by | Jun 10, 2012 | Stories
I married right out of high school, but by 1969 this merited no special draft status or deferment. I recall that this first draft lottery (of my generation) was actually a reinstatement of the lottery system used in WW II. The 1969 lottery was televised live. My wife...
by | May 12, 2012 | Stories
I was at a UK basketball game that night and when we returned to our fraternity house (Lambda Chi Alpha) there was a list on the bulletin board that showed the results of the first lottery, listed from #1 to #365.One of my fraternity brothers saw his birthday at #1...
by | May 9, 2012 | Stories
I was part of the generation of college men who "sweated" through the first lottery experience. I was with a group of other non-fraternity UK college guys who met at an apartment that evening, with plenty of beer, liquor, and spaghetti, glued to the TV...
by | May 9, 2012 | Stories
I was in my fifth year of college when the first draft lottery occurred in December, 1969. I followed the lottery on local television in Toledo. There was no continuous coverage, just a few numbers mentioned at commercial breaks. So it wasn’t until the 11...
by | May 1, 2012 | Stories
I was due to be drafted when I flunked out of Colby college in 1969 and was certified I-A and given an induction date. Between that date and the date of my induction, they changed over to the lottery system and I drew a number of 275, which meant I was way down the...
by | Apr 10, 2012 | Stories
I tried half-heartedly to get out of the draft in the 1966 and 1967, my senior year in college. I applied to join the Peace Corps. Turned out there were more applicants in 1966 than in any other year in the Peace Corps’ history. I didn’t get in. I applied...
