On the night of the televised lottery, my girlfriend and I had gone to the library to study together.  On my return to the fraternity house, I learned that I missed the first 12 draft picks.  The brothers had put together a draft pool for the unlucky guy with the lowest number.  At end of the picks, I stated that my birthday had not been called and the guys told me I was number 6!  My birthday is 6 September.  I promptly announced that the money would be donated for beer for the evening and all thoughts of studying were drowned. 

I barely kept my II-S student deferrment till my graduation in 1971.  With such a low number, any employment interviews I attended were quite short.  I was therefore commited to joining a military service and chose the Air Force.  I served just over 5 years as a pilot and went on to fly for a major airline for 29 years.  I attribute my good luck with my career to the time spent in the USAF and firmly believe that all young people should serve our country for 2 years in some capacity while learning a skill/trade with personal discipline.