I remember that day very well. I was living at Callaway Garden Apartments on the Atlanta highway. Myself and about 10 or 15 friends gathered at an apartment to wait for the lottery. Needless to say we had lots of beer and snacks and by the time the drawing was to start we were feeling pretty good, laughing and talking. But when the telecast started you could literally hear a pin drop in the room. When they drew the first birthday it belonged to one of my friends who was a senior. He just fell backwards on the floor and we first thought he had fainted but he was faking. The next day he signed up for the National Guard.
I don’t remember anyone else having their birthday drawn before 100–mine was 141. Since I was only a junior I had a year of deferment remaining. I graduated the next year and was looking for a job. One company told me that they would hire me if I was sure I would not be drafted. The previous year the birthdays drafted went well beyond my number of 141, so I asked my local draft office if I could volunteer to take the army physical in order to qualify either for the job or the army. I have flat feet and did not pass the physical.