Kicked out of the Army for “optic neuritis”. The article is impossible to find now but I remember his officer commenting later “yeah it was an eye problem, he couldn’t tell men from women”. And his connection to the Kentucky Senator kept his record clean. I’d bet a paycheck he’s another closet Hastert.
In March 1967, shortly before the expiration of his educational draft deferment upon graduation from law school, McConnell enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve as a private at Louisville, Kentucky. This was a coveted position because the Reserve units were mostly kept out of combat during the Vietnam War. 11–12 His first day of training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, was July 9, 1967, two days after taking the bar exam, and his last day was August 15, 1967. Shortly after his arrival he was diagnosed with optic neuritis and deemed medically unfit
At least he tried.