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The Chronology
August 19, 1964 - Clinton registers for the
draft
September 1964 - Clinton, age 18, enters
Georgetown University
November 17, 1964 - Clinton is classified 2-S
(student deferment) "which would shield him from
the draft throughout his undergraduate years."
February 16, 1968 - "The Johnson administration
unexpectedly abolished graduate deferments."
March 20, 1968 - Clinton, age 21, is classified
1-A, eligible for induction, as he nears
graduation from Georgetown.
Summer 1968 - Political and family influence
keeps Clinton out of the draft. "Robert Corrado
-- the only surviving Hot Springs draft board
member from that period -- concluded that
Clinton's [draft] statement" (the long delays)
was the result of "some form of preferential
treatment." According to the _Times_, "Corrado
recalled that the chairman of the three-man
draft panel ... once held back Clinton's file
with the explanation that 'we've got to give him
time to [go] to Oxford,' where the term began in
the fall of 1968.
"Corrado also complained that he was called by
an aide to then—Sen. J. William Fulbright urging
him and his fellow board members to 'give every
consideration' to keep Clinton out of the draft
so he could attend Oxford.
"Throughout the remainder of 1968, Corrado said,
Clinton's draft file was routinely held back
from consideration by the full board.
Consequently, although he was classified 1-A on
March 20, 1968, he was not called for his
physical exam until Feb 3, 1969, when he was at
Oxford."
Clinton's Uncle Raymond Clinton personally
lobbied Sen Fulbright, William S. Armstrong, the
chairman of the three-man Hot Springs draft
board, and Lt. Cmdr. Trice Ellis, Jr.,
commanding officer of the local Navy reserve
unit, to obtain a slot for Clinton in the Naval
Reserve.
Clinton secured a "standard enlisted man's
billet, not an officer's slot [which] would have
required Clinton to serve two years on active
duty beginning within 12 months of his
acceptance." This Navy Reserve assignment was
"created especially for the young Clinton at a
time in 1968 when no existing reserve slots were
open in his hometown unit."
According to the LA Times, "after about two
weeks waiting for Bill Clinton to arrive for his
preliminary interview and physical exam, Ellis
said he called [Clinton's uncle] Raymond to
inquire - 'What happened to that boy?' According
to Ellis, Clinton's uncle replied - 'Don't worry
about it. He won't be coming down. It's all been
taken care of.' "
Fall 1968 - Because of the local draft board's
continuing postponement of his pre-induction
physical, Clinton is able to enroll at Oxford
Univ.
February, 2 1969 - While at Oxford, Clinton
finally takes and passes a military physical
examination.
April 1969 - Clinton receives induction notice
from the Hot Springs AR draft board. Clinton,
however claims that the draft board told him to
ignore the notice because it arrived after the
deadline for induction.
June-July 1969 - Clinton receives a second
induction notice with a July 28 induction date
and returns home.
July 11, 1969 - Clinton's friend at Oxford,
Cliff Jackson, writes that "[Clinton] is
feverishly trying to find a way to avoid
entering the Army as a drafted private. I have
had several of my friends in influential
positions trying to pull strings on Bill's
behalf."
Clinton benefited from yet another lobbying
campaign in order to evade this induction
notice. "Democratic presidential candidate Bill
Clinton, who has said he did not pull strings to
avoid the Vietnam-era draft, was able to get his
Army induction notice canceled in the summer of
1969 after a lobbying effort directed at the
Republican head of the state draft agency."
Arrangements were made for Clinton to meet with
Col. Williard A. Hawkins who "was the only
person in Arkansas with authority to rescind a
draft notice. ... The apparently successful
appeal to Hawkins was planned while Clinton was
finishing his first year as a Rhodes scholar in
England. Clinton's former friend and Oxford
classmate, Cliff Jackson -- now an avowed
political critic of the candidate -- said it was
pursued immediately upon Clinton's return to AR
in early July [1969] to beat a Jul 28 deadline
for induction."
August, 7 1969 - Clinton is reclassified 1-D
after he arranges to enter the ROTC program at
the University of Arkansas.
According to Cliff Jackson, Clinton's Oxford
classmate, Clinton used the ROTC program to
"kill the draft notice, to avoid reporting on
the Jul 28 induction date, which had already
been postponed. And he did that by promising to
serve his country in the ROTC, number one, to
enroll in the law school that fall ... and he
never enrolled."
Comment - Clinton's admission into the ROTC
program again runs contrary to his repeated
statements that he received no special treatment
in order to evade military service. Col Eugene
Holmes, commander of the UArk ROTC program, said
Clinton was admitted after pressure from the Hot
Springs draft board and the office of Sen. J.
William Fulbright (D-AR).
Again, Clinton was receiving preferential
treatment. In addition, records from the Army
reveal that Clinton was not legally eligible for
the ROTC program at that time. Army regulations
required recruits to be enrolled at the
university and attending classes full-time
before being admitted to an ROTC program.
Fall 1969 - Clinton returns to Oxford for a
second year.
Clinton was supposed to be at the Arkansas Law
School. However, according to Cliff Jackson,
"Sen. Fulbright's office and Bill himself
continued to exert tremendous pressure on poor
Col. Holmes to get him [Clinton] to go back to
Oxford."
September 14, 1969 - The _Arkansas Gazette_,
published in Little Rock, headlined a draft
suspension was reportedly planned by the
President.
Comment - The article, citing a source, said
Selective Service reforms when implemented,
would only permit the conscription of
19-year-old men. In addition, the source said
"the Army would send to Vietnam only enlistees,
professional soldiers, and those draftees who
volunteered to go." The source contended that
these reforms, combined with troop withdrawals,
"would put pressure on the Congress to enact
draft legislation already proposed by the
President ... and set up a lottery to conscript
only 19-year-old men," the _Gazette_ reported.
From his letter to Col. Holmes, it is very
likely that Clinton was in the US on Sep 14 69.
He was 23 years old.
September 19, 1969 - "President Nixon, facing
turmoil on college campuses, suspended draft
calls for November and December of [1969] and
said the October call would be spread out over
three months."
The President also indicated that if the
Congress did not act to establish a lottery
system, he would remove by executive order the
vulnerability to the draft of all men age 20 to
26.
Comment - Again, Clinton was 23 years old.
September-October 1969 - "At some point, Clinton
decided to make himself eligible for the draft
and said in February [1992] his stepfather had
acted in his behalf to accomplish this.
_Newsweek_, attributing the information to
campaign officials, said this all happened in
Oct 1969. [Clinton spokesperson Betsey] Wright
... said she believed it took place in
September. The difference is potentially
significant. ... If Clinton did not act to give
up his deferment until October, he could have
known he faced no liability from the draft until
the following summer, that he could take his
chances with the lottery and find alternative
service if he got a low number."
October 1, 1969 - "[Nixon] announced that anyone
in graduate school could complete the full
year."
Comment - Clinton is now safe from the draft
through June 1970.
October 1969 - President Nixon suspends call-up
of additional draftees until a draft lottery is
held in December.
October 15, 1969 - Clinton organized and let
anti-war demonstrations in London.
Comment - According to McSorley, Clinton's
demonstrations "had the support of British peace
organizations" such as the British Peace
Council, an arm of the KGB-backed World Peace
Council.
October 30, 1969 - Clinton is reclassified 1-A,
eligible for induction.
Comment - "Clinton said he put himself into the
draft by contacting his draft board in September
or October and asking to be reclassified 1-A.
... It is not clear, however, whether that
occurred at Clinton's urging or whether his
failure to enroll at UArk automatically
cancelled his 1-D deferment."
Clinton has never produced any evidence to
substantiate his claim that he initiated his
reclassification.
November 16, 1969 - Clinton organized and led
anti-war demonstrations in London.
December 1, 1969 - Clinton draws #311 in the
first draft lottery.
Comment - Clinton was virtually assured that he
would not be drafted because of the high lottery
number.
December 2, 1969 - Clinton writes to Col. Eugene
Holmes, , commander of the UArk ROTC program and
states, "From my work I came to believe that the
draft system is illegitimate ... I decided to
accept the draft in spite of my beliefs for one
reason - to maintain my political viability."
December 12, 1969 (approximately) - Clinton
visits Norway where he meets with various
"peace" organizations.
December 12 (approx) - December 31, 1969 - ???
Comment - After visiting Norway with Father
McSorley, Clinton's movements and activities are
unknown until he arrives in Moscow on December
31, 1969. Where did he go, what did he do, and
who did he meet with?
December 31, 1969 - January 6, 1970 - Clinton
travels to Moscow. He later said "relations
between our two countries were pretty good
then." He then described his visit as "a very
friendly time, a good atmosphere."
Despite Clinton's claim that January 1970 was "a
time of detente," relations between the United
States and the Soviet Union were anything but
warm. The Soviets were supplying the North
Vietnamese with advisors and anti-aircraft
weapons.
September 7, 1992 - Col. Eugene Holmes, USA
Ret., signs a notarized statement in which he
asserts that "there is the imminent danger to
our country of a draft dodger becoming
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the
United States." He later writes that "I believe
that he (Clinton) purposefully deceived me,
using the possibility of joining the ROTC as a
ploy to work with the draft board to delay his
induction and get a new draft reclassification."
Is it any wonder he’s referred to by many as the
“Coward and Chief”?
