I was in Bragaw dorm at NCSU with my other suite mates listening to the lottery draw. My birthday was May 11th which forever branded me with the scarlet number 38 on my chest. The rest of the evening was spent finishing off a half gallon of Smirnov vodka with several other lucky low numbers. I was not doing well in my studies and the coming draft was a reality for me.
I spent the Christmas holidays at home with my parents and was reading the NY Times on Sunday morning. There was a small news story citing a conversation with Melvin Laird the Secretary Of Defense. He stated that the manpower needs were up to snuff and that there would be no draft call-up in January – March of 1970. Having thoroughly researched the draft law, I knew that if you were eligible for part of a year (even one day) your year of eligibility was finished after the first 90 days of the following year. Since I knew that there would be no call, I sent a registered letter to my local draft board on the 26th of December requesting an immediate reclassification to I-A status as of the date of the letter. I sweated bullets until April first of 1970, but I made it. Another bottle of Smirnov was enjoyed that evening. I still have my I-A and IV-H draft cards.