Dukakis Got School Deferments to Avoid Korea, Lawmaker Says
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ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York Republican congressman, seeking to shift attention from the military record of Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle, said today that Michael S. Dukakis took an educational deferment so he would not be drafted during the Korean War.
Rep. Gerald B. H. Solomon (R-N.Y.), who did not see action in Korea himself, said the Democratic presidential nominee received deferments Dec. 31, 1952, Aug. 10, 1953, and July 12, 1954.
He was drafted July 19, 1955, and served 21 months in the Army before being discharged April 25, 1957, Solomon said.
The Korean War began June 25, 1950, and fighting ended July 27, 1953.
“(ABC news reporter) Sam Donaldson and others are saying Dan Quayle was afraid to go to war,” Solomon said, referring to the GOP vice presidential candidate.
“My point is he (Quayle) enlisted in the National Guard and took a chance of being called up. Michael Dukakis never joined the Guard and used his deferments throughout the whole Korean War.”
Solomon, who served in the Marines during the Korean War, although he did not see action, is the ranking Republican on the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
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