I graduated from high school in 1966. My dad was a WW-II veteran and I always had it in the back of my mind to eventually enter the service. I bounced in and out of two different colleges after getting out of high school and in the late fall of 1969 it became apparent that the University of South Dakota was NOT going to invite me back for another semester. Not having paid any real attention to news of the draft lottery, I drove down to Sioux City, IA and enlisted in the Navy on November 13th. Thirteen days later the draft lottery bill passed congress, and on December 1st the first lottery was held. My number, had I not already enlisted, was 191 (April 29). I was working part time in a radio station at the time and when I went to work the next day, SEVERELY hung over, I found that the jock who had worked during the time of the lottery the previous day had ripped all of the lottery results from the teletype machine and taped them up on our downtown store front studio windows. There was apparently a stream of people coming by for the next day or two just to check their numbers in our window.
I went to Vietnam twice while in the Navy, supporting the aircraft carriers on Yankee Station flying bombing missions into North and South Vietnam.
After coming home from Vietnam I went back to school (at a third college!!) and graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree followed by 32 years working in the defense industry in Texas before retiring. I also stayed in the Navy Reserve and retired 1 January 1996 as a Chief Petty Officer with 26 years and 48 days total service and no regrets whatsoever for having served.
Oh yeah, one more thing, about two months after enlisting I received my letter ordering me to report for a draft physical. I took the letter and scrawled something like "Sorry dude, but you’re too late!!" on it and sent it back to the draft board and never heard from them again.