Draft card Poll

[james curl]

Joined the National Guard in 57. Registered in 54, served six months active in the army and six years in the guard, quit carrying my cards when I turned 60, am 70 now and too old to go.

[Furylee2]

I was 4A (was that the designation?) after high school and got

bumped up to 1A after college. But before the Army got me, I joined

the Navy. I got a low number (59, I think) in the first lottery

(December '69 ?), but by then, I was already headed to the Navy.

Only Lottery I ever won (Yup, December 69)! I was driving around in my 65 Mustang Fastback when I heard it on the radio. September 14 was the first birthday pulled out. In January, 70, I was in Fort Leonard Wood, MO., in the Army. Don’t know what every happened to my draft card. I did find my payment book for the Mustang the other day, my payments were $52.61 for 2 years.

[Ed Griffin]

It would be interesting to see a picture of all in uniform be it boot camp picture or during duty picture.

[Norm's Coupe]

It would be interesting to see a picture of all in uniform be it boot camp picture or during duty picture.

Here you are Ed. This was taken of me at my first duty assignment after basic and school in Seoul, Korea. Sometime between Feb 62 & May 62 because I'm wearing the winter OG wool uniform. The OG wool uniform with neck scarf was considered the winter dress uniform at the time, because it was still considered a combat zone then. That uniform was so warm you didn't need to wear a field jacket with it 90% of the time. It was rare for us to wear the normal summer or winter dress uniforms. In the summer the fatigues with the scarf was considered the dress uniform.

[1just4don]

When I graduated from high school in May 69 I had a job in Illinois working on the railroad. My back home draft board had to send the phsyical papers to Chicago. That delayed (unintentionally)me getting drafted a few months. Guys with my birth month back home were alredy going. Physical was ONLY time I ever went to Chicago and stood around with hundreds of other guys all day,,,I can remeber taking the train into the main part of town,,,then walking a long ways from there.

Anyway Vietnam was hopping about then and really heated up. THEE month, or maybe one more, from the delay, before I was having to go with the old 'draft' they started the lottery. I missed the cut off by like 3 numbers of 365. So I say I was REALLY close twice.

I always have this 'guilty' feeling for NOT going to Vietnam,,,but I know full well I would NOT have come back. My feet are so flat I couldnt run track in high school and barely was able to play football. I only made it by standing on the outside of my feet between plays. I wasnt about to stomp around in the steamy jungle all day with my sore feet,,,so I was all prepared to volunteer to be a helicopter pilot(or gunner)!!! Very,very very few of those guys came home except for in a box!!And I would have been one of those boxed up guys. being--just don-- I then went on to college and met a great guy who was in the 'Rangers' out of his group of like 130 guys he was one of 3 guys that made it home in one piece, not dead or severely wounded!!

PS--GREAT thread!!!-just don--

[randroid]

Gents,

I was 4-F due to ankle surgury but lied to get in the Navy. Sent personal stuff from Boot Camp to my girlfriend, Draft Card included, and she took it to an anti-war rally at UC Berkeley where it was burned in protest (1965). So I'm the guy who said he burned his card although I was on active duty at the time and not within 1000 miles of the event.

Did two tours in 'Nam knowing I could go home anytime I wanted and never got a scratch, but too many of my friends couldn't say the same.

-Randy

[gspineda]

I inlisted in the Air Force on January '69. Too Many of my friends were being drafted and returning in pine boxes. Thought that I would cheat the grim reaper by joining up. Ended up doing two short tours in Nam.

[Frank M.]

Joined the Navy in 2nd WW at 17 yrs old. Served aboard three Cruisers. USS St. Louis CL 49, Uss Wichita,CA 45 and the USS San Francisco which I left at the

Philadelphia Navy Yard. After the war,the St. Louis was loaned to Argentina,I believe and they used her as a training ship. When they gave her back,a Japanese firm bought her to scrap. Talk was raised about making her a floating monument to WWII Pacific battles and the new owners agreed if they were repaid what they gave for her. As they were trying to raise the money, she was being towed to Japan, and during a big storm off the coast of Africa, the tow lines broke and she floundered and sank. What a shame! It was a great ship!