communist North-Vietnamese?

I don't think this is a great loss for the Land of the free and the home of the braves, and I don't think Canada won anything in welcoming those yellow-livered beatniks...

Lefty Canucks did think that running away to Canada was courageous. In fact, they even thought that welcoming draft dodgers was courageous, and sought to memorialize Canadian courage. Oh, the perils the faced!

Remember,Canadians are the decendants of people that thought old mad King George III was better than George Washinton; french who lost yet another war; indians and eskimos that got screwed by the first two groups; and people that had enough sense to make it across an ocean, but not enough to go south. Real bunch of weiners, I mean winners.

Thank God these idiots have decided to stay put. I have already stated in a previous comment on this web page that we here in Canada have it hard enough already without more mindless liberals entering into the mix.

It's brutal up here. And the drag is, it never used to be this bad. We fought proudly and bravely in many wars...even as recently as Viet Nam. I would suggest that years of "good old fashioned values" went more towards building Canada in the earlier years than the suggestions that "inventor" posted previously on.

Unfortunately, one of the reasons why things began to take a 40 year dive for the worst has been Quebec holding Canada's unity hostage. It's like we've had our own little "mini France" dictating our political policies since the 70s. If they don't get their way, they threaten to secede from Canada. So...in a panic to keep Quebec happy, many policies similar to the French policies (and mindsets) criticized by this web site are becoming ingrained into the Canadian fabric.

Given the choice of leaning towards Bush or leaning towards Chirac, I’d take Bush in a heartbeat. If things get any worse, maybe the flood towards the boarder will be Canadians heading into the US instead of the other way around.

....not that there was any flood into Canada in the first place. :-)

Hey,if Alberta wishes to change its designation from province to state, most US wouldn't complain. I believe the only part of the old Articles of Confederation still operative is acceptance of parts of Canada into US. Saw poll that many albertans wouldn't object.

Tommy2 - maybe we can arrange a trade? Two L3's for each Albertan, or something like that?