Bentsen’s War Record Inflated but Corrected
Campaign literature issued by Texas Sen. Lloyd Bentsen during his previous Senate races exaggerated the number of missions he flew in World War II, but the error was corrected a few years ago, a spokesman said Thursday.
Bentsen is campaigning for a fourth term in the Senate at the same time he is running for vice president on the Democratic ticket with Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis.
All versions of Bentsen’s biography agree that as a B-24 bomber pilot based in Italy he was decorated for distinguished service and discharged at the end of the war as a colonel in the reserves.
Received Air Medal
Air Force records, consistent with Bentsen’s biographies, show that he received the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross and Europe-Africa-Mideast Theater Ribbon for serving in Italy.
But official biographies put out during earlier campaigns by the senator say that “Bentsen flew 50 bomber missions over Europe during the war.”
Air Force records show that he flew 35 combat missions, and logged 129 combat hours, according to an Air Force spokesman, Maj. Lou Figeroa.
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