by | Jun 17, 2009 | Stories
My lottery number of 174 was too low to feel safe about being drafted, but high enough to hope for the best, depending on any escalation in the war. My II-S deferment was good until 1972, when I would graduate. As luck would have it, that year the concept of...
by | Jun 16, 2009 | Stories
I was in the Peace Corps in South America at the time I learned of the results of the 1969 lottery. I read about it in Time magazine at 30,000 feet over the Amazon Jungle on a flight from Rio to Caracas. When I learned I was number 310, I had the feeling I was...
by | Jun 15, 2009 | Stories
I remember the draft lottery vividly. I was 21 and a senior at UCLA. I had a history of activism dating to co-founding at least one BSU and starting my writing career at 18, having delivered many culturally-relevant essays and poetry for a variety of...
by | Jun 15, 2009 | Stories
I registered with my local draft board on March 21, 1969. I was a full-time student at UCLA and consequently was classified II-S. My lottery number was 189. Like many students my age I was opposed to the war, but I was far from radical and believed...
by | Jun 11, 2009 | Stories
This is absolutely true. I graduated UCLA in June, 1969, and was about to start graduate school in September when I received my notice to appear for the pre-induction physical. I knew this was coming — since I had lost my student deferment — but...
by | Jun 10, 2009 | Stories
It was the Spring of 1967 and I was concentrating on graduating from high school. The war was probably the third or fourth thing on my mind. First of all, I wanted some time to play and celebrate graduating before heading off to college for more play and...
