by | Apr 16, 2010 | Stories
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...
by | Apr 15, 2010 | Stories
While I am not a complete pacifist, I knew I would never serve in Vietnam. While I honor those who believed and sacrificed in that war, I wasn’t one of them. I considered the war wrong, immoral, and knew I would never fight if they dragged me there. I...
by | Apr 15, 2010 | Stories
Your question recalls the turning point of my life. On December 1, 1969, I was a recent University of North Carolina graduate working in the news department of WAYS radio in Charlotte, with a draft eligible bulls eye on my back. Literally and figuratively, I was a...
by | Apr 9, 2010 | Stories
I graduated from Carolina in 1969. Observing the angst among those around me about the Draft was humorous, because I was in Navy ROTC. I was already committed to the military and as a Naval Officer. I spent nearly 13 months in Vietnam and wound up...
by | Apr 1, 2010 | Stories
Since I had a student deferment until June 1969 and graduated in May 1969 and had no physical reasons for deferment or rejection, by the time the lottery occurred on 12/1/1969, it was not relevant to me. I joined the U.S. Army Reserve in Feb 1969, my senior year...
by | Apr 1, 2010 | Stories
I received my "greetings" just 42 days after getting my UNC degree. A colleague of my wife’s suggested I actually enlist, for the full three years, to guarantee a school. I did and never regretted it. I also took part in the...
