by | Nov 9, 2008 | Stories
In the fall semester of 1969, I started graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I had just graduated, having had the good fortune of a student deferment; but I probably would have been drafted by the end of the summer, were it not for...
by | Oct 28, 2008 | Stories
When I headed off to the University of Wisconsin as a freshman in September, 1967, I didn’t know much about Vietnam. My fellow freshmen and I assumed then that by the time we graduated, Vietnam would be behind us. But the war dragged on, and sometime during...
by | Oct 26, 2008 | Stories
The first 1969 lottery was a Monday night, broadcast nationally, in December of my sophomore year at the University of Florida. Before I left for class, a number of my fraternity brothers and myself each contributed $10 into a pool, to be...
by | Oct 24, 2008 | Stories
The lottery made me appreciate the random nature of things. I volunteered for the infantry and the Rangers and served overseas for 4+ wonderful fun-filled years. I thought I owed the country at least that much. Some gave a whole lot more. There isn’t a day that...
by | Oct 20, 2008 | Stories
I had just entered Grad School at UF the first year of the lottery. I had a student deferment throughout my undergrad studies but learned that enrollment in Grad School didn’t provide a deferment. I really didn’t know what I was going to...
by | Oct 18, 2008 | Stories
I was in Atlanta, healing from a car accident when the lottery was done. Once back in college, I learned that there were many resources there to help fail the physical, and many people willing to help. My resolve to flunk the physical was fueled by my...
