Mobsters and the Army

In glorious old days more mobsters was WWII or Korea veterans,little from vietnam,I never read of modern days mobsters that was veterans from first gulf war or Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
Lack of patriottism ?

Vietnam was the last war with a draft so you had a higher cross section of individuals/geographical areas. From the web:

The states with the most active duty and reserve members of the military, as of May 2016, were:

California: 190,160
Texas: 173,118
North Carolina: 129,049
Virginia: 117,084
Florida: 94,288
Georgia: 88,521
Washington: 65,731
New York: 50,824
South Carolina: 50,426
Hawaii: 49,347
Maryland: 49,187

NJ is even further down the list with 7,000 active military members.

Since there is no draft, you have to enlist to be in the military post-Vietnam. That suggests a certain level of selflessness that most mobsters do not possess.

Of course there are cases where recent military members have committed crimes and they're not all angels. There have been reports of latino/black gangs activity in the US Army that you can read about.

What I asked is different Baldo,of course the soldiers never was angels but maybe a mobster as young man joined the army,the navy ecc and after become a criminal.

Sammy Da Bull was in the Army during the Vietnam era, though he was not sent to Vietnam. He ran a bunch of rackets in the Army.

Theres probaly 2 many to list with ww2 and even Korean war. If you asked how many served in vietnam probaly a few but after that war whats next the first gulf war theres probaly just my guess less then 6 if theres even 1. Guess the bonanno boss was in the navy.

Venero Mangano and Al D'Arco served, though Al didn't leave the country.

Thanks fellas but from 1990 to now any mobster joined the army,navy ecc ?

Faffy Iarenella from Philly served in combat in Vietnam.

You're not gonna have any wiseguys that served in Iraq or Afghanistan because they were fought by all volunteer forces, plus people from NY/NJ/Philly area are less likely to volunteer for military service than someone from the Deep South or Midwest, it's just how it is....

You hear what Amber Rose said about guys from Philly, Dante?

I would crawl on my hands and knees through a mile of broken glass just to hear her fart through a walkie-talkie...

Not even lying.

Great point I was going to mention, Dante. The military is a cultural thing as well. Tends to attract deep south/midwest or rural types as u mentioned (also minorities). Can't see many NY/NJ guidos enlisting. I'm sure there are exceptions (before anyone jumps down my throat). All the guys mentioned from earlier wars that became LCN were most likely drafted. Plus, when talking about guys like Matty the Horse or Benny Eggs, you're talking about 70 years ago when society as a whole was different (and even then they had the draft).

Joe Isgro was in 'Nam. It's his go-to defense whenever he gets busted.

Johnny Roselli enlisted during WW2. He was arrested not long after and wore his military uniform to court, much to the dismay of the judge.

Acting Boss of Bonanno Family, Joe Cammarano Jr. was a Navy submariner. Can't think of any others....

http://mafia.wikia.com/wiki/Joseph_Cammarano_Jr.

I read somewhere that one of the Gallo brothers, (Larry I think) was drafted into the Army. He had fainting spells that resulted in a medical discharge. When he got back to Brooklyn the fainting spells suddenly stopped. Must have been a miracle.

I think in the old days judges would give younger guys a choice at sentencing, prison or the military. Just something to keep in mind when you hear about criminals who volunteered.