Bush's dental record from National Guard service is released

WASHINGTON -- The White House late Wednesday released a copy of a dental evaluation President Bush had in the National Guard in Alabama during the Vietnam War to rebut suggestions made by Democrats who have questioned whether the president ever showed up for duty there.

A copy of the dental examination done on Jan. 6, 1973, documents the president serving at Dannelly Air National Guard Base, which is south of Montgomery, Ala., White House press secretary Scott McClellan said in a statement. Earlier in the day, McClellan hardened its defense of Bush's Guard service, saying critics were "trolling for trash" for political gain.

Bush completed most of his National Guard training in Texas, but in 1972 was allowed to leave and perform his duties in Alabama so he could work on a Senate political campaign.

Democrats have been scrutinizing a one-year period of Bush's Guard service that begins in May 1972, saying they've seen no evidence that Bush ever served in Alabama. Several members of an Alabama unit Bush was assigned to have told The Associated Press that they couldn't recall ever seeing him.

According to the White House, the dental exam shows Bush did report for duty in Alabama. The exam, however, was done after November 1972, when earlier reports have said Bush returned to Texas.

The White House obtained the dental record, along with other medical records it did not release, from the Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver, Colo., McClellan said. The record was accompanied by a statement from Dr. Richard J. Tubb, the president's current physician, who stated that he read Bush's records, which covered a period from 1968 to 1973, and concurred with the doctors' assertion that Bush was "fit" for service.

"The records reflect no disqualifying medical information," Tubb said.

The AP contacted more than a dozen people who were members of the Montgomery-based 187th Tactical Reconnaissance Group in 1972. All were quick to point out that the unit had as many as 800 members and Bush was not yet famous.

"I don't remember seeing him. That does not mean he was not here," said Wayne Rambo, who was a first lieutenant with the 187th.

"I don't want to cast any aspersions or to say he was or was not there."

In another development Wednesday, a retired Texas National Guard officer said he overheard a conversation in 1997 between then-Gov. Bush's chief of staff, Joe Allbaugh, and then-Adjutant Gen. Daniel James of the Texas Air National Guard in which he contends those two men spoke about getting rid of any military records that would "embarrass the governor."

Former Lt. Col. Bill Burkett told the AP that he saw documents from Bush's file discarded in a trash can a few days later at Camp Mabry in Austin, Texas. Burkett described them as performance and pay documents. He said the documents bore the header: "Bush, George W. 1lt." -- meaning first lieutenant.

James and Allbaugh deny the allegation.

"The alleged discussion never happened," said James, who appointed by the president in 2002 to lead the Air National Guard. "I have never been involved in, nor would I condone any discussion or any action to falsify any record in any circumstance for anyone."

Allbaugh, now a Washington lobbyist, told The Dallas Morning News that Burkett's assertions were "hogwash."

McClellan said allegations that the files were cleansed were "absolutely ridiculous."

Bush said in a television interview last weekend that he would be willing to open his entire military file and would "absolutely" be willing to authorize the release of anything that would put the matter to rest.

Democrats are delving into Bush's service, especially since Vietnam veteran John Kerry has become the Democrats' president front-runner. The party chairman, Terry McAuliffe, helped resurrect long-running questions about Bush's National Guard record when he charged that the president had been "AWOL," or absent without leave, during his time in Alabama.

Democrats say they want to see paperwork that would shed light on why Bush missed an annual physical exam in May 1972. The White House says he did not need to get one because he was not flying at the time. The Democratic National Committee wants to see Bush's complete Guard personnel file.

"I don't know the status of where it is," McClellan said. "It's my understanding the Department of Defense asked that those records be sent here and we expect that we will receive some information as well."

McClellan did not say whether any of it would be released. "We'd have to see if there is any new information in that," the spokesman said.

Bush enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard at Ellington Air Force Base in Texas in May 1968. He spent most of his service time based near Houston.

In May 1972, records show Bush requested and got permission to perform his duties in Alabama while he worked as political director on the Senate campaign of Winton "Red" Blount, a Bush family friend.

Democrats are focusing on a one-year period, from May 1972 to May 1973, in which Bush was assigned in Alabama and then was back in Texas.

Payroll records released by the White House show Bush was paid for 25 days during that one-year period. There are gaps in service that Democrats have questioned.

The records, for example, show Bush was not paid for any service during a more than five-month period in 1972, from April 17 to Oct. 27. He was paid for two days in late October 1972, four days in mid-November 1972 and no days in December 1972. He was paid for additional days in 1973.

McClellan says Bush recalls serving in the Guard both in Texas and Alabama. The pay records do not say where he served on the days he was paid, or what he did.