"George Z. Bush" wrote in message
...

The following was extracted from http://www.greaterthings.com

"At this point in the Vietnam War, the US Air Force desperately needed
additional F-102 pilots to fly the dangerous reconnaissance missions so
important to the fate of American troops on the ground. With only a small
amount of solo flying experience, Bush applied for a voluntary three
month Vietnam tour, perhaps counting on preferential treatment once
again to overcome his lack of readiness, or perhaps safe in the
knowledge that his request would certainly be rejected."


Right. They needed F-102 pilots to fly reconnaissance missions. I would
have thought RF-101 or RF-4 or even RF-84 pilots would have been preferable
to F-102 pilots for reconnaissance missions. Silly me.



I believe there were some National Guard troops who served in VN.
Cong. Gephardt (D-Mo), for one, was in the Missouri ANG and
served in VN.


What's your source for that? I can find no mention of Vietnam service in
any of Gephardt's online biographies. If he was truly a Vietnam veteran I'd
expect it would be trumpeted loudly.

Gephardt served in the Air National Guard from 1965 to 1971 . He was a legal
affairs officer with the 131st Combat Support Squadron based in St. Louis.
The 131st CSG was part of the 131st Tactical Fighter Wing, as was the 110th
Tactical Fighter Squadron, equipped with F-100s. Four ANG F-100 squadrons
deployed to Vietnam in 1968 for 11 month combat tours, but the 110th TFS was
not one of them. It was not called to federal service at any time during
Gephardt's tour.





That may be true, but he undoubtedly was the only President who
lied about it.


Lied about what?