Trade
Well-known Member
I graduated from High School in 1965 and tried to stay out of it by enrolling in Junior college and getting a student deferment. By the time I finished my Associates degree in the summer of 67 the war wasn't over, it was intensifying. One of my High School buddies got out of the draft by pigging out and gaining over 50 lbs to put himself over the weight limit. Rather than go that route I transferred up to the University of Florida and started on my Bachelor's degree.
That didn’t work either. I graduated from there at the end of the 1969 summer term (Aug. 30, 1969) and was re-classified 1-A the following month. So I would be subject to being drafted in November of 1969. But then on Sep. 19th 1969 Nixon cancelled draft calls for November and December. Those were scheduled to be 32,000 in November and another 18,000 in December. 50,000 in all. And beginning in January of 1970 the draft calls would be done according to a lottery. So I breathed a little sigh of relief. I was safe until January of 1970. And then I had a chance of avoiding the draft if I got a high lottery number.
But not so fast. Nixon then decided that the 25,000 that were to be drafted in October would instead be spread over the 3 months of October, November, and December. So on November 3rd 1969 I got my “Order to report for induction” from my local draft board. The date that I was supposed to be inducted was November 24, 1969. I had checked into other options like the Reserves, the National Guard, and the Coast Guard but they all had long waiting lists of other would be draft dodgers ahead of me.
I had already passed my pre-induction physical with flying colors and was classified prime 1-A cannon fodder. I figured my best chances of fulfilling my “Military Obligation” without getting killed lay with either the Air Force or the Navy and of the two I decided to go with the Air Force.
I had already been talking to the local Air Force recruiter and taken their tests and been told that I was qualified for any job the Air Force had. Any enlisted job that is. They already had all the officers they could use so my college degree in Geography wasn’t any help. Pilot was open but my 20/400 vision without my glasses ruled that out. And besides that the chances of being shot down and stuck in a North Vietnamese prison would not have appealed to me even if I had had 20/20 vision.
So when that letter from my draft board arrived I beat it on down to the local Air Force recruiter who I had already been talking to and said “get me out of this!” And he said “Sure kid. Just sign up for 4 years with us and I’ll tell your local draft board that they can’t have you because you belong to us” So that’s what I did. I suppose that meant that my draft board had to move down to the next poor schmuck on their list but better him than me.
Still trying to delay the inevitable as much as possible I signed up for what they called the 120 day delayed enlistment plan. And I had them make it effective starting November 23rd, 1969. One day before I was to be inducted. That way I figured I wouldn’t go on active duty until somewhere late in March of 1970.
But around the middle of February the recruited sent me a letter say to come see him ASAP because I was going in on the 20th of February. What I found out was that the 120 day delayed enlistment meant “up to 120 days or whenever it was convenient to the Air Force which in my case was 88 days.
So on Feb. 20th, 1970, I was on my way to basic training at Lackland AFB. in Texas. After that it was Tech school at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls Texas, then a 30 day leave and on the McCord AFB Washington to catch a plane to Vietnam. So on August 20th, 1970 with 6 months in the Air
Force and one stripe on my sleeve I found myself assigned as a Medical Service Specialist to the 483rd USAF Hospital at Cam Rahn Bay Airbase.
What's really ironic is that on Dec.1, 1969, less than a month after I had been drafted the first draft lottery was drawn and my number was 298. If Nixon hadn't decided to spread October's draft call over the 3 months of October, November, and December, or If I had been somehow able to delay my re-classification to I-A for just two more months I would have never been called up. Oh well. Now that's it's over, I'm glad to be able to say I am a Vietnam Veteran. What is really disgusting to me is that it is estimated that 4 out of 5 people who claim to be Vietnam Veterans today never set foot in Vietnam. Many of them never even served in the Military.
That didn’t work either. I graduated from there at the end of the 1969 summer term (Aug. 30, 1969) and was re-classified 1-A the following month. So I would be subject to being drafted in November of 1969. But then on Sep. 19th 1969 Nixon cancelled draft calls for November and December. Those were scheduled to be 32,000 in November and another 18,000 in December. 50,000 in all. And beginning in January of 1970 the draft calls would be done according to a lottery. So I breathed a little sigh of relief. I was safe until January of 1970. And then I had a chance of avoiding the draft if I got a high lottery number.
But not so fast. Nixon then decided that the 25,000 that were to be drafted in October would instead be spread over the 3 months of October, November, and December. So on November 3rd 1969 I got my “Order to report for induction” from my local draft board. The date that I was supposed to be inducted was November 24, 1969. I had checked into other options like the Reserves, the National Guard, and the Coast Guard but they all had long waiting lists of other would be draft dodgers ahead of me.
I had already passed my pre-induction physical with flying colors and was classified prime 1-A cannon fodder. I figured my best chances of fulfilling my “Military Obligation” without getting killed lay with either the Air Force or the Navy and of the two I decided to go with the Air Force.
I had already been talking to the local Air Force recruiter and taken their tests and been told that I was qualified for any job the Air Force had. Any enlisted job that is. They already had all the officers they could use so my college degree in Geography wasn’t any help. Pilot was open but my 20/400 vision without my glasses ruled that out. And besides that the chances of being shot down and stuck in a North Vietnamese prison would not have appealed to me even if I had had 20/20 vision.
So when that letter from my draft board arrived I beat it on down to the local Air Force recruiter who I had already been talking to and said “get me out of this!” And he said “Sure kid. Just sign up for 4 years with us and I’ll tell your local draft board that they can’t have you because you belong to us” So that’s what I did. I suppose that meant that my draft board had to move down to the next poor schmuck on their list but better him than me.
Still trying to delay the inevitable as much as possible I signed up for what they called the 120 day delayed enlistment plan. And I had them make it effective starting November 23rd, 1969. One day before I was to be inducted. That way I figured I wouldn’t go on active duty until somewhere late in March of 1970.
But around the middle of February the recruited sent me a letter say to come see him ASAP because I was going in on the 20th of February. What I found out was that the 120 day delayed enlistment meant “up to 120 days or whenever it was convenient to the Air Force which in my case was 88 days.
So on Feb. 20th, 1970, I was on my way to basic training at Lackland AFB. in Texas. After that it was Tech school at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls Texas, then a 30 day leave and on the McCord AFB Washington to catch a plane to Vietnam. So on August 20th, 1970 with 6 months in the Air
Force and one stripe on my sleeve I found myself assigned as a Medical Service Specialist to the 483rd USAF Hospital at Cam Rahn Bay Airbase.
What's really ironic is that on Dec.1, 1969, less than a month after I had been drafted the first draft lottery was drawn and my number was 298. If Nixon hadn't decided to spread October's draft call over the 3 months of October, November, and December, or If I had been somehow able to delay my re-classification to I-A for just two more months I would have never been called up. Oh well. Now that's it's over, I'm glad to be able to say I am a Vietnam Veteran. What is really disgusting to me is that it is estimated that 4 out of 5 people who claim to be Vietnam Veterans today never set foot in Vietnam. Many of them never even served in the Military.
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) so I used the GI bill to complete BA and MA.
