It turned out that one of the key details of Ben Carson's life story -- his alleged admission to West Point -- was not true.
The academy has occupied a central place in Carson’s tale for years. According to a story told in Carson’s book, “Gifted Hands,” the then-17 year old was introduced in 1969 to Gen. William Westmoreland, who had just ended his command of U.S. forces in Vietnam, and the two dined together. That meeting, according to Carson’s telling, was followed by a “full scholarship” to the military academy.
He did not receive a scholarship to go there -- West Point does not charge tuition for its cadets.
West Point, however, has no record of Carson applying, much less being extended admission.
“In 1969, those who would have completed the entire process would have received their acceptance letters from the Army Adjutant General,” said Theresa Brinkerhoff, a spokeswoman for the academy. She said West Point has no records that indicate Carson even began the application process. “If he chose to pursue (the application process), then we would have records indicating such,” she said.
However, his defenders tried to rescue Dr. Carson's story by saying that sometime between May 23rd and 26th, 1969, he met with General William Westmoreland.
“Dr. Carson was the top ROTC student in the City of Detroit,” campaign manager Barry Bennett wrote in an email to POLITICO. “In that role he was invited to meet General Westmoreland. He believes it was at a banquet. He can’t remember with specificity their brief conversation but it centered around Dr. Carson’s performance as ROTC City Executive Officer.”
“He was introduced to folks from West Point by his ROTC Supervisors,” Bennett added. “They told him they could help him get an appointment based on his grades and performance in ROTC. He considered it but in the end did not seek admission.”
However,
records produced by the US Army show that General Westmoreland was not in Detroit on May 23rd, 24th, 26th, and 27th, but was in Washington keeping a low profile and conducting meetings along with making a trip to Massachusetts and Vermont.
We checked the New York Times from May 23rd to 26th, 1969, and we could not find any stories on General Westmoreland. The general was a highly organized person who crafted his schedules very carefully. It was obvious that he was seeking to keep a low profile during that period, seeking to stay out of the news as the uproar over Vietnam at the time was intensifying. America was about to land a man on the moon and the last dress rehearsal was completed; it would be a perfect diversion from the ongoing quagmire in Vietnam. Civil rights clashes were still ongoing and student protests were still in full swing. The last thing he wanted to do at that point was make waves.
On May 23rd and 24th, General Westmoreland went to Massachusetts and Vermont. On the night of the 23rd, he had a cocktail with Gen. Hamlett in Montpelier (VT) after having visited Fort Devens (MA) that afternoon. On the day of the 24th, he addressed a convocation at Norwich University before returning to Washington that evening. On Monday the 26th and Tuesday the 27th, he held meetings in Washington, played tennis, and went to a ball conducted by the Washington Association of Military Attaches.
The complication is that on Politico's site, the schedule for Sunday, May 25th is missing. This means that General Westmoreland could very well have flown to Detroit that day and met with Carson at some point. However, most Memorial Day parades would have been held on Monday, a holiday, rather than on Sunday, when everyone was resting.
We do know, from the Politico article, that General Westmoreland visited Detroit in February of that year.
There are, however, several reports of an event in February of that year, similar to the one Carson described. Then, Westmoreland was the featured guest at a 1,500-person banquet to celebrate Medal of Honor recipient Dwight Johnson. The event drew prominent guests, including the governor at the time, the mayor of Detroit, the president of Ford Motor Company and nine previous Medal of Honor awardees, according to an Associated Press account of the event.
Carson, a leader of the city’s ROTC program at the time, may have been among the invited guests at the $10-a-plate event.
Dr. Carson's latest version of the West Point story is here:
"The next question is from Bill. He wanted to know if it was true that I was offered a slot at West Point after high school," Carson wrote. "Bill, that is true. I was the highest student ROTC member in Detroit and was thrilled to get an offer from West Point. But I knew medicine is what I wanted to do. So I applied to only one school. (it was all the money I had). I applied to Yale and thank God they accepted me. I often wonder what might have happened had they said no."
Dr. Carson could very well have met with General Westmoreland during either Sunday, May 25th, 1969 or during February 1969. However, the fact that certain other details of his story did not check out means that his account of meeting General Westmoreland is the next logical item to receive scrutiny. If we can't trust him to be accurate with his personal life story, then how can we trust him if he says that this country is under attack and we need to go to war immediately?
It is really interesting to see Republicans eating their own. Donald Trump's attacks on Ben Carson, saying that the Good Doctor is not who he says he is is similar to the Swift Boat attacks on John Kerry back in 2004. Except that Mr. Trump's attacks are much more credible. This may very well be the end for Dr. Carson. There is an unwritten rule among veterans and military people that you do not exaggerate anything about your service to your country, ever. Break that rule, and you will be ostracized. Dr. Carson seems to have broken that rule.
And his remark, "I often wonder what might have happened had they said no," is really interesting. It shows what kind of person he is -- he obviously believes that he is on a divine mission from God, but he would exclude other people from his club given his policies of austerity and funneling more profits to his friends in the 1%. The fact that he shilled for Mannatech shows his real agenda -- create unlimited profits for Mannatech and similar outlets at the expense of public safety through the lowering of rules and regulations. If people die, then that's just the cost of doing business. It is really interesting how middle aged white people are starting to feel the crippling effects of neoliberalism as their death rates are starting to equalize with the Black community. This is one perverse way to reduce inequality in this country. A Carson presidency would accelerate this trend and knock out the safeguards our forefathers passed even before the Great Depression to safeguard us from the likes of Mannatech.