How did people join the Vietnam war?

Question

was it mandatory?
was there a certain place they went and signed up?
was there a bus that was stationed somewhere where the boys went to join?
were they drafted?

i am writing a story for a school project and i need some background info on the vietnam war.

Answer 1

As many have said, there WAS a draft that came to very unpopular, but much of what they say about it, how many people were drafted, etc., is quite mistaken, based on popular stereotypes they've probably heard many times and never checked out.

Below are a couple of pages that list some facts and statistics about the draft and related matters.

Note that, despite what a lot of people THINK happened, there were, in fact, a large number of VOLUNTEERS in the service at the time (more than half even at the peak). And note that as many as SEVENTY per cent of the casualties were suffered by those who enlisted, NOT draftees. Also, when the numbers are examined the stereotypes about "only the poor and uneducated" going and/or suffering casualties turns out to be very off-the-mark.



One observation -- the draft mechanism used in the Vietnam War had been in place since 1951 (the Korean War), and was set up in such a way as to try to encourage people to enlist rather than be drafted.

Now enlisting required more of the person (three years active + three years inactive/reserves as opposed to a total of two years for draftees), but one thing that made it attractive was that the enlistee was much more likely to be given some choices about how and where they served.

http://members.aol.com/warlibrary/vwc8.htm
http://www.ussboston.org/VietnamMyths.html
http://www.vhfcn.org/stat.html

By the way, there are a LOT of myths about the Vietnam War and its vets. A few of those are briefly debunked on the pages above...though entire books have been written about these things as well.

(Some ridiculous stereotypes got out there through some irresponsible journalism and movies portraying Vietnam War vets as often homeless, violent, mentally unstable, etc. The statistics tell us that's a lot of bunk, probably based on what some who were against the war THOUGHT might happen. Same goes for the idea that these folks committed routine atrocities... evidence is strongly against that.

Related to this, if you were watching the last Presidential campaign, you may have caught that the reason many vets were so against John Kerry was that HE had been testified, when he returned, that such atrocities were routine. . . and never apologized for it.)

Answer 2

Most were drafted.
After it ended, in '75, shortly thereafter the draft put on hold and then they depended more on volunteers.
The Vietnam War was a conflict in which communist forces of the Democratic ... among the Vietnamese and, late in the war, granted Vietnam nominal independence. ...
Quick Links: Background - History to 1949 - Harry S. Truman and Vietnam (1945-1953)

Vietnam War Pictorial
Images of the war.
Category: Vietnam War Photo Essays and Exhibits
www.vietnampix.com - 2k - Cached - More from this site
The American Experience: Vietnam Online
Companion web site to the PBS/WGBH series program on the Vietnam War. Features timeline, statistics, documents, first-hand accounts, and more.
Category: Vietnam War
www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam

The Vietnam War ... of the United States' involvement in Vietnam and the Vietnem War from 1945-1975. Includes a slide show and descriptions of the relevant people, places, and ...
Category: Vietnam War
www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index.html

VietnamWar.net
Portal to information about the Vietnam War.
Category: Vietnam War > Web Directories
www.vietnamwar.net

Vietnam War -- Encyclopaedia Britannica
Vietnam emerged from the war as a potent military power within Southeast Asia, ... United States involvement in the Vietnam War ... The war in Vietnam ...www.britannica.com/eb/article-

Answer 3

There was a draft, for which all males had to sign up. The people who were drafted were selected by lottery; they pulled birthdays out of a container at random, and the sooner your birthdate was pulled out of the container, the more likely it was that you would actually have to go into the military. Many men who had low draft numbers went ahead and signed up for a service so that they could at least go into the one they wanted. When the men born on a particular date were actually called up to service, they had to report to an office where they were given physicals. Those who failed the physical often didn't have to join, and many tried to fake physical problems. Some people "dodged" the draft in a number of ways; one of the commonest ways was that they would go to live in Canada. Amnesty ("forgiveness") was later granted to many of these draft dodgers some years after the war in Vietnam was over.

Answer 4

I did not wait to get drafted I joined the NAVY to do my part to help my fellow Americans in a time of need will do it again but my age restricts me. I went down to the recruiters office to sign up PS I was 17 yrs old when I enlisted

Answer 5

People got to Nam in various ways. Most were drafted, so for them, it was mandatory. They could also "sign up" at any enlistment center (military recruiting office). For some of them that might have been pretty much mandatory too. You see, in those days the military took recruits who'd been sentenced to enlistment by the courts. Lots of judges gave juvenile offenders the choice of jail or enlistment. Most of them enlisted. Then, of course, there were the military career professionals who went wherever they were sent. Many asked to be sent to Nam because they could "make rank" quicker there. With all the men being killed, promotions for the survivors were assured. Hope this helps you kid.

Answer 6

Most of the military was drafted. There were very few that volunteered for the bullsh*t war. The war we have now is pretty much the same mess only we had alot of people that joined voluntarily.

Answer 7

They were drafted. They got a notice in the mail to show up at a certain place where they were bussed to the base for training.

Some fled to Canada or other countries to avoid it. Others went to college or joined the National Guard to avoid it.

Answer 8

All males had to register for the draft on their 18th birthday. Then if they were drafted they received a notice in the mail. If they refused to go in to the service and fight in Vietnam, they went to jail. I am of the age where I saw a lot of people drafted, relatives, friends of my brothers and neighbors. When I was about 10 or so, it seemed to me that everyone was getting drafted. Either you went when you were called, you went to jail, or you ran to Canada. Even if they didn't want to go and were sent anyway, when they returned home they were ridiculed and scorned. I felt the whole thing was very unfair to the young men in our country. They all were in a no win situation.

I remember vividly the M.P.'s coming into my parents house in the middle of the night to find a 19 year old friend of one of my older brothers who had hidden in our attic. They found him, cuffed him and hauled him out of our house. Yes he was AWOL. It was a very tough time for us.

Answer 9

it was a draft, they either went or fled the country

and it's true that very few actually voluntered (bruhaha I mean after WAR broke out if u'd keep reading....), but there was a good amount of boys (yes many were barely men, if) that were military, of course before the war, and they too had to serve and fight.


to answer ur ?'s, yes, it was mandatory. They were told where to report and many went straight to a local military base, and yeah, there were buses/vans/etc. waiting to take them to their designated barracks/bases from the check-in (of which I think my uncles called it), and yes, to the draft.

I hope all of us are helpful, I see most are on the same page, lol.

Answer 10

There was a draft and not too many people were happy, you can check out Muhammad Ali's perspective, he dodged the draft and spent jail time for it. Some went to war because they had no jobs or just wanted to serve. Many vets after coming home threw their medals into the sea because they felt their country disgrased them.