Don, PA, 1969. No. 069: Not Like a John Wayne Movie

I’ll never forget that day, listening to the numbers being pulled that would determine my future. I was a senior at Penn State and a bunch of us were hovered over the radio holding our breath as each number was pulled. It seemed so surreal. After hearing my...

Jeffrey, Ohio, 1969. No. 102: Carried My Card Until 1985

Attended University of Toledo. Graduated with an Associate Degree in 1970. Moved to Michigan 1971 with the company I worked. In August of 1971 my father had a letter from SS and I told him to open it. I had to report to GreyHound Bus Station in Toledo at 6 am on...

Mark, Michigan, 1969. No. 322: Deferment Extended

In the spring of 1969, I had received four years of student deferments, and expected to be immediately drafted. But I needed to stay in school for the upcoming fall semester to graduate. At this time, I heard a rumor that the Selective Service would not count those...

Steve, California, 1970. No. 085: Footloose and Lucky

After high school in 1969, I was footloose and lucky, not getting drafted. In 1970 I got serious, started college and got deferments. Then came the lottery, a lousy number, and the removal of the college deferment. I went for the physical, passing of course. It...

Dave, Illinois, 1970. No. 341: Big Toe Was Safe

My father served in the US Coast Guard during World War II. My grandfather was an Army soldier who was stationed in France during much of World War I. A few months before the first draft lottery, held midway through my senior year in college, Gramps told me, “I’d cut...

Gary, Illinois, 1969. No. 094: Teaching Deferment-Thanks, Mom

I had graduated college in May, 1969 and worked construction all summer in Chicago. I applied for both Navy and Air Force OCS to fly jets that summer, but did not get accepted. The local army recruiter said I could become a warrant officer flying choppers, but I knew...