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Bush "suddenly remembers" service in Vietnam
US President "Boy" George W. Bush has apparently remembered that contrary to all that has been reported in the past, he did in fact serve in Vietnam. There is a long-standing controversy over his time in the National Guard, centred on a lengthy period in 1972 that cannot be accounted for when he was supposed to be in Alabama. Now, it seems, during that time the young Mr Bush was not in Alabama but was a fighter pilot in Vietnam.
According to a White House spokesman, Mr Bush suddenly remembered his service in Vietnam while he was watching Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry accepting his party's nomination. Mr Kerry made several direct references to his own time as a navy boat commander in Vietnam, and that, apparently, jogged Mr Bush's memory.
Speaking at a hastily organised press conference at the White House this morning, a spokesman said that Mr Bush, being a man given to humility, had never boasted of his Vietnam service and, because of other pressing matters on his mind as president, had somehow suppressed the memory. However, Mr Kerry's speech rekindled it, and the president was able to remember that he served bravely in Vietnam in 1972. The spokesman provided the gathered journalists with photocopies of several documents that he said back the president's claim.
Our reporter showed them to Professor Douglas Ramsbottom of the University of Bootle, an expert in forged documents and the man who last year cast doubt on the authenticity of documents used by Tony Blair to justify invading Iraq. After careful analysis, Professor Ramsbottom was able to say unequivocally that the documents provided by the White House, while not necessarily forgeries, did not in fact substantiate Mr Bush's claim. He cited several examples.- A cinema ticket for the Hanoi Bijou was to see the first Star Wars film, which was not released until 1977.
- A receipt from a Vietnamese restaurant had had the address erased, but Professor Ramsbottom was able to read it using ultraviolet light, and it turned out to be in Pittsburgh.
- An envelope addressed to the president's parents, and with a return address ostensibly in Vietnam, had a 2000 US Olympic Games stamp.
- An air force pay stub bore a 1972 date but the name of the payee was actually Georgina W. Bush.
When confronted with this evidence the White House spokesman said the matter would have to be referred to Fox News, which, he said, had compiled the documents, in a fair and balanced way, on behalf of the president.
Mr Bush was not available for comment as he was apparently busy perusing a US Defence Department catalogue to choose some medals.
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