Stephen, NC, 1969. No. 39: Scared The Pudding Out of Me

About a dozen of us guys in Sullivan dorm (NCSU) sat up to watch the lottery.  I was never lucky and this night my number came up much too soon.  39.  Disappointment and a big dose of apprehension.  I wasn’t particularly focused and at the...

Lynn, NC, 1969. No. 107: Captain For A Week

I was married, and a senior in college. My lottery draft number was 107. Bobby D., who went to NC State with me, graduated from high school with me and was born in the same hospital in Statesville, NC, just enough hours later to be born the day after me, drew No....

Robert, NC, 1969. No. 38: One Lost Semester

I was No. 38. I managed to get into an Army National Guard mechanized infantry unit. I spent six years with that group, on "immediate reserve status" for three of those years. I had to drop out of NCSU seven weeks into my final semester for basic and AIT,...

Wayne, Florida, 1969. No. 190: Take No Chances

Oh man! My number is 190, and the cut-off lottery number will be 180-200. Should I enlist in the navy or AF and apply to officer candidate school? Or risk being a army pvt. destined for the jungles of Vietnam? So, I go down to the AF recruiting office where I’m...

Matt, NC, 1969. No. 12: The Competition

We were a tight group that lived as dorm rats at Bragaw Hall on the N.C. State University campus. We ate together, played together, and dated together. And we were very competitive. We competed at every level whether we went bowling or were shooting hoops or were...

Ed, Massachusetts, 1969. No. 148: The Double Bolo

I was in my senior year of college when they held the draft lottery. For many of us, the lottery and the elimination of some draft deferments turned life into a strange game of chance. I eventually got drafted, and the skills I learned in the Army helped me get...