Consequently, Clinton was among one of the most vulnerable groups at that time and found himself wondering what he would do about the draft. He subscribed to the belief that the draft "was illegitimate' because of its inflexibility."" In a letter to Col. Eugene Holmes he wrote, "From my work I came to believe that the draft system itself is illegitimate. No government really rooted in limited, parliamentary democracy should have the power to make its citizens fight and kill and die in a war they may oppose, a war which even possibly may be wrong, a war which, in any case, does not involve immediately the peace and freedom of the nation."" .
The summer before Oxford, Raymond Clinton did everything he could to help his nephew avoid service and take full advantage of his education. Oddly enough, never having served in the military, Raymond Clinton had connections to influential members of the military hierarchy in Hot Springs, including members of the draft board. These connections stemmed from his membership in the U.S Navy League, a social club that met once a month for food and discussion. Also members of this group were Henry Britt, a lawyer and former judge, Trice Ellis, commander of the Naval Reserve unit and William Armstrong, the chairman of the local draft board. Between these four men, two actions were undertaken on Bill Clinton's behalf to save him from the draft. First, Raymond Clinton and Henry Britt asked Trice Ellis to find Bill a spot in the local naval reserve. Ellis was able to acquire a two-year active duty billet for Clinton which Bill would not have to fill until after his first year at Oxford. Ellis later reported that he did not consider the request unusual and was "impressed by the chance to enlist someone with a college education."" What did surprise Ellis was when Bill did not show up for his interview. When he called Raymond Clinton to find out why Bill never showed up, Raymond told him that Bill had been taken care of in another way.
