Apr 21, 2004
Murray Polner: Golf-Playing Vets
To the Editor:
Charles McGrath's"Tiger's Miracle Cure," (Week in Review, April 18), which refers to the famous golfer's' play-acting as a Green Beret in Fort Bragg, recalls the time during the Vietnam War when, with a draft in full operation, eligible pro athletes were deliberately given cushy jobs in the draft-haven National Guard and Reserves rather than have them participate in the real thing as their lesser peers were forced to do. McGrath writes of Tiger's fantasy of joining"something in the Special 0ps arena" if he hadn't become a successful golfer. But hey, Tiger, nothing is stopping you now. All those non-veterans in our bellicose White House will welcome you in helping to quell the civil war in Iraq.
Sincerely,
Murray Polner