John, Massachusetts, 1969. War Lessons

I arrived at Carolina in January ’68 after serving in Vietnam from April ’66 to May of ’67 as a Marine foot soldier. The transition from Vietnam and the Marines to Chapel Hill was surreal. People were friendly and I was glad to be a student. When...

Curtis, Georgia, 1970. No. 153: 48 Pounds In Ten Weeks

I did not feel that my lottery number was high enough. I had a wife and baby, but that did not defer me since I had had a student deferment. All the army reserves were full and had waiting lists. One of my fellow management trainees told me about a Marine Corps...

Larry, NY, 1971. No. 74: Soon To Be Dead v. Long Life

So in my first year at Queens college I "win" the lottery with No. 74. My friends and I celebrate our particular luck at our annual beach football game with our sweatshirts showing our numbers, clearly the soon to be dead (low numbers) against the long...

Dan, N.C., 1969. No. 320: Prayer For My Safety

After graduating from UNC-CH in August of 1969, like many of my peers Vietnam was in my future. My first (non-military) job after college was training mine/trip-wire dogs for duty in Nam. I began to realize what these dogs were being trained to do was important, and...

Donald, Massachusetts, 1969. No. 38: A Sympathetic Doctor

With such a low number I was called in for my army physical in February and passed (like everybody else). Since I had no desire to join the Army and go to Vietnam I started exploring alternatives. I considered joining the Navy. I even passed their physical, but it was...

Raymond, SC, 1969. No. 296: Almost Worth It

When the lottery was conducted December 1, 1969, I was preparing to report to Ft. Jackson after January 1 for my 3-year enlistment.  I don’t recall watching the actual process, and may have just read it in the paper the next day since it...