Peter, Colorado, 1969. Dubious But Effective

I’d hired a lawyer the previous summer to fix me up with a dubious but effective medical deferment.  He said it could come back to haunt me if I ever went into politics, then as now the least of my ambitions.  To this day I don’t even know what...

Joe, California, 1969. No. 226: Number Two Son

I was attending UCLA and lived in a frat house in 1969.  I had made the decision to not apply for my school deferment after being denied a conscientious objector status.  I was subsequently classified I-A.  I sat around a radio with my frat brothers...

William, California, 1969. No. 58: Only Male Descendant

I was in my first year of law school, in Indiana at Notre Dame, when I received a lottery number for the draft. Since I was the sole male descendant in my family, I filed for and received an exemption from having to go fight in the horrible war.

Lee, California, 1969. No. 87: Overnight Divinity Schools

I watched in horror as my birthday was matched to 87. I decided immediately to begin attending divinity school. The divinity schools then had a great gimmick. The program was 6 years long (no one to my knowledge ever graduated) and if you were unlucky enough to...

Joe, California, 1969. No. 341: Hospital Slave

By the time of the first lottery I had already been "drafted."  I somehow persuaded local draft board 92 that I was a conscientious objector.  I was re-classified, after my successful appeal of the original denial, from I-A to I-O.  That...

Hank, Wisconsin, 1969. No. 320: Pre-empted By Billy Graham

There were only three TV stations in Madison at the time of the lottery. One (CBS) was a VHF station and the other two (ABC and NBC) were UHF stations. The only TV to which I had access was VHF only. At the time the stations took their commitment to broadcast what was...