Buck, Oregon, 1969. No. 050: Basic Training x 2

WTF! 50?!  Just as well, I was just whoring around much of my freshman year in college.  End up a daddy if something didn’t happen.  Scared?  You bet.  I watched the news.  Saw the body counts.  So, I went in the Air Force on...

Stanley, Kentucky, 1969. No. 065: Short End of the Stick

The only good thing for me regarding the 1969 draft lottery was it forced me to graduate in four years.  In order to keep our II-S deferment we were required to make satisfactory progress to complete a degree, i.e. 25%, 50%, 75%, and completion.  It required...

Sam, Pennsylvania, 1969. No. 351: A Year In The Pool

I married right out of high school, but by 1969 this merited no special draft status or deferment. I recall that this first draft lottery (of my generation) was actually a reinstatement of the lottery system used in WW II. The 1969 lottery was televised live. My wife...

Rick, California, 1969. No. 049: Not A Winner

I was at a UK basketball game that night and when we returned to our fraternity house (Lambda Chi Alpha) there was a list on the bulletin board that showed the results of the first lottery, listed from #1 to #365.One of my fraternity brothers saw his birthday at #1...

Jerome, Massachusetts, 1969. No. 143: Fearful of the Future

I was part of the generation of college men who "sweated" through the first lottery experience. I was with a group of other non-fraternity UK college guys who met at an apartment that evening, with plenty of beer, liquor, and spaghetti, glued to the TV...

Mike, Ohio, 1969. No. 207: Contradictions

I was in my fifth year of college when the first draft lottery occurred in December, 1969. I followed the lottery on local television in Toledo. There was no continuous coverage, just a few numbers mentioned at commercial breaks. So it wasn’t until the 11...