John Cornyn, draft dodger? That’s Fatigues on Fire!

David Alameel, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Texas, told delegates to his party’s convention that he joined the military when his Republican foe, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, was ducking the Vietnam War.

Alameel, a wealthy investor, said in June: “My wife and I struggled. There were times when we couldn’t even afford to buy milk for our baby. … So I joined the military at a time in the early 1970s when John Cornyn decided to dodge his draft simply to go to college.”

A day earlier, according to a news blog post by Jonathan Tilove of the Austin American-Statesman, Alameel told the party’s veterans caucus: “I served and Cornyn refused to serve. He sent a letter, `I can’t serve because I’m simply going to go to college.’”

Draft dodger – the term conjures up images of Americans unwilling to serve their country and sneaking off to Canada or faking injuries or pulling strings to avoid military service.

Documents indicate, though, that Cornyn was granted student deferments while attending San Antonio’s Trinity University where he fielded a bachelor’s of arts in journalism  in 1973.

See those documents, including Cornyn’s draft registration card, and how we reached our Pants on Fire judgment in the fact check posted here and to the right.