I tried half-heartedly to get out of the draft in the 1966 and 1967, my senior year in college. I applied to join the Peace Corps. Turned out there were more applicants in 1966 than in any other year in the Peace Corps’ history. I didn’t get in. I applied to Air Force OCS. Again, lots of people were applying; few were chosen. I didn’t get in.
So I submitted to the draft. I was drafted on July 11, 1967, and spent two years in the Army, including a year in Vietnam. I got out of the Army on July 10, 1969, and started graduate school in September.
What’s my lottery story? Well, when the lottery began in December 1969, I checked my birthday. It turned out to be number 350. In other words, if I had evaded the draft for two more years, I never would have been taken. When I heard the news, I had one reaction: I burst out laughing.