Jan 9, 2026
Bill clinton service exemption
Bill Clinton did not serve in Vietnam and avoided induction through a sequence of legal deferments, a contested brief ROTC pledge and ultimately a high draft-lottery number that kept him from being ca...
Vietnam-era draft and military service controversy
The controversy surrounding the Vietnam-era draft and military service of presidents, including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and John McCain.
Fact-Checks
2 resultsJan 9, 2026
What were Bill Clinton’s, George W. Bush’s, and John McCain’s draft or service records and how were they politically used?
Bill Clinton received student deferments, studied at Oxford, entered the 1969 draft but drew a high lottery number and was never called — a sequence confirmed by contemporaneous reporting and later go...