Letters to the Editor
This letter is associated with the following article:
-
Karen Tumulty article from May...
Includes this quote:
He says he also felt guilty about the draft deferment he would get for it, when other young men his age were heading for Vietnam. [...] He didn't convert many Frenchmen but found the experience was something that "concentrates the mind," he says. "My faith has been a part of my foundation throughout my life. My faith has made me a better person than I would have been."
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1619212,00.html
I guess you can read this two ways - either for Romney, faith is paramount, there is literally nothing more important than being a good Mormon. Or he simply regarded his life's calling as too important to fit in a deployment to Vietnam as well as missionary work.