He was in law school and had three kids to support.
Then he worked as an assistant us attorney near the end of US involvement in vietnam.
Quite a bit of difference from being somebody's favorite law clerk.
So, he got a deferment. In other words, he didn't go. I don't fault him for that.
MY point has consistently been that we have to stop faulting people, with the exception of those who actually fled the country or otherwise broke the law, for their actions during that time. That includes Giuliani, Thompson, Quayle and maybe even George W. Bush (I don't buy all the criticisms, but he certainly didn't choose active duty).
I graduated high school in '76 and chose not to enlist. The prevailing attitude at that time (at least in my area) was that if you could go to college, you did. Some 30 years later, I'd do it differently.
All I'm saying is be careful about throwing around the term "draft dodger" because it could come back to bite.
And if you think that the Soros/Moveon/Satan wing of the Democrat(ick) party won't throw that at Thompson, you're being incredibly naive.
I'm not criticizing Thompson for not serving. Just pointing out that he'll need to have a solid answer when the question arises.
IIRC, having children usually resulted in an exemption from the draft.