Posted on 07/18/2015 11:37:29 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Despite Donald Trump’s claim this week that he avoided serving in the Vietnam War solely due to a high draft number, Selective Service records show that the purported presidential aspirant actually received a series of student deferments while in college and then topped those off with a medical deferment after graduation that helped spare him from fighting for his country, The Smoking Gun has learned.
During a TV interview Tuesday morning, Trump--who spent his high school years enrolled at the New York Military Academy--said, “I actually got lucky because I had a very high draft number. I’ll never forget, that was an amazing period of time in my life.”
He went on to recall, “I was going to the Wharton School of Finance, and I was watching as they did the draft numbers and I got a very, very high number and those numbers never got up to.” The word “deferment” was not mentioned by Trump during his chat with the morning show hosts on WNYW, the Fox affiliate in New York City.
However, Selective Service records reveal that Trump, the fortunate son of a multimillionaire real estate baron, took repeated steps to avoid serving in Vietnam.
By the time his number (356) was drawn during the December 1, 1969 draft lottery, Trump had already received four student deferments and a medical deferment, according to military records on file with the National Archives and Records Administration. An extract of Trump’s Selective Classification record, seen here, was provided in response to a TSG records request.
In fact, the December 1969 draft lottery occurred about 18 months after Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied business at the Wharton School. So, while claiming that he would “never forget” being at Wharton watching the draft numbers being drawn, the 64-year-old Trump seems to have misremembered, as candidates are fond of saying.
Trump obtained his first two Class 2-S student deferments in June 1964 and December 1965, when he was student at Fordham University in the Bronx. He was briefly reclassified as 1-A--or "available for military service"--in late-November 1966, but that classification was switched back to 2-S three weeks later.
Another 2-S deferment is dated January 16, 1968, just months before his graduation from UPenn (to which he transferred following his sophomore year at Fordham).
Following his UPenn graduation, Trump--no longer qualified for a 2-S deferment--was again briefly classified as available for service on July 9. However, three months later, on October 15, his classification was switched to 1-Y, which was given to men deemed qualified for military service “only in time of national emergency.”
The 1-Y classification came a month after Trump underwent an “Armed Forces Physical Examination,” according to Selective Service records, which note the results of the exam as “DISQ.” While the military records do not further detail why Trump was granted the 1-Y deferment, a 1992 biography of the businessman by journalist Wayne Barrett reported that Trump received a medical deferment following the September 17, 1968 exam.
Trump’s 1-Y classification stayed in effect until February 1, 1972 when it was changed to a 4-F classification (which covered registrants not qualified for military service). The change in classification was likely prompted by the military’s December 1971 decision to abolish the 1-Y classification.
The Selective Service records also include a copy of the registration card signed by Trump in June 1964, 10 days after he turned 18. The possible future Commander-in-Chief, it turns out, has birthmarks on both his heels. (3 pages)
We were expecting the opposition researchers to rise from the ashes that Trump has made out of the establishment whacks, who side with Obama and never stop nuttin’.
Nick, did you finally pick a candidate? Is your candidate drawing anywhere near the fire Trump is drawing, on immigration. A genuine shake up is usually noisy, you know.
A real issue involving the American military, is the Obama policy--even in the face of repeated threats and warnings of coming attacks--in making our young men at arms serve as targets in "gun free zones." If that is not a 1,000 times more serious than someone insulting John McCain back, just what is?
Bullshit,ask the other pow soldiers the truth of McLettuce then get over yourself
Hillary born 1947 so that would be 1974.
It’s all too complicated.
LOL! Clever. :)
Where is Dan Rather when you need him?
I agree.
Personally, I’m impressed by Obama’s military background. Oh. Wait. He doesn’t have one. Never min.
where does mccain get off calling ME crazy? or selling me down the river over amnesty, or bank bailouts, or rubber stamping the imposter in chief?????
give it a rest dude. mccain is as anti american as they get.
Audie Murphy was a war hero. Dakota Meyer is a war hero. Marcus Luttrel is a war hero. Just because you get captured does not mean you are a war hero.
I have respect for McCain for enduring the torture and not going home early. Other than that the mission of war is to kill the enemy. How many enemy did McCain kill?
For what it’s worth, Trump is 69, not 64...
Trump is really pounding the Democrats, something GOP party hacks like McCain won’t do. If nothing else The Donald’s a useful tool.
I don’t understand this sharp animus that you and others have for someone who is `afflicting the comfortable’ on the left, as well as “moderate Republicans”.
Are you in favor of yet another “comprehensive immigration reform”?
Trump’s definitely got a shelf life: Do you not understnd this? Does anyone really think he’s got a chance, is it because Obongo won twice? WITH is your concern?
IMHO he’s on a roll, so why not let him go? Or go ahead—keep smearing him like the Democrats and RINOs and CINOs and their MSM agitprop.
Like free speech, it lets us know who you all are .....
So what? the fact is irrelevant
Only of interest if your interest is to kneecap him...
So true. I’m sick of the minutiae.
LOL!!! ROTFL! Towel please... my monitor, you know!
He must have found the Group W bench...
Well the liberal media wasted no time ginning up envy there.
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