I was part of the 1970 draft lottery, for individuals born in 1951. My lottery number was 12. At the time I was a student at a local junior college. My draft status changed from II-S to I-A. I even went down to the local draft board to see if I could change back to 2-S. But no luck. So in March of ’71 I went to get my physical on Wilshire, and passed.
In the fall of ’71, I got the letter that said "Greetings". By November 10, 1971, I was in the U.S. Army for 2 years. In the back of my mind, I wondered if I was going to Vietnam. I had my basic training at Fort Ord, California. Then Advance Infantry Training at Fort Belvoir, Virginia for my MOS as a 52B39 Power Generator Operator. After finishing, I was off to my permit station which happened to be Kaiserslautern ("K-town") in Germany. In June of ’73 I requested an early out to go back to school, which was approved. So I got an early release of 78 days on my two year induction.
Looking back at the event, it was a good experience. I got to meet men and women from many parts of this great country. I had a correspondence with a wonderful classmate from high school that heard I was going into the Army. Later, I married her after coming out of the Army. I still have my draft card with my I-A designation. Life is good. My God bless all who serve and to the families who supported them in the Vietnam era.