I was an ROTC cadet. I was not a good Army student, but was on track for getting my commission as a 2nd lieutenant. I fully expected to join the 98% who got their commission in the infantry. At that time, 2nd Lts. were forward observers, the guys who sneaked into enemy territory and called in the artillery to soften the resistance for the foot soldiers. Many FOs whose math skills were not very good called in the fire on themselves. There was no GPS, this was done via geometry. My math skills were not so good, so I was pretty sure I would be an early casualty.

Then came the lottery. It included all the 18-25 year olds the first year. The next year it would take all the 18 year olds before it came back to the unused batch from the last year. Well, I drew No. 300, which with Nixon winding down the war made me prettty confident I would not be called. Now I needed a way to get out of ROTC. I needed to do an internship for my law license so I dropped out of law school for a semester, rendering me ineligible for ROTC. I was honorably discharged and never drafted.

I have always felt bad that I did not stand up for my country when it needed me. My son, however, without any prompting from me did enlist and ultimately was commissioned in the Air Force and is planning to make it a career. He is serving for me. What a guy.