Chapter 1: Drafted

I was very excited when I turned 18 in 1966, because now I could go into bars and drink legally, not that I hadn’t been doing it for awhile anyway. My parents also gave me permission to smoke at 18, so now I didn’t have to sneak around and hide either one anymore. On my 18th birthday, I went down to the draft board in Smithtown, registered for the draft and got my draft card. That same day I made it a point to go into the couple of bars in town where I been drinking for the last 6 months. The bartenders all thought I was already 18 and never asked me for proof. I sat down at the bar and ordered my usual beer, a “shorty” for 25 cents. The bartenders all gave me the beer like usual, but I made sure before I drank it, I asked them why they weren’t checking my proof and then tossed my draft card on the bar and waited for their response. They all made a couple of fake angry comments, but didn’t really get mad.

For the next 1½ years, everything was great, but draft day was getting very close so a decision had to made what I was going to do. I, like many other young people during that time in our history, tried to think of a way of how to get out of serving in Vietnam. We all knew that if we were drafted, there was a 99% chance we would be sent to Vietnam as an infantryman. That would mean we had a very good chance of being wounded or worse, being killed. No one wanted that.

We had very few options for not going. For example, there was getting a deferment by going to college or one having medical problems. I couldn’t afford college and I was physically fit, so those were out of the question. Then as a last resort, one could move to Canada. Canada let in anyone that chose that route and refused extradition back to the United States. I never even considered that option. To me, that seemed like the coward’s way out and I wasn’t a coward. Besides, my father had served in World War II in the Navy and my older brother was serving in the reserves in the Navy and by God, so would I if called upon to serve.

The other route some took was to enlist in one of the other branches of the military so the risk for going to Vietnam would be decreased. I tried that in early January of 1968. I called the recruiters for all the branches of the service, but the only ones that were accepting anyone was the Army and the Marines. I discounted the Marines because, come on, they had a reputation for being extremely tough on recruits, so no way. That left the Army.

I went down the see the Army recruiter and tentatively signed up to enlist for four years and be trained to repair Teletype machines. (Look it up if you don’t know what a Teletype machine is.) I even took my pre-enlistment physical shortly thereafter. I passed the physical, but reconsidered enlisting because I really didn’t want to commit to four years active duty. So I called the recruiter and told him I would take my chances with the draft.

Then during the first week of March in 1968, I heard the door bell ring and answered the door. I saw the postman standing there holding an envelope in one hand. The letter came special delivery, so I signed for it. It was the letter every young man of draft age dreaded receiving, the letter from the Selective Service.


I opened the envelope and read the heading. It read "ORDER TO REPORT FOR ARMED FORCES PHYSICAL EXAMINATION”.


I read further..................


"MARCH 8TH! That's just a few days away!" I broke the news to my parents and brothers. MY brothers all cracked a few jokes, but I knew they were just teasing me like they always did. We all knew that I'd eventually get this letter, but deep down inside we all hoped that I never would.

I drove down to the draft board that morning and stood in line to check in just like a lot of other young men from the area, many I knew from school. Soon we all boarded the bus for the ride into Brooklyn. The physicals were given at Fort Hamilton. On the way in, we talked and I mentioned that I was going to enlist in January and had I had already been through this. Of course everyone wanted to know what it was like and asked me lots of questions. I told them everything I'd been through as if I was an “Old Pro” at it. “Old Pro” my ass, I was just as scared as everyone else because we all knew just how close we were getting to being draft and sent to Vietnam.

We arrived at Fort Hamilton about an hour or so later where we were interviewed and given a brief physical examination. They asked us many questions all to try and find out if we were medically fit, gay or mentally challenged. Not surprisingly, some were turned down for all of those reasons, but just my luck, I was 'as fit as a fiddle' as they say. After we were done, we all got back on the bus for the ride home to wait for the inevitable, the “STATEMENT OF ACCEPTABILITY”. This was the letter that officially let you know if you were acceptable for induction. I already knew the answer because in January I was accepted and nothing had changed since then.

The last week of March I got another letter from the Selective Service. I knew immediately what it was, my Statement of Acceptability. Now the only question let, was would it say I was accepted or rejected.


I opened the envelope............................


I read the form.............................


Yep, I was “FOUND FULLY ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUCTION INTO THE ARMED FORCES”. Now all there was left was to do was wait for my draft notice.


I don’t remember exactly what day my draft notice came, but probably just a couple weeks later. Here's a copy of one I found on the internet. I couldn't find mine.


It said I was to report to the draft board in Smithtown on the morning of May 6, 1968 for induction into the military at the ripe old age of 19 years, 6 months and 2 days. US Government policy at the time was to draft all men into the military at 19 ½ years of age if they hadn’t already joined, or had a deferment of some kind.

Although draftees were a small minority (16%) in the U.S. armed forces, they comprised the bulk of infantry riflemen in Vietnam (88% in 1969). They accounted for more than half the army's battle deaths. Because of student and other deferments, the draft and the casualties fell disproportionately upon working-class youths, black and white.