just the facts:
president bush
bush, despite low pilot test scores, joined the texas air national guard in 1968 after graduating from yale university. during his first year of service, he took an eight-week leave to work on a senate campaign in florida.
bush graduated from flight school at moody air force base in georgia in 1969 and completed combat crew training school at ellington air force base in texas in 1970. he participated in drills and alerts at ellington and began working for a houston based agricultural company. after his last flight as a guard member in 1972, bush moved to alabama to work on another senate campaign. he was assigned to guard national guard units in alabama. there is no record of him reporting for duty there, but bush says he did participate. he lost his flight credentials after missing a physical exam.
vice president dick cheney
cheney received five deferments of service during the war. he received his first student deferment in 1963, while enrolled at casper college in wyoming. his status was renewed twice when he was an undergraduate at the university of wyoming in laramie.
after graduating in 1965, cheney became a graduate student in the fall and obtained another deferment. he received a deferment under a provision for parents in 1966, when his wife, lynne, became pregnant.
cheney told the washington post in 1989, “”i had other priorities in the ’60s than military service.””
john kerry:
after graduating from yale university in 1966, kerry volunteered for the navy and served two tours of duty in vietnam. in his first tour, he spent four months on the uss gridley frigate off vietnam’s shore. he volunteered for the second tour, where he served nearly five months as a swiftboat commander in the mekong delta and won three purple hearts, a bronze star and a silver star.
kerry’s three war injuries were enough to allow him an early return to stateside duty. after petitioning for honorable discharge six months early in 1969, kerry ran for a house seat in massachusetts, but later gave up his bid for the democratic nomination. he joined vietnam veterans against the war and became its leading spokesman.