I was a graduate student on a student deferment in Iowa City. Damn, if my birthdate (Dec. 30th) didn’t come up third! I immediately got notice to report to Chicago for the physical. Because I was in Iowa, I petitioned for a change of location for the physical and was allowed to take it in Des Moines. My physical was scheduled for the same time in January as the university’s final exams. I remember pulling "all-nighters" for about 3 days prior to and during finals and getting out of my last exam at 10:30 p.m.; going to bed and getting up at 2:00 a.m. to ride the noisy military bus to Des Moines, a couple hours away. Long story short – I flunked the physical. They said I had hernia, a hearing loss (probably from the bus!), a heart murmur, and high blood sugar (no doubt from the coffee and cola-driven all-nighters and finals the four days previous!). I remember sitting in front of the Doctor (who was about my age, was wearing cowboy boots and had a portable radio plugged into his ear) in my shorts; holding my little paper "valuables" bag and him asking me some very general questions. He listened to my chest (he had to go out and borrow a stethoscope!); scribbled something on my paperwork; then told me to, "Follow the yellow line, get dressed and have some milk & ccokies until everyboby else is finished". When I rounded the corner outside his office, I stopped and looked at my paperwork. On it he’d written, "Physically unacceptable – 4F". I about fell over – I may have cheered out loud out of sheer joy, I don’t remember. I do remember it as one of the greatest days of my life!!
