Former Alabama Guardsmen appears in political ad
Retired lieutenant colonel says he never saw George W. Bush
Friday, September 10, 2004
By SALLIE OWEN
Capital Bureau
Bob Mintz, a 63-year-old commercial pilot originally from north Alabama, stars in one of the latest attack advertisements of the nation's bruising presidential race. In the ad, Mintz says he never saw George W. Bush in the months of 1972 and 1973, when the lieutenant from the Texas National Guard was temporarily assigned in Alabama. Mintz's story is interspersed with text messages, such as "Tell us whom you served with, Mr. President."
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Mintz said it was in 1969 that he began his 25-year stint as part of the Montgomery-based Alabama Air National Guard unit where Bush was assigned. At the time, it was the 187th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, and Mintz was part of its 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron.
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Bush had sought the temporary transfer to Alabama so he could work on the U.S. Senate campaign of Montgomery businessman Winton Blount. Mintz said that in 1972, he had just earned the rank of captain. During a drill session, someone told him a lieutenant from Texas would be joining the 187th. "They made the inference that he was someone of political influence," Mintz said Thursday.
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He said he heard Bush, then-governor of Texas, remark during his 2000 presidential campaign about serving in the 187th. "That's when I put the two together," Mintz said. "This had to be who they were talking about." He said there were no more than 30 pilots with the 187th at the time, and a newcomer would have stood out. Also, it was unusual for someone to get that sort of temporary reassignment, Mintz said.
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Most Guard members served one weekend a month, but pilots were required to come in more often to fly, he said. On average, pilots served 60-80 days a year, Mintz said.
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http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1094807841321530.xml~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bob "Buck" Mintz in his Germantown, Tennessee den.Published on Friday, February 13, 2004 by the Memphis Flyer
Bush a No-Show at Alabama Base, Says Memphian
FedEx Pilot Bob Mintz, backed up by a Carolina colleague, recalls no Dubya at Dannelly AFB in 1972
by Jackson Baker
MEMPHIS – Two members of the Air National Guard unit that President George W. Bush allegedly served with as a young Guard flyer in 1972 had been told to expect him and were on the lookout for him. He never showed, however; of that both Bob Mintz and Paul Bishop are certain. The question of Bush’s presence in 1972 at Dannelly Air National Guard base in Montgomery, Alabama – or the lack of it – has become an issue in the 2004 presidential campaign.
Recalls Memphian Mintz, now 62: “I remember that I heard someone was coming to drill with us from Texas. And it was implied that it was somebody with political influence. I was a young bachelor then. I was looking for somebody to prowl around with.” But, says Mintz, that “somebody” -- better known to the world now as the president of the United States -- never showed up at Dannelly in 1972. Nor in 1973, nor at any time that Mintz, a FedEx pilot now and an Eastern Airlines pilot then, when he was a reserve first lieutenant at Dannelly, can remember.
“And I was looking for him,” repeated Mintz, who said that he assumed that Bush “changed his mind and went somewhere else” to do his substitute drill. It was not “somewhere else,” however, but the 187th Air National Guard Tactical squadron at Dannelly to which the young Texas flyer had requested transfer from his regular Texas unit – the reason being Bush’s wish to work in Alabama on the ultimately unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign of family friend Winton "Red" Blount.
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“There’s no way we wouldn’t have noticed a strange rooster in the henhouse, especially since we were looking for him,” insists Mintz, who has pored over documents relating to the matter now making their way around the Internet. One of these is a piece of correspondence addressed to the 187th’s commanding officer, then Lt. Col. William Turnipseed, concerning Bush’s redeployment.
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http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0213-09.htm