Quayle Insists He Broke No Rules to Join Guard

HUNTINGTON, Ind. —  Sen. Dan Quayle insisted Friday that he broke no rules to get into the Indiana National Guard during the Vietnam War, but acknowledged that he sought help from a former Guard commander who worked for his grandfather and assumes that calls were made on his behalf.

The Republican vice presidential nominee said he would do the same thing again.

At an outdoor news conference at his hometown, Quayle portrayed the chain of events leading to his enrollment in the Guard as a normal occurrence, given his relationship with his family and their friends.

“I got into the National Guard fairly,” he said. “I did not ask anyone to break the rules and so far as I know, no one did.”

The Indianapolis News had reported Thursday that its former managing editor, Wendell C. Phillippi, had been asked by Quayle about entering the Guard. Phillippi was a former commander of the state National Guard.

“Wendell Phillippi knew that I wanted to get into the National Guard . . . I hope that he helped me, and I think he did,” Quayle told reporters.

Quayle said he initially called his parents to discuss his desire to enter the National Guard when he was about to lose his college-student deferment upon graduation.

Asked why he did not just go down and fill out papers if his entry into the Guard was as routine as he suggested, Quayle said:

“I do what any normal person would do at that age. You call home. You call home to mother and father and say, ‘I’d like to get in the National Guard.’ ”

He said his conversation with Phillippi was brief. “I told him I wanted to get into the National Guard. I would assume calls would be made. I talked to Mr. Phillippi very briefly. I hope that he helped me, and I think he did.”

Quayle said he saw nothing wrong with that.

Asked to assess the way he proceeded as a 22-year-old, he said, “I would not have done anything differently” if he had known he would be running for vice president one day.

Questions about the circumstances surrounding Quayle’s enlistment in the National Guard in 1969, continued to overshadow George Bush’s presidential campaign and dog Quayle just a day after he was nominated for the No. 2 spot on the ticket.

Quayle said he did not offer to have Bush withdraw his name for the vice presidential spot, saying he did not think it was warranted.

Bush and Quayle had just concluded their first joint campaign rally on the front steps of the courthouse when the vice president walked away and Quayle approached reporters standing behind a rope line.

Quayle took a combative, hard line, with reporters during an extraordinary 20-minute impromptu news conference on the courthouse lawn.

The give-and-take was broadcast to people at the rally site with an amplifier system, and Quayle supporters cheered his answers and booed reporters seeking to question his military past.

Quayle said he planned to make his military records available, but didn’t say when. He also said he did not believe he deceived Bush campaign-organization officials when questioned about this during the screening process that preceded his selection for the ticket.

A high-ranking campaign official insisted to reporters that the unusual news conference was “not a set-up.” He said the session was amplified to the crowd because there were several reporters on a separate platform who otherwise could not hear Quayle.

“I can assure you that I asked no one to break any rules and that I broke no rules,” Quayle said.

“I was on active duty for six months,” he said. “I could have been called to Vietnam, as many Indiana units were, and if I had been called, I would have gone.”

Quayle said he had reservations about the Vietnam War, as many people of his generation did, but would have served if called.

“No, I did not join to avoid service in Vietnam,” he said. Quayle said it was perfectly normal for a young man of 22 to consider joining the Guard or making any other decision.

“There are millions of people in the National Guard who consider themselves patriotic,” he said.

No Harm Seen

Asked if the uproar over his military background would harm the prospects for the Bush ticket, Quayle said he thought it would do the opposite, contending that millions of people who have served in the Guard are offended by suggestions that he joined to avoid duty in Vietnam.

“The implication that, somehow, that Dan Quayle, by voluntarily signing up for the National Guard, was somehow unpatriotic, I resent that.”

Quayle reiterated that he had joined the Guard fairly, adding that there were no waiting lists at the time and that there were ample vacancies.

During a joint appearance with Bush earlier Friday in New Orleans, before members of the Republican National Committee, Quayle said he had learned something about how to conduct himself in that convention city. Then he snapped his heels together, came to attention, and did a military precision-style delivery of name, rank and serial number.

“I stand at attention. Name: Dan Quayle. Serial number 303 50 4096. Indiana National Guard. Six years and proud of it.” The audience applauded.

Quayle proceeded to praise Bush, the presidential nominee, before the two men headed out on the campaign trail, traveling first to Indiana, Quayle’s home state.

During his acceptance speech Thursday night at New Orleans, Quayle made one reference to the furor over his military status.

“As a young man, I served six years in the National Guard. And, like the millions of Americans who have served in the Guard . . . I am proud of it,” Quayle said.