I enlisted in the Navy the summer of 1968 following high school graduation. I didn’t go to boot camp until January 1969 and was stationed at Naval Air Station, Key West, Fla when the draft lottery was held.

I felt relieved I was in the Navy and not a grunt in Vietnam as would have surely been the case with my low lottery number. I still wonder to this day if I were a Vietnam Vet, instead of a  Vietnam Era Vet, how my life would have changed both physically and emotionally.