Lifeguard Biden Received 5 Draft Deferments from Vietnam

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Fact check: Biden, like Trump, received multiple draft deferments from Vietnam Camille Caldera USA TODAY The claim: Former Vice President Joe Biden received five draft deferments from the Vietnam War Posts on Facebook honed in on former Vice President Joe Biden and his record of military service — or lack thereof. "Lifeguard/Football player Joe Biden got five draft deferments for asthma during Vietnam," a post claims, alongside a photo of high-school-aged Biden. Some users also compared his record with that of his opponent, President Donald Trump. "Well well well!!!! We finally have a Rebuttal to the Dems saying Trump was a draft dodger.." another post reads. Biden received five student draft deferments and a medical exemption Born in November 1942, Biden came of age amid the Vietnam War. But unlike millions of men of his generation, he never served in the military. Biden received five student draft deferments, first as an undergraduate at the University of Delaware and later as a law student at Syracuse University. And after a medical exam in April 1968, he received the "1-Y" classification, which meant he could only be drafted in a national emergency. Biden released his Selective Service records to the Associated Press in 2008. At the time, a spokesperson said he was "disqualified from service because of asthma as a teenager," per The News Journal. Trump received four student draft deferments and a medical exemption Born in June 1946, Trump was also a member of the generation called up to serve in the Vietnam War. Like Biden, he never did. He received four student draft deferments while an undergraduate at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. And in the spring of 1968, he, too, received the "1-Y" classification — for bone spurs in his heels, per The New York Times.