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Justice William O. Douglas was proud of having been a private in the Army. So proud, his simple headstone in Arlington looks like this:  Interesting choice. But it’s even more interesting when you learn that there’s some doubt about whether his seemingly modest claim is even true. His Wikipedia page handles it like this: “Throughout his life Douglas claimed he had been a U.S. Army private, which was inscribed on his headstone. Some historians, including biographer Bruce Murphy, asserted that this claim was false,[5][6][12]although Murphy later added, according to Washington Posteditorial writer Charles Lane, that Douglas's ‘career on the court makes it 'appropriate'’ that he be buried in Arlington Cemetery.” Well. I don’t know much about what made one eligible for burial at Arlington when Justice Douglas died. Other justices with no military service are buried there with him in Section 5. But it seems like it ought to be pretty easy to determine whether someone was ever a soldier. And, if it is a fib, it’s a strange one, and stranger still that he held it so close that it’s the lede on his tombstone. The Travellers
Joshua Kastenberg
9/12/2021 03:10:38 pm
I wrote about this in my book. There is a record of Douglas' service. He was trained through an ROTC predecessor that was unique to the United States shortly after the declaration of war against the Imperial German Government in 1917. He, along with tens of thousands of others were entitled to be considered as "privates." His service did not include going to one of the massive training bases and forming into a division. Later in his judicial career he would make comments such as "the generals and in particular Pershing seemed cold and remote to us." This was probably an exaggeration in regard to his personal experiences, but rather, a reflection on what he heard from soldiers who were sent to France. As a result of his controversial activities and his anti-Vietnam War positions, he was seen by conservatives as anti-military and there were arguments that he lied. (Some have argued that he lied about childhood polio too). He didn't lie about his brief military service, but her was prone to exaggerate
Donald G Rehkopf, Jr.
9/13/2021 10:28:36 am
Douglas was in the Student's Army Training Corps while attending Whitman College, WA. Here's a link with a good explanation: Comments are closed.
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