I grew up in North Carolina and graduated from high school in 1966. The local draft board assured me that I had four years of deferment for school, and that I could use the four years to complete undergrad school in three years and then get in one year of law school before being drafted.
I graduated from UNC in the spring of 1969 and had a scholarship to UVa law school. To my horror, I received a draft notice. I spoke to the draft board and it simply reneged on the admitted promise of four years; the chair said the board did not have to keep its promise. I was inducted and sent to boot camp. While in boot camp, the drill sergeant informed us that the lottery numbers had just come out, and he told me that if my induction had been delayed a few months, I would never have been drafted because my number was so high.
I served 15 months in Vietnam. After getting the 150 day early-out, I went to law school and graduated at Cornell, where I met my wife. I am a partially disabled vet and due to physical injury have not slept one night through since 1971.