What do Selective Service records specifically show about Donald Trump’s classification changes in 1968?
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Executive summary
Selective Service records made public by the National Archives show that in 1968 Donald J. Trump’s draft status moved from a college student deferment (2-S) to 1-A after graduation and then to a medical-based 1‑Y classification in October 1968 following an armed‑forces physical; those ledger entries are concrete, but the underlying medical evidence and the precise rationale for the 1‑Y decision are not preserved in the public record [1] [2] [3]. Multiple news organizations and fact‑checkers corroborate the ledger timeline while noting that most Vietnam‑era medical files were not retained, leaving gaps about who diagnosed the condition and why the temporary 1‑Y eventually became 4‑F in 1972 [4] [5] [6].
1. What the Selective Service ledger actually records in 1968
The National Archives’ scanned Selective Service ledger and draft card entries show that Trump received a final student deferment (2‑S) in January 1968 while finishing college, was classified 1‑A (available for service) after his July 1968 graduation, underwent an armed‑forces physical in September 1968 with a result listed as “DISQ,” and was reclassified 1‑Y on October 15, 1968, meaning eligible only in a war or national emergency [1] [2] [7].
2. The timeline and immediate legal effect of the 1‑Y reclassification
Records and contemporaneous reporting make clear the sequence: student deferments through early 1968, a return to 1‑A upon leaving school in July, a disqualifying physical on Sept. 19, 1968, and the 1‑Y entry on Oct. 15, 1968; legally that 1‑Y designation placed Trump at the bottom of any call‑up list and effectively exempted him from induction during the Vietnam conflict unless a formal national emergency occurred [2] [8] [9].
3. What the records do not show — the medical detail and who made it
The ledger records do not contain clinical medical files or detailed exam findings, and historians and reporters note that most draft‑era medical documentation was not preserved, so the Selective Service ledger itself records only the classification change and the “DISQ” exam result but not the full medical justification for the 1‑Y designation [5] [6] [7]. Reporting in The New York Times and others reconstructs contemporaneous claims that the disqualification was for heel bone spurs and identifies a local podiatrist alleged to have been involved, but those medical specifics are not present in the archival classification entries themselves [3] [4].
4. The later administrative outcome and how the record was interpreted
The ledger entries show a later administrative reclassification to 4‑F (not qualified) in 1972 after the 1‑Y category was abolished, a change that is recorded but not explained by new clinical documentation in the public file; analysts emphasize that the public ledger demonstrates the shift from student deferments to a medical classification but cannot reveal whether the condition was temporary, misdiagnosed, or otherwise influenced by outside factors [6] [4].
5. Public claims, competing narratives, and limits of what the ledger proves
Trump has sometimes attributed avoiding Vietnam to a high lottery number, but the ledger shows the 1‑Y medical classification predated the first lottery and therefore was the operative status in 1968; mainstream outlets including The New York Times, CBS, ABC and fact‑checkers such as Snopes and PolitiFact cite the ledger to challenge the lottery narrative while also reporting that allegations — including family recollections and later claims about a podiatrist’s role — remain contested and not documented in the Selective Service files themselves [10] [2] [11] [9] [3]. Because the ledger lacks full medical records and contemporaneous exam notes, the archival evidence answers the narrow question about classification changes (it records the move to 1‑Y on Oct. 15, 1968) but cannot settle debates over motive, medical accuracy, or improper influence [1] [5] [6].
6. Bottom line: what the Selective Service records specifically show about 1968
The authoritative public record from the Selective Service and National Archives documents that after finishing college in mid‑1968 Donald J. Trump was classified 1‑A and then, following an armed‑forces physical with a “DISQ” result, was reclassified 1‑Y on Oct. 15, 1968; that ledger evidence is clear about dates and codes but silent on the clinical detail and decision‑making that produced the 1‑Y designation, which is why journalists and historians frame the ledger as definitive about administrative status but limited about medical causation [1] [2] [4].