Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
CT Senate Candidate To Address His Vietnam Claims
By
John Del Signore
Published May 18, 2010
Modified May 18, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published May 18, 2010
Modified May 18, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
[UPDATE BELOW]
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is holding a press conference today to defend himself against a damaging expose in the NY Times, which asserts that he repeatedly lied and exaggerated about his military service during the Vietnam War. This is big trouble for Democrats because Blumenthal is running to claim Chris Dodd's Senate seat, and the article catches their guy with his pants way down and on fire.
According to the Times, Blumenthal has on numerous occasions misrepresented his service during the war, claiming or intimating that he had actually gone to Vietnam. In reality, Blumenthal repeatedly used deferments and college enrollment to avoid the draft. Only when his deferments ran out and he drew a low draft lottery number in late 1969 did he join the Marine Reserves, which "were not being activated for Vietnam and were seen as a shelter for young privileged men," according to David Curry, a professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and an expert on the Vietnam draft.
Blumenthal, the son of a successful businessman who grew up in NYC, sat out the war at Harvard, Trinity College in Cambridge, and eventually made his way to the White House as an assistant to Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who was serving as Urban Affairs adviser. When his luck finally ran out and he had to join the Reserves, he served his country refurbishing tent decks and showers at a campground for underprivileged Washington children participating in Christmas toy drives, and recycling. He never went to Vietnam, but that hasn't stopped him from telling veterans, "I served during the Vietnam era. I remember the taunts, the insults, sometimes even physical abuse." You can almost hear those ungrateful hippies, even today: "Hey hey Blumenthal, how many decks did you refurbish in all?!"
And it doesn't end there: The Times reports that after Slate and the Hartford Courant published fawning features reporting that he was captain of the swim team at Harvard, Blumenthal never bothered to correct them. He was on the swim team about as much as he was in the shit in 'Nam, which is to say not at all.
UPDATE: At his press conference this afternoon, Blumenthal struck a defiant tone, insisting that he "can't be responsible for all the mistakes in all the articles - thousands of them." And he explained that when he misspoke about his military service, it was "absolutely unintentional... and I regret that. But I will not allow anyone to take a few missplaced words and impugn my record of service to my country. I served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves, and I am proud of it.'' To this day, America is a safer, stronger country because of the DC toy drives Blumenthal bravely organized during Vietnam.
Tagged
attorney general
blumenthal
Chris Dodd
connecticut
Ralph Blumenthal
senate
vietnam
vietnam man
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .