I served at Dannelly, and I saw Mr. Bush, or specifically part of him, on numerous occasions between May and November of 1972. In late May or very early June I saw a portion of his left ear. In July, on two separate weekends, I saw his lower jaw and the side of his knee, and one of his buttocks was in front of me in line at the PX on the weekend of the 29th. I saw one of his arms sometime in the fall. I hope these recollections secure the president's good name, and help prove he served, if piecemeal, during that dangerous time.
  -- B. Tripp, Altadena, CA

I didn't see him during the years in question, but I think I went through basic training with him at Fort Knox, KY in 1967-68. All I remember of him is that they made him an acting non-commissioned officer because he'd already been in a couple of Guard meetings, and the platoon sergeant used him to demonstrate things. George Gobel's son was also in the unit.
  -- David T., Marinette, WI

I was a morning report clerk for the Guard. I know that if W ever showed up in Alabama the entry would be in the morning report. It would not have been destroyed. Those records exist, and a reporter should be able to find them.
  -- J.P., Round Rock, TX

Never saw him. Wasn't even born yet. Just got bored at work and decided to fill this out. Not quite as entertaining as I thought it would be. Darn.
  -- James N., Idaho Falls, ID

Enlistment contracts at the time required the applicant to swear in writing that they had never used illegal drugs. If he signed such a document, Bush's entire military enlistment contact is a fraud, and he is guilty of false enlistment. Bush has admitted he used drugs. And you can be sure he did inhale. Now I'm probably going to be on some attorney general's list, but what the hell.
  -- G.G., Jefferson, MO

The issue will be put to rest if President Bush would only disclose his summary of service document -- DD214.
  -- E. Rosales, ET1, USN Ret., Pittsburg, PA

During October of 1972 I was ferrying a UH-1 Helicopter from Fort Rucker Alabama to the Nebraska ARNG. During a refuel stop at Montgomery, Alabama I spoke with a 1st Lieutenant George Bush and another Air Force 1st Lieutenant at the Montgomery Flight Operations Center. I asked him what type of aircraft he flew and he stated that he was a F-102 pilot. I discussed with him the difficulty of flying that aircraft and that it was very tricky and he agreed. During our conversation he asked me what I did and I told him that I had just returned from Vietnam with the First Cavalry Division and that I was now a student at the University of Nebraska finishing my bachelor's degree. He stated that he was preparing to go to graduate school.
  -- LTC Gary S. Fowler, Meherrin, VA

I am currently in the U.S. Navy Reserves. In my unit all the paperwork is screwed up. When I arrived to serve in Panama in 1996 my own unit records said I didn't exist. My last physical has never been found. They can't find the president's paperwork from 30 years ago? So what. They can't find paperwork for the people serving now!
  -- Stephen F., Washington, D.C.

My husband and son are pilots (our son is serving now in the Army, as my husband served) and both are incredulous that Bush would let a flight exam lapse. All the pilots my pilots know are having a hard time with this. Real pilots simply do not do that.
  -- Susan P., Highland, CA

Bush was there at Dannelly in 'bama in 72 with me and Elvis and a Lt. Grey from Roswell. We all got our teeth fixed cause it was free. I remember 'cause we all four compared x-rays afterwards, and Lt. Grey's looked real weird.
  -- John E., Fredricksberg, VA

Dental exams are not required after one's initial enlistment except as part of flight physicals, which GWB skipped when he was in Alabama. Bush would have had to call around to find the Alabama dental office, make the appointment, have the dental work which produced the record and then advise the administration to count it as guard time according to his pay records. Worse than skipping National Guard meetings is to charge the U.S. Government for having his teeth cleaned.
  -- G.B., Sammamish, WA

Closely examine his alleged discharge from the Texas ANG on 10-1-73. Copies are now available on several websites. Look in Block #24 for only two medal abbreviations: TAFMS & TAFCS. These are total fiction! No such medals or other decorations exist! This can be readily verified through a simple Internet search of these terms or by contacting any military personnel affairs specialist with knowledge of discharge terminology. I did both.
  -- Mark Wilson, Ssgt. USAF, 1968-1972

Having spent 17 years on active and reserve duty, I received yearly copies of my "Chronological Statement of Retirement Points" ARPC Form 249-2-E. It would seem a simple matter to get a copy of the President's most recent 249-2.
     I have served in various reserve units going back to 1981. It wouldn't surprise me in the least that it would be difficult to find people who remembered my drill attendance from a six-month period so many decades ago. And while the Lt. Bush later became President Bush there is no reason why he would be remembered any differently than I.
  -- S. R., Spokane, W

If you look in George W. Bush's autobiography, he has a complete chapter on his duties in the Texas Air National Guard, with many photos. Strangely, there is no mention of the Alabama National Guard. And it's not in the index either.
  -- Don B., San Jose, CA

I served with Geoge Bush from May through November, 1972. We were with a secret group in Area 51 near Roswell, New Mexico. Lt. Bush not only served honorably and bravely, he escaped from the aliens' laboratory after the neurosurgery.
  -- Bob P., KC, KS

I went through OCS at Ft. Belvoir and Airborne School at Ft. Benning with George W.'s two-years-older cousin, George Walker. He later served up near the DMZ. I've often wondered how he feels about his cousin's career choices and providence. One weekend at their home he introduced me to Barbara. She took us across the street to meet the Secretary of the Army, who had a Yale letter sweater on. Trudeau is to Yale as Willie Nelson is to Texas, about the only good thing to come out of either place.
  -- D.T., Orchard Park, NY

I was there in Alabama with Lt. Bush during the summer of 1971. We ate tacos under the shade of a sycamore tree with Timothy Leary, Wayne Newton and Joe Namath. Lt. Bush discussed his theories of relativity and the effects of polymer optics on chemical bonding. He gave each of us nicknames -- Tim was called 'Freaky', Wayne was known as 'Francis', and Joe was 'The Knee Man'. Yes, I was there. I have proof -- the receipts from the Taco Hut of Tallapoosa, Alabama. This I swear.
  -- Albert J. Herter

Please give the $10,000 to me. I am a master's student in engineering in Paris. Since I am a foreign student, and from Pakistan, I'm having trouble making ends meet, especially since the French are fond of taxing cigarettes and I am fond of smoking them. Giving me the money would make your life easier, since all you'll get are kook letters anyway. Just write me a cheque and put yourself out of your misery.
  -- I. Hamid, Paris, FRANCE

What President Bush has been unable to reveal, for reasons of national security, is that he was abducted by aliens (along with a herd of cattle, Jim Morrison, and Elvis). I saw the saucer descending in an eerie greenish haze. Bush disappeared for several months, and was seen by no one until the aliens returned him. I swear this is true. Oh, and the aliens also took the WMD.
  -- Jared S., Waukesha, WI

My mom was born in Alabama, and before she died she told me that her former next door neighbor knew a guy whose cousin dated a girl who worked at the phone company whose supervisor had a sister who dated a guy whose brother went to the University of Alabama, and his R.O.T.C. instructor told this guy's brother that George W. Bush served in the National Guard in Alabama.
  -- Tommy G., Charleston, SC

This subject is a hot issue because for those of us who had husbands serving in Nam so many did not come back, and we still feel the pain and rejection of our country. Bush opened himself to a critical look at his Service when he donned the Top Gun outfit with the almost frontal nudity (must have been a size zz jock strap). As a former marine I know I can lay my hands on all and every piece of paper pertaining to my time in service, as well as that of my deceased husband. Ask Bush for his DD-214 and all papers pertaining to his discharge.
  -- M. S., New Bern, NC

I have a question regarding Commander and Chief Bush's National Guard service. If I'm in the National Guard and am stationed in Baghdad, can I come home early to go to the Harvard Business School?
  -- T. Hipple, Indianapolis, IN

I know for a fact that George W. Bush fulfilled his duties in Alabama. Why? Because I was the clergy presiding when Bush was the groom in the nation's first (though undercover) gay marriage. He and his Latino husband got along so wonderfully. They'd whisper Spanish in each other's ear, with a Texas twang. When he returned to the platoon after their six-month honeymoon, sure enough, like a lot of newlyweds his tummy was plump like a little bowling ball. This is why he was unfit to fly. I was so happy that he chose to marry, and not bear a bastard child.
  -- C.J. Griffin, Montclair, NJ

It is very plausible that the NG does not have records of Bush's service. I was in the reserves in the late 80s and early 90s (I got out after six months in Desert Storm as I had a family and wasn't counting on leaving them for six months). During that time there were several old timers trying to prove they had enough time in to retire. The only way to prove service was to have kept the carbon copy of a small white slip that verified you were there, that was it -- no official record, no permanent pay record, just you keeping the slip. I also have to say that even trying to go back just 13 years I would be hard pressed to verify who was there on any given weekend.
  -- Doug M., Fridley, MN

I was in the dentist's office when I overheard the dentist tell W. that he was looking for WMD -- withered molars and dentures. He was sure they were there, but couldn't find any.
  -- Bruce N., New London, NC

I didn't see "W" at any National Guard meetings, but I distinctly recall seeing him helping Elvis make crop circles behind a K-Mart in Evergreen, Alabama during that time.
  -- G. Getchell, Dresden, ME