Gov. Bush Defends His Military Service During Vietnam War

Republican presidential front-runner George W. Bush defended his stateside service during the Vietnam War on Sunday, saying that he pulled no strings to gain admittance to the Texas Air National Guard.

“I wanted to fly fighters,” the Texas governor told reporters during a campaign stop to march in a Fourth of July parade in New Hampshire. “I applied and I was accepted. I’m very proud of my service.”

Bush was responding to a report in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times saying that he had received favorable treatment and uncommon attention after entering the Guard in 1968 at the height of the Vietnam War.

Although The Times found no evidence of illegality or rule-breaking in Bush’s quick entry into the Guard as a commissioned officer, its review of nearly 200 pages of his service record and interviews with dozens of people showed that doors were opened at opportune times for the son of George Bush, then a Republican congressman.

The younger Bush has become the prohibitive favorite for the GOP presidential nomination. But few of his Republican opponents showed interest Sunday in using the Vietnam issue against him.

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and Rep. John R. Kasich of Ohio said they do not think the military issue is relevant to the campaign.

Bush learned to fly in the Guard and was willing to go overseas if called, Hatch said on CNN’s “Late Edition.” “I don’t see how anybody could find fault with that.”

But fellow candidate Steve Forbes said Bush should have to answer the questions raised about his wartime service.

Forbes, who served in the National Guard from 1970 to 1976, said in an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” that “it’s not an issue unless [Bush] makes it an issue. He has got to answer the questions on it if anything illegal was done.”

In addition to the report in The Times, the Dallas Morning News reported Sunday that records from Bush’s military file showed that after inquiring about National Guard admission, Bush went to an Air Force recruiting office and scored in the 25th percentile on the pilot aptitude section of a test. That was the lowest score allowed for prospective pilots.

He scored better than 95% of those taking the “officer quality section” of the test, dealing with leadership and other factors.

Vietnam-era service has been a sensitive issue in past campaigns for several candidates of Bush’s generation, particularly President Clinton.

Clinton’s successful 1992 campaign against Bush’s father was thrown on the defensive by allegations that Clinton dodged the draft through an ROTC appointment in Arkansas--and dodged the truth in telling voters about the episode 23 years later.

Gov. Bush’s campaign sought to quickly dismiss the latest flare-up over the Vietnam issue during the candidate’s New Hampshire visit.

The Times “got it wrong,” a Bush spokeswoman said. “They were looking at the requirements for the Army National Guard, not the Air National Guard.”

But a 1960s-era military pamphlet cited in the story, discussing how guardsmen could rise to the rank of second lieutenant, covered both the Air National Guard and the much larger Army National Guard.

Times wire services contributed to this story.