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- May 27, 2009
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SAN DIEGO On a stage crowded with war heroes, Mitt Romney recently praised the sacrifice "of the great men and women of every generation who serve in our armed services."
It is a sacrifice the Republican presidential candidate did not make. Though an early supporter of the Vietnam War, Romney avoided military service at the height of the fighting after high school by seeking and receiving four draft deferments, according to Selective Service records. They included college deferments and a 31-month stretch as a "minister of religion" in France, a classification for Mormon missionaries that the church at the time feared was being overused. The country was cutting troop levels by the time he became eligible for the draft, and his lottery number was not called.
President Barack Obama did not serve in the military either. The Democrat, 50, was a child during the Vietnam conflict.
Because Romney, now 65, was of draft age during Vietnam, his lack of military background is facing scrutiny as he courts veterans.
Romney's recollection of his Vietnam-era decisions has evolved in the decades since, particularly as his presidential ambitions became clear. He said in 2007, his first White House bid under way, that he had "longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam." But his actions, Selective Service records and previous statements show little interest in joining a conflict that claimed more than 58,000 American lives.
Read more: Romney faces scrutiny over Vietnam - Times Union
It is a sacrifice the Republican presidential candidate did not make. Though an early supporter of the Vietnam War, Romney avoided military service at the height of the fighting after high school by seeking and receiving four draft deferments, according to Selective Service records. They included college deferments and a 31-month stretch as a "minister of religion" in France, a classification for Mormon missionaries that the church at the time feared was being overused. The country was cutting troop levels by the time he became eligible for the draft, and his lottery number was not called.
President Barack Obama did not serve in the military either. The Democrat, 50, was a child during the Vietnam conflict.
Because Romney, now 65, was of draft age during Vietnam, his lack of military background is facing scrutiny as he courts veterans.
Romney's recollection of his Vietnam-era decisions has evolved in the decades since, particularly as his presidential ambitions became clear. He said in 2007, his first White House bid under way, that he had "longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam." But his actions, Selective Service records and previous statements show little interest in joining a conflict that claimed more than 58,000 American lives.
Read more: Romney faces scrutiny over Vietnam - Times Union