Graduated from U. of Wisconsin-Madison after the then usual 4 years in 1970. I considered dropping out in my freshman year to see if I could have more fun pursuing a writing career. (I was making a little money being a part-time campus reporter for the Milwaukee Journal.) However, I didn’t want to give up my student deferment. I went to see a "draft" lawyer who advised getting a zillion x-rays in the hopes of being able to come up with some abnormality that would support a 4-F. However, I was a biology major and the idea of getting a huge dose of x-rays seemed unhealthy.
On the evening of the first draft lottery I went to the office of the student newspaper, the Daily Cardinal. I forget whether the numbers came over a tv or over a teletype. As I recall the first birthdate called would be No. 1 and would be sure to be drafted. I was delighted when my number came up around 250 which indicated I wouldn’t be drafted. It was a huge relief.
My dad gave up a job deferment to volunteer for WWII, but he saw the Vietnam War from the beginning as a foolish war and correctly understood that the national interests of the various communist countries would trump the idea of international communism. Thus I had plenty of family support for not wanting that free trip to Vietnam.
I also recall that in those days it took powerful connections to get into the National Guard which sat out the Vietnam War. I wonder how many young people today realize that President Bush chose to avoid the Vietnam War and probably had his dad pull some strings to get him into the National Guard.
On the evening of the first draft lottery I went to the office of the student newspaper, the Daily Cardinal. I forget whether the numbers came over a tv or over a teletype. As I recall the first birthdate called would be No. 1 and would be sure to be drafted. I was delighted when my number came up around 250 which indicated I wouldn’t be drafted. It was a huge relief.
My dad gave up a job deferment to volunteer for WWII, but he saw the Vietnam War from the beginning as a foolish war and correctly understood that the national interests of the various communist countries would trump the idea of international communism. Thus I had plenty of family support for not wanting that free trip to Vietnam.
I also recall that in those days it took powerful connections to get into the National Guard which sat out the Vietnam War. I wonder how many young people today realize that President Bush chose to avoid the Vietnam War and probably had his dad pull some strings to get him into the National Guard.