Jay, Florida, 1969. No. 269: Transistor To My Ear

My future wife and I were sitting in the stands at a University of Georgia basketball game at Stegman Coliseum when they began calling out the draft numbers on the radio.  I had a transitor pressed to my ear as did many, many others. By the end of the game,...

Bill, Georgia, 1969. No. 176: Real Serious, Real Fast

I was a a senior at UGA scheduled to graduate from Business School in the fall of 1969.  My brother graduated from Fla. State with an accounting degree the year before, was immediately drafted and within 12 months was in country and avoiding firefights. He...

Dan, Florida, 1970. No. 160: Dodging Into the Marines

We all knew the date of the lottery. That night we gathered around the TV in the living room of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house at the University of Georgia.  Probably the best attended function ever. As the numbers were called out you would look around the...

Kemp, Georgia, 1969. No. 090: Two Years From A Life

The draft impacted the men of my generation in many, many ways, whether they were called or not. Some good, some bad, some enriching, some deadly. The fraud of avoiding being called would have scarred me no less than a bullet, so I did my duty and came out...

Joseph, Georgia, 1969. No. 358: Often Wondered

In 1969 I was in the graduate program in Psychology at the University of Georgia.  I had already been called by the selective service to have a physical at Fort Jackson in Columbia SC and had been classified I-A following that physical.  The physical was...

Stephen, Georgia, 1969. No. 273: Limbo

I finished at the University of Georgia in December 1969.  I remember the night of the draft lottery and the wild time after.  Some were celebrating and some were drowning their sorrow.  I remember that many guys in ROTC had high numbers and were...