I recall that day in horror. I was a second year student at the now infamous University of Wisconsin, Madison campus. We were well known as one of the leading schools in the country of protesting the war. I was on my way to a basketball game, listening on the radio to the numbers. My number was 117. The draft was up to No. 195. I was one of the chosen.
I had 2 years to plan my escape. I loaded up on math and science courses and upon graduation applied for medical school. My older brother was drafted and luckily got into the National Guard. His only deployment was for the postal strike in NYC. I myself got out initially by student deferment and then got into medical school which lasted until the draft was over. The rest is history.
I knew of several friends who were not so fortunate and never made it back. The war, the reasoning and the deaths were inexcusable and to this day my anger will never go away toward those involved with this mass murder for unjustified reasons.