Were You Drafted?

[Huston55]

They started drawing lottery numbers a few months after I entered active duty, so it was just of passing interest to me.

But this reminded me of a funny incident.

I had orders for Vietnam in 1971, and was planning to go in a couple of months. But while TDY at our major command HQ I was called aside by a Colonel (I was just a 1st Lt) and offered a special deal. He told me he knew I was headed to the war zone and gave me the chance to volunteer for a special assignment that had just been created. If I did, the Vietnam orders would be cancelled and I would go to the other place instead, which was in a very safe location.

The rub was that the special assignment was Top Secret and I only had a Secret clearance at the time, so he couldn't be specific about it. But he gave me a rough outline of what was involved and it didn't sound so good to me. I politely declined his offer with thanks, and continued on as planned.

Years later, when I actually had a TS clearance, I was able to find out the details of the special assignment and concluded in retrospect that I had made a good decision.

The military is a funny institution.

If it's declassified, tell us about it.

 

[aja8888]

I received my draft notice in 1964 and decided to join the Air Force instead of going into the Army. I spent 4 years in the AF and 16 months of them were on a missile crew in a combat area. Got out in 1968 without a scratch and went to college on the GI Bill. Thanks to the military, I was able to get a college degree in engineering and a masters degree in finance.

 

[braumeister]

If it's declassified, tell us about it.

Sorry, but still not completely declassified. That's why I was vague about it.

 

[Breedlove]

I was too young to go to Vietnam , my older brother went to Vietnam and came back a mess. My father was a decorated WWII veteran and could never understand what happened to my brother. Several of the older guys from the neighborhood came back like this. My brother has a favorite saying . The only time the country embraces veterans is when they are getting prepared to go to war. Not a good experience for our family.

 

[Winemaker]

Born in 1958...never had to register.

Likewise, I tried to go to the AF Academy but was too tall to fly. They couldn't guarantee I could survive an ejection intact.


A deep heartfelt thanks to all that served.

 

[Nemo2]

The only time the country embraces veterans is when they are getting prepared to go to war.

"Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll."


'Tommy' by Rudyard Kipling, 1890.

(The more things change, the more they remain the same.)

 

[FiveDriver]

I got out of college in 1969, just as the Vietnam War was ratcheting up a notch. LBJ wanted troops and without a Student Deferment -- I was fresh meat. My Lottery Number would have put me in Boot Camp within 4 months at the rate they were going.

My smarts probably would have helped me through the Air Force Qualifying Test. That was one option, but my other choices were quickly running out. Some friends from High School, all gung-ho, joined the Marines just after HS Graduation. They were overseas and back already and they all said the whole experience was FUBAR, from Parriss Island all the way thru Nam. One of them boys fell into the weed culture over there. He came back with his brain so scrambled he could barely complete a sentence.....kept mumbling about Thai-Sticks.

I was running out of time to make this decision, At the last moment, my Application to Bell Labs was accepted. Not only were they hiring, but also arranging for 2-A Draft Deferments based on Essential Defense Occupation. I graciously agreed to their generous offer. It was one of those Life-Changing Events that send us on a different path.

I sometimes wonder how that young Air Force Veteran with 4 years of service but no recent marketable skills would have fared in the post-Vietnam Era. That Era seemed to lack the respect that we show the Vets nowadays.

 

[Koolau]

Schutzstaffel?

Nope! But it felt like it back in the day.

 

[Koolau]

It always seemed odd to me, that there were many college grads who ended up as an enlisted grunts. There was even one guy that had a masters in electrical engineering from GT, and was assigned to the vehicle repair shop along with me and several other college grads. I just had a HS degree at that time.

Probably confirms the old "assumption" that MOS was filled by current need instead of qualification. IIRC the old story went something like:

"young man, what can you do?"
"I type 125 words per minute, sir."
"Infantry, young man!"

But seriously, for those never affected by Selective Service during Viet Nam, it's difficult to describe the gnawing feeling that very little you were currently doing (let's say, sitting in an advanced calculus class) had much relevance to your immediate future - other than keeping your 2S status and praying the war ended before you graduated. At least the lottery gave "some" clarity to the situation toward the end of my university c@reer.

Looking back though, I must say the guys who actually served in that war had it a lot worse than any of us who managed to avoid the affair. "Welcome Home!" all you folks who actually had to serve during this troubled time in our history.

 

[Badger]

Raised in a military family and tried for a Navy scholarship to college but didn't make the final cut. Years later after grad school and working I agreed to enlist again but was told I was too old. During my undergrad years my draft number in the first round of draft during the Viet Nam war was in the mid 200s so I was never called. Life has its own way of working it all our.

Cheers!

 

[Bestwifeever]

DH was drafted with a 26 in the first lottery, still a senior in college with a student deferment. He was a teacher for four months after graduation as the big city school board that hired him thought he would get a deferment from the big city draft board, but DH was from a small town and tied to a small draft board (interestingly and unrelated, far from any military base), so off he went without complaint. I don't think enlisting ever occurred to him. He had a couple of friends who were in the reserves and one who became a career officer but no one except him was drafted into active duty.

It's funny how random things turn out and shape us. He used the GI Bill for further study and was hired immediately into a great job in the art field because the boss was impressed with his Army service, even though he was stateside during it. Every other person in his basic training group went to Viet Nam. Bless them all.