Donald Trump pictured in uniform as a cadet captain

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EXCLUSIVE: Donald Trump pictured in uniform as a cadet captain - before he dodged the Vietnam draft with four deferments and a 'bone spur'
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Republican presidential candidate at center of storm over his lack of military record after he said John McCain was 'not a war hero'
Trump got a high draft number but was deferred four times as he studied at Fordham College and the elite Wharton School of Business
He was a standout athlete at New York Military Academy where he was scouted for the Red Sox and West Point
But two years later he was diagnosed with a 'bone spur' and eventually declared unfit for service

Published: 15:07 EST, 20 July 2015 | Updated: 15:36 EST, 20 July 2015

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Smiling in military school uniform, this is Donald Trump as a young student cadet captain - before he dodged the Vietnam draft.

The Republican presidential front runner was 'quite the athlete' at New York Military Academy where he was on the Varsity baseball, soccer and football teams, his former coach told Daily Mail Online.

Known as 'D.T.' to his schoolmates, Trump won three varsity letters and a clutch of honors in what seemed to be the perfect foundation for a career in the military.

Instead he followed his father into his real estate business and became a billionaire - after getting four student deferments from the Vietnam War.

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Never in uniform again: Trump was photographed at New York Military Academy where he was captain of his class cadet corps but he deferred the draft repeatedly as a student, and was then medically disqualified

Quite the athlete: Trump (center) was a talented athlete in a series of sports - including basketball (above)

Team player: Trump (front row, second from left) on the New York Military Academy soccer team. Major Theodore Dobias, Trump's baseball coach at the NYMA, told Daily Mail Online: 'He was quite the athlete.'

THE DONALD V THE DRAFT

July 1964: Gets 2-S student deferment from the Vietnam War as he is a student at Fordham College in The Bronx, New York

December 1965: Second student deferment whilst at Fordham

November 1966: Reclassified as 1-A and becomes eligible for enlistment but medical examination disqualifies him

December 1966: One month later he gets third student deferment as he is now at the Wharton School at UPenn.

January 1968: Fourth student deferment

July 1968: Reclassified as 1-A which means he becomes eligible for recruitment but second medical disqualifies him.

October 1968: Reclassified as 1-Y, which is for those obliged to do military service 'only in time of national emergency'.

December 1969: Trump's number is drawn in the Vietnam draft lottery.

February 1972: Status changed to 4-F or disqualified from military service

This included a medical examination in 1966 which disqualified him despite having been such a good baseball player two years before that he was scouted by the Boston Red Sox.

Trump's own service in Vietnam has come under the spotlight after he criticized Senator John McCain for being captured while fighting even though he won a Purple Heart, a Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross

Trump said that McCain was no hero because he had crashed his Skyhawk bomber in 1967 which led to him being held as a prisoner of war for five years and repeatedly tortured.

Documents obtained by The Smoking Gun have shown that Trump got four student deferments between 1964 and 1968 when he was at Fordham College and the Wharton School of Business.

Selective Service records show that Trump became eligible to serve in November 1966 but the medical examination rated him as 'DISQ'.

Doctors reached the same conclusion two years later when he briefly came up for possible enlistment again.

But Trump's record at NYMA suggests that he had no problems playing a wide variety of sports which he was so good at he was inducted into its Hall of Fame.

He was sent to the NYMA, based in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, in 1959 at the age of 13 and stayed until he was 18.

Trump was a rebellious youth and his father hoped that the strict rules would channel his energy. The plan worked.

According to the 1964 Yearbook, which lists his home as Jamaica in Queens, New York, Trump rose from the rank of private in his first year to captain in his final year, when he was also a senior member of the staff of the sports team.

Trump won the Proficient Cadet award for two years running and Honor Cadet for four years running too.

For two years in a row he also won the Neatness and Order medal.

He played softball, was on the bowling team and was won varsity letters for baseball, football and soccer.

In 2005 Trump was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame because his sports achievements were considered so impressive.

Lauded: While he was at the New York Military Academy Trump (left) was scouted for two baseball teams and West Point. But he went first to Fordham College, then Wharton, and never served in Vietnam

Ladies man: As well as appearing in uniform and being praised for his athleticism, Trump was voted 'ladies man' in the military academy's yearbook

BONE SPURS: COMMON IN OVER-60S, TREATED BY PAINKILLERS BUT ENOUGH TO GET OUT OF VIETNAM

According to the Mayo Clinic, bone spurs are bony projections which develop along the edges of bones.

They often form in joints or on the bones of the spine.

The main cause of bone spurs is the joint damage associated with osteoarthritis. The symptoms include reduced mobility, swelling or hard lumps under the skin.

Bone spurs can also cause tingling in the hands and feet, muscle weakness and muscle spasms.

They are usually discovered by an X-ray and treatment involves over the counter painkillers such as Tylenol or Advil.

The Mayo Clinic says that bone spurs that limit your range of motion or press on nerves may require surgical removal.

According to Cedars-Sinai Hospital, the condition is common in those over 60, though it may also be hereditary.

Rest, physical therapy and cortisone shots alleviate the symptoms.

Under the 'Popularity Poll' section of the yearbook, Trump was nominated as the 'Ladies Man' of the year and he is pictured with a brunette who is looking admiringly at him.

He missed out on the awards for 'most likely to succeed' and 'most fun', which went to other students.

Other pictures in the yearbook show Trump standing in full baseball uniform with his mitt in his hand and posing with the soccer team.

Major Theodore Dobias, Trump's baseball coach at the NYMA, told Daily Mail Online: 'He was quite the athlete.

'He was the first baseman on the baseball team. He did well enough that he was scouted by the Boston Red Sox, a coach at West Point and the Philadelphia Phillies.

'He became cadet captain because he got along with everybody.

'He and I got on pretty good. He never got into any trouble. He kept his uniform clean at all times'.

Asked whether or not he thought Trump was fit to serve in the military, Major Dobias said: 'I can't speak to that.'

Trump's comments about McCain sparked a firestorm of criticism even from Republican Presidential candidates.

Scarred: In this fall 1967 file photo, John McCain is administered to at a Hanoi, Vietnam hospital as a prisoner of war. The injuries he sustained while a prisoner of war have left the senator unable to raise his arms above his head

Controversy: At a political event in Iowa on Saturday, Trump sparked controversy when he said that McCain is not a war hero and that he likes 'people that weren't captured'. Trump pictured above at a press conference in Beverly Hills, California on July 10

Response: Arizona Senator John McCain responded Monday morning to comments made by GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump, who said this weekend that he is 'not a war hero' because he was captured in Vietnam

Former Texas governor Rick Perry said that the smear made him 'unfit to be commander in chief' and that it was a 'new low in American politics'.

Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum tweeted that McCain 'is an American hero, period' whilst former Florida governor Jeb Bush criticized what he called 'slanderous attacks'.

McCain himself has called for Trump to apologize to the families of prisoner of war victims

He has said: 'I think the point here is that there are so many men and women who served and sacrificed - and happened to be held prisoner - and to denigrate in any way that service, I think, is offensive to veterans.

'The best thing to do is put it behind us and move forward'.

A Trump spokesperson was unavailable for comment, but the billionaire has claimed in the past that the medical examinations found that there was a bone spur in his foot.

When asked Saturday which foot it was, he told reporters to look up his records. Those already in the public domain do not show the detail of the medical condition which led to deferment.

Biographers have touched in the subject and in 'Donald Trump: Master Apprentice', author Gwenda Blair notes dryly that he avoided the draft 'despite his athletic prowess'.

Defiant Trump unapologetic over McCain remarks