by | Sep 23, 2017 | Stories
I went to college in the fall of 1970, and got a student deferment from the draft. Stupidly, I dropped some courses, not realizing that at the end of the school year I wouldn’t have enough credits to sustain my deferment. I was part of the lottery in...
by | Aug 2, 2017 | Stories
By my mid-teens I knew what a conscientious objector was, and I knew I was one. I’d always attended Quaker schools, and fully accepted the belief that God is found in every person. Participating in killing other people was unacceptable.I started college in...
by | Jul 7, 2017 | Stories
I was drafted early 1970. Looking back, I wish I had refused induction, like Muhammad Ali, and spent my 2 years in federal prison. I think only a draftee can understand why.
by | Jun 2, 2017 | Stories
I was with a group of my fraternity brothers the night they announced the numbers. One of them actually got #1 but as it turned out my #114 wasn’t any better. Got my induction notice in Sept. 1970 and flew from Richmond, VA to Ft. Campbell, KY for basic...
by | Apr 17, 2017 | Stories
Deferments were relegated to history by the time I became eligible for call-up, as was only fair. As it turned out, no draft board went above 95 for 1972, which turned out to be the last full year of the draft. Although I took no evasive action to avoid...
by | Apr 5, 2017 | Stories
I graduated from Robert E. Lee high school in Jacksonville in ’67. Guys I knew where already in Vietnam by their own enlistments, including my brother. I was enrolled in junior college which gave me a deferral for the remainder of ’67 and the...