I got my draft notice in November of 1969, and was inducted on December 1, 1969. Of course, December 1 is the day that the lottery numbers were drawn. My number would have been 246. Tough luck for me, or maybe a day late and a dollar short.
On the other hand, I was supposed to have been inducted in September of 1968. However, a nagging ear infection bought me more time. I was sent home from the induction center, but was told that I would be hearing from them again. True to their word, I was called for another physical. There were no physical problems this time, so I was inducted.
So, I guess I had both good and bad luck. Had I been drafted in August of 1968, I think there would have been a good chance of me going to Nam because the troop withdrawals had not yet began. Fortunately for me, by the time I did get drafted in December of 69, troop withdrawals had begun and the number of men being sent there had decreased.I spent two years stateside, and was discharged in 1971.