I received number 7 in the first modern time lottery. At the time I was planning to be married in June, 1970 and would complete my BS degree in August of 1970. Plans to find a job vanished and options were considered. I really did not understand how the “falling dominoes” analogy applied to “why we were in Vietnam”. I briefly considered moving to Canada but not seriously. Another option was to find a National Guard or Army Reserve unit and obligate myself for six years there. Literally at the last minute I found an opening in an Army Reserve unit. The unit had to inform the draft board that I was in the process of becoming a reservist. I actually had to report for my induction physical before a hold was placed upon my being drafted.

I joined the Army Reserves and later served in the Illinois National Guard for a combined eight years before submitting my paperwork to leave the Service. Life went on and I luckily left sufficiently before we became engaged in the Iraqui war so I was not called up.