by | Apr 19, 2009 | Stories
I was part of the 1970 draft lottery, for individuals born in 1951. My lottery number was 12. At the time I was a student at a local junior college. My draft status changed from II-S to I-A. I even went down to the local draft board...
by | Apr 19, 2009 | Stories
I had a low number so I looked into volunteering and ROTC, but I would have been a helicopter pilot and I didn’t even know how to drive a car. I had grown up overseas, so I decided to go back abroad and get my master’s degree. There was an military...
by | Apr 18, 2009 | Stories
When I graduated from UCLA in June 1969, I knew I was likely to be drafted quickly by my draft board in Oregon City, OR. In advance of graduation, I had applied to various Reserve and National Guard units in the LA area. The day after graduation I was...
by | Apr 14, 2009 | Stories
I remember being at my fraternity house on the UCLA campus as we brothers gathered for the numbers to be given out. Some of my closest friends got very low numbers ranging from 18 to 108. I turned out to be one of the last brothers called at #325, which corresponded...
by | Apr 12, 2009 | Stories
I recall the lottery as if it were yesterday. I was with a number of my football teammates at UCLA. At that time, it had already been determined that anybody in the first 120 would be drafted. When number 68 came up for my birthday, my heart sank, because I already...
by | Apr 10, 2009 | Stories
I was at UCLA, on a Navy ROTC scholarship. Since I was already headed to the military, my lottery number held no significance to me. When it came up 50, I remember thinking, well, it’s a good thing I’ll get to go into the military on my terms and as...