I received my call-up for my first physical in March of 1969, and at that time I indicated that I was married with two dependents. Why I wasn’t reclassified to III-A, I do not know, but on the 25th of November 1969, after President Nixon had signed the lottery draft bill into law, but before it took effect on the 1st of December, 1969, I received my draft notice. I was 21 at the time. My actual induction date was 9 December 1969.
I found it difficult at best to support a family of 3 on the $115 p/m I received as an E1, but they were kind enough to give me a dependents allowance of $90 p/m. Definitely hard times inflicted on my family. The famous quotation I heard from my Sergeants whenever family issues surfaced, was "if the Army wanted you to have a wife, they would have issued you one!" Well, they drafted me with one so spare me that logic. Spent my time stateside but living conditions including housing and food were substandard. I was too proud to accept food stamps or assistance from anyone other than friends who chose to share. In a larger sense, the experience definitely changed my life for the better, and I had no problem enduring personal hardships, but I wish the hardships inflicted on my family might have been avoided.