The Draft

I was just curios USA had approximately 220 million people in 1968 and
assuming a 'Standard population' spread for age there must have been a lot
of people who did'nt join up.

Most people are patriotic & law abiding, so would answer the call, there are
volunteers on top of that, that is a lot of people.

I know a lot came to Europe\NATO and a lot went to Korea.

A lot of you ended up in Vietnam\East asia.

But and a big but, what happened to all the rest?

Exempt on grounds of being more useful on the home front?

Or did some people not get the Letter?

"GrgLnsctt" wrote in message
news:20031121112604.28890.00000689@mb-m17.news.cs.com...
> >Did everyone of relative age get a 'Draft letter'?
> >
> >Did some people 'get away' with it because they had 'important' jobs or
were
> >'students'.
> >
>
> Boz,
>
> Only the ablest and most fit got notices. Students and people in important
jobs
> were not qualified. It was one of those trigger puller/ pencil pusher
things.
> The fortunate ones selected were rewarded with a once in a life time
> experience. Some of them still talk about it to this day.
>
> Greg [who remembers pedal pushers too]

You must understand that those at risk of the draft were only vulnerable for
a single year. The "Lottery" by which draft numbers were assigned was the
real determinate for the draft. Those who drew numbers which were called
for induction were of course "drafted" and received such letters. Those
whose numbers were not called for induction were only vulnerable for that
single year, and escaped subsequent draft calls. Lottery numbers were drawn
by birth date, which did randomize the process geographically, removed
race and education from consideration, and mitigated the vagaries of human
selection and social influences.

Pepperoni

"Boz" wrote in message
news:bpoeh5$5pt$1$830fa79d@news.demon.co.uk...
> I was just curios USA had approximately 220 million people in 1968 and
> assuming a 'Standard population' spread for age there must have been a lot
> of people who did'nt join up.
>
> Most people are patriotic & law abiding, so would answer the call, there
are
> volunteers on top of that, that is a lot of people.
>
> I know a lot came to Europe\NATO and a lot went to Korea.
>
> A lot of you ended up in Vietnam\East asia.
>
> But and a big but, what happened to all the rest?
>
> Exempt on grounds of being more useful on the home front?
>
> Or did some people not get the Letter?
>

On Sat, 22 Nov 2003 19:55:20 -0000, "Boz" wrote:

>I was just curios USA had approximately 220 million people in 1968 and
>assuming a 'Standard population' spread for age there must have been a lot
>of people who did'nt join up.

Hi Boz, YUP! Lots of people found a way around the draft. Some legitimate and
others a little questionable. To those who didn't sign up for one reason or
another, it was their loss. IMHO. It seems that these days a huge number of
those who passed on enlisting or being drafted are now regretting that decision.
Please note the number of *wannabees* now claiming to be a VN Vet.

>Most people are patriotic & law abiding, so would answer the call, there are
>volunteers on top of that, that is a lot of people.
Agreed.

>I know a lot came to Europe\NATO and a lot went to Korea.

Well, I re-enlisted *after VN* to spend some time in Europe. I'm glad now that I
did.

>A lot of you ended up in Vietnam\East asia.

Ahhh...to set the record straight in my case, I enlisted to go to VN. I went
and came back. Sorry to say that many others enlisted/drafted and did not come
back.

>But and a big but, what happened to all the rest?

We are finding out about them every day.

>Exempt on grounds of being more useful on the home front?

he he he...

>Or did some people not get the Letter?

Sorry, I can't answer that. Supposedly *everyone* of draft age got the letter,
but you must understand that some people considered themselves better than
others and avoided any service of any kind. Those of us that served in VN have
memories (good or bad) that the *wannabees* will never have. It's their loss.

JV

>"GrgLnsctt" wrote in message
>news:20031121112604.28890.00000689@mb-m17.news.cs.com...
>> >Did everyone of relative age get a 'Draft letter'?
>> >
>> >Did some people 'get away' with it because they had 'important' jobs or
>were
>> >'students'.
>> >
>>
>> Boz,
>>
>> Only the ablest and most fit got notices. Students and people in important
>jobs
>> were not qualified. It was one of those trigger puller/ pencil pusher
>things.
>> The fortunate ones selected were rewarded with a once in a life time
>> experience. Some of them still talk about it to this day.
>>
>> Greg [who remembers pedal pushers too]
>

96 Montego (Lil' Blue)

The lottery came along a lot later than when most of the posters here were
vulnerable. IIRC the lottery system came in '71 or so. Up until then you
were vulnerable to be drafted until the age of 34. To answer Boz' question
though, a hell of a lot of people spent a hell of a lot of time trying to
figure a way to avoid being drafted without overtly dodging the draft. For
instance, married guys were deferred until unmarried guys had all been
taken, then that changed to you had to have a kid to get the same deferment.
Some folks talked up their medical conditions at their pre-induction
physical and some got medically deferred. One such is Howard ( the coward )
Dean, wannabe Prezident. He got a deferment due to being unfit medically
then promptly went to Colorado and lived on the ski slopes. He admitted in a
to-be-aired TV interview just recently that he could have served in the
military no sweat, he just didn't want to.

--


Don Thompson

Ex ROMAD


"Pepperoni" wrote in message
news:bpofpg$1qkmml$1@ID-105689.news.uni-berlin.de...
> You must understand that those at risk of the draft were only vulnerable
for
> a single year. The "Lottery" by which draft numbers were assigned was the
> real determinate for the draft. Those who drew numbers which were called
> for induction were of course "drafted" and received such letters. Those
> whose numbers were not called for induction were only vulnerable for that
> single year, and escaped subsequent draft calls. Lottery numbers were
drawn
> by birth date, which did randomize the process geographically, removed
> race and education from consideration, and mitigated the vagaries of human
> selection and social influences.
>
> Pepperoni
>
> "Boz" wrote in message
> news:bpoeh5$5pt$1$830fa79d@news.demon.co.uk...
> > I was just curios USA had approximately 220 million people in 1968 and
> > assuming a 'Standard population' spread for age there must have been a
lot
> > of people who did'nt join up.
> >
> > Most people are patriotic & law abiding, so would answer the call, there
> are
> > volunteers on top of that, that is a lot of people.
> >
> > I know a lot came to Europe\NATO and a lot went to Korea.
> >
> > A lot of you ended up in Vietnam\East asia.
> >
> > But and a big but, what happened to all the rest?
> >
> > Exempt on grounds of being more useful on the home front?
> >
> > Or did some people not get the Letter?
> >
>
>

The first draft lottery was Dec. 1, 1969. This session included those born
between Jan 1, 1944 and Dec. 31, 1950.

The first capsule - drawn by Congressman Alexander Pirnie (R-NY) of the
House Armed Services Committee - contained the date September 14, so all men
born on September 14 in any year between 1944 and 1950 were assigned lottery
number 1. The drawing continued until all days of the year had been paired
with sequence numbers.

http://www.sss.gov/lotter1.htm

"Don Thompson" wrote in message
news:65Qvb.10939$n56.2700@newsread1.news.pas.earth link.net...
> The lottery came along a lot later than when most of the posters here were
> vulnerable. IIRC the lottery system came in '71 or so. Up until then you
> were vulnerable to be drafted until the age of 34. To answer Boz' question
> though, a hell of a lot of people spent a hell of a lot of time trying to
> figure a way to avoid being drafted without overtly dodging the draft. For
> instance, married guys were deferred until unmarried guys had all been
> taken, then that changed to you had to have a kid to get the same
deferment.
> Some folks talked up their medical conditions at their pre-induction
> physical and some got medically deferred. One such is Howard ( the
coward )
> Dean, wannabe Prezident. He got a deferment due to being unfit medically
> then promptly went to Colorado and lived on the ski slopes. He admitted in
a
> to-be-aired TV interview just recently that he could have served in the
> military no sweat, he just didn't want to.
>
> --
>
>
> Don Thompson

In article , Pepperoni says...
>
>The first draft lottery was Dec. 1, 1969. This session included those born
>between Jan 1, 1944 and Dec. 31, 1950.

And I had enlisted and went to Vietnam twice and was out of the Army for over a
year before that began...
Do you know when folks could volunteer for the draft? Was that always an option
or did that originate sometime during the Vietnam war?

Off by a year and a month. At any rate, before Dec 1 '69 a hell of a lot of
folks had already gone and come back from V.N., drafted or
enlisted/commissioned. At any rate, even from your cite it looks to me like
there 6 full years of eligibles instead of the one year your previous
stated.

I quote :

"You must understand that those at risk of the draft were only vulnerable
for
a single year."

So that as the '44's passed the year then everyone from '45 to '51 became
eligible, etc. Or that is the way I am seeing it any way.


--


Don Thompson

Ex ROMAD


"Pepperoni" wrote in message
news:bpok9m$1qufmi$1@ID-105689.news.uni-berlin.de...
> The first draft lottery was Dec. 1, 1969. This session included those born
> between Jan 1, 1944 and Dec. 31, 1950.
>
> The first capsule - drawn by Congressman Alexander Pirnie (R-NY) of the
> House Armed Services Committee - contained the date September 14, so all
men
> born on September 14 in any year between 1944 and 1950 were assigned
lottery
> number 1. The drawing continued until all days of the year had been paired
> with sequence numbers.
>
> http://www.sss.gov/lotter1.htm
>
> "Don Thompson" wrote in message
> news:65Qvb.10939$n56.2700@newsread1.news.pas.earth link.net...
> > The lottery came along a lot later than when most of the posters here
were
> > vulnerable. IIRC the lottery system came in '71 or so. Up until then you
> > were vulnerable to be drafted until the age of 34. To answer Boz'
question
> > though, a hell of a lot of people spent a hell of a lot of time trying
to
> > figure a way to avoid being drafted without overtly dodging the draft.
For
> > instance, married guys were deferred until unmarried guys had all been
> > taken, then that changed to you had to have a kid to get the same
> deferment.
> > Some folks talked up their medical conditions at their pre-induction
> > physical and some got medically deferred. One such is Howard ( the
> coward )
> > Dean, wannabe Prezident. He got a deferment due to being unfit medically
> > then promptly went to Colorado and lived on the ski slopes. He admitted
in
> a
> > to-be-aired TV interview just recently that he could have served in the
> > military no sweat, he just didn't want to.
> >
> > --
> >
> >
> > Don Thompson
>
>

As I understand it, the first year included multiple ages. This was indeed
an improvement over being under the gun until age 35. I believe subsequent
draw years included a single age class.

Dec. '69, I was 5 months past my 19th birthday, E-5, and had over 11 months
in country. I was short, but extended 6 months to prevent a long garrison
tour in the states shining boots and I would spend that Christmas at home
before returning for my +6. I would ETS before my 20th birthday with 35
months and 11 days in service. That Christmas was an eye-opener. All my
old high school friends (who were seniors during my first year in service)
were still at home looking for their first jobs, and worried about the
draft. Somehow we had nothing in common.

Pepperoni

"Don Thompson" wrote in message
news:0JRvb.11033$n56.7065@newsread1.news.pas.earth link.net...
> Off by a year and a month. At any rate, before Dec 1 '69 a hell of a lot
of
> folks had already gone and come back from V.N., drafted or
> enlisted/commissioned. At any rate, even from your cite it looks to me
like
> there 6 full years of eligibles instead of the one year your previous
> stated.
>
> I quote :
>
> "You must understand that those at risk of the draft were only vulnerable
> for
> a single year."
>
> So that as the '44's passed the year then everyone from '45 to '51 became
> eligible, etc. Or that is the way I am seeing it any way.
>
>
> --
>
>
> Don Thompson
>
> Ex ROMAD
>

"dino" wrote in message
news:bpooaa02ovr@drn.newsguy.com...
> In article , Pepperoni
says...
> >
> >The first draft lottery was Dec. 1, 1969. This session included those
born
> >between Jan 1, 1944 and Dec. 31, 1950.
>
> And I had enlisted and went to Vietnam twice and was out of the Army for
over a
> year before that began...
> Do you know when folks could volunteer for the draft? Was that always an
option
> or did that originate sometime during the Vietnam war?
>

I don't know when voluntary conscription began. I suspect it was WWII or
before. I can't find anything on the Selective Service site; I suspect
they did not make the distinction for accounting purposes. I also suspect
that upon request, you would merely be classed 1-A and thus went to the
front of the draft list. I know that it was common, but not well known, as
many enlistees found out about this type induction during BCT, and spent the
remainder of their tour griping about that extra year of enlistment.

Can you imagine the guy at the front desk at the draft board who hears every
excuse and complaint in the book, all day long----- along comes a fellow who
says "Draft ME!!!". What is he going to say except "Yes, SIR!!"?

I was in Amberg, Germany on my 18th birthday. (3/2ACR) I had just made E-4,
and got the biggest belly laugh I ever heard from my First Sergeant when I
asked him if I should register for the draft. About 15 years later some
drunk fat chick turned me in to the draft board because she
overheard me say that I had never registered. ----got a letter from the
Board requiring my presence to explain the matter. DD-214 proved I had tied
the rules into a tangle and they deliberated in silence and eventually sent
me a draft card, class 1-Y, even though I never did apply for
classification. (1-Y means sufficient prior service)

The drunk fat chick was lapping up Vietnam war stories from a long haired
wannabe in a 7th Army field jacket, and took exception to my calling him a
"Lyin' sack o' shat." (7th Army never left Europe during the Vietnam War)

Pepperoni

"dino" wrote in message
news:bpooaa02ovr@drn.newsguy.com...
> In article , Pepperoni
says...
> >
> >The first draft lottery was Dec. 1, 1969. This session included those
born
> >between Jan 1, 1944 and Dec. 31, 1950.
>
> And I had enlisted and went to Vietnam twice and was out of the Army for
over a
> year before that began...
> Do you know when folks could volunteer for the draft? Was that always an
option
> or did that originate sometime during the Vietnam war?
>

I had an older cousin volunteer for the draft in 1955, so it was in place at
least that early. Some in my class (1961) wanted GI Bill benefits but did
not want to serve 3 or more years. They volunteered for the draft to serve
the shortest time. Of course, even draft volunteers got no choice of
training or assignment.

--
Dave Thompson
(The Other)