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Bush says he's 'proud' of Vietnam-era National Guard serviceGOP contender disputes report of favorable treatmentJuly 4, 1999
From staff and wire reports AMHERST, New Hampshire (AllPolitics, July 4) -- GOP presidential candidate George W. Bush defended his military service record Sunday, after a report in the Los Angeles Times said he may gotten "highly favorable treatment" to win a place as a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War era.
"I applied, and I wanted to fly jets, and I did," the Texas governor told reporters while on a July Fourth campaign swing in New Hampshire. "I was proud of my service. Had my unit been called up, I would have gone overseas." "I would have gone had I been called. I can assure you of that," Bush said, noting that his commander told the Times "there was no preferential treatment given."
In its report, the Los Angeles Times said it found no evidence that either Bush or his father, former President George Bush, had personally tried to influence or pressure anyone to get the younger Bush a place in the Texas Guard. Bush's father was a congressman from Houston at the time. But the Times also found that despite a long waiting list nationwide, Bush easily got in the Guard and received a commission as a second lieutenant, despite lacking the credentials many other candidates had, such as ROTC experience. He also had no previous aviation experience. "He was a son of privilege, his father was a man of means, political means, and if he was Joe Schmo trying to get into the Guard ... it wasn't going to happen," said Richard Serrano, author of the Times story. "His name didn't hurt, obviously," retired Col. Charles C. Shoemake, who served with Bush, told the Times. Texas Air National Guard historian Tom Hail also told the Times that the fast-tracking of Bush through the ranks was unusual. "I've never heard of that," Hail said. "Generally, they did that for doctors only, mostly because we needed extra flight surgeons." However, the Dallas Morning News, which also looked into Bush's military record, reported that while Bush's unit in Texas had a waiting list for many spots, he was accepted because he was one of a handful of applicants willing and qualified to spend more than a year in active training flying F-102 jets.
Bush, a Yale University graduate, has said he joined the Air National Guard rather than volunteer for Army combat duty because he wanted to learn how to fly jet fighters like his father, who was a fighter pilot in World War II. "He said he wanted to fly just like his daddy," Bush's commander, Col. Walter B. "Buck" Staudt, told the Times. "Nobody did anything for him. There was no ... influence on his behalf." The Times reported that many of Bush's former colleagues and superiors in the Guard remember him as a bright young leader who worked hard. "He did the work. His daddy didn't do it for him," said retired Maj. Willie J. Hooper.
During the Vietnam era, joining the National Guard was seen by many as a means of avoiding the draft and combat duty. In 1988, Dan Quayle, then on the GOP ticket with Bush's father, was bedeviled by accusations that his prominent family helped him win a coveted spot in the Indiana National Guard. However, the political potency of the issue in 2000 is questionable. Of the current crop of presidential candidates, only one -- Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona -- saw combat duty in Vietnam. A Navy pilot, McCain was shot down and spent more than five years as a prisoner of war. Two others in the field, Vice President Al Gore and GOP Sen. Bob Smith of New Hampshire, also served in Vietnam but not in combat. Joining Bush and Quayle in stateside military service were Steve Forbes, who was in the New Jersey National Guard, and former Sen. Bill Bradley, who served in the Air Force Reserve. The only woman in the race, Elizabeth Dole, wasn't eligible for the draft. The rest of the men in the field either received deferments or were issued a high number that kept them from being drafted.
One of Bush's competitors for the GOP nomination, Rep. John Kasich of Ohio, said the Times revelations about Bush's war record was "no story." "I didn't read anything in there that didn't say that he didn't do a good job, that he was praised by a lot of people he worked with," said Kasich, who had a high draft number, on ABC's "This Week" program. "I hope this isn't the beginning of 'gotcha' politics in terms of the presidential campaign." In 1992, President Bill Clinton, an opponent of the Vietnam War, was similarly buffeted with questions about his lack of military service, including whether he solicited help from people with influence to keep him from being drafted. In the end, however, he beat the elder Bush to win in 1992 and another veteran, former Sen. Bob Dole, in 1996.
Correspondent Candy Crowley and The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
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