The Vietnam War Draft...?

Question

I have to write a paper about the Vietnam war Draft.
please, if you have any information about the draft, i would really appreciate it. and by any chance, if you were a veteran of the vietnam war, maybe you could share some interesting stories with me. that would be nice. but yes, i would appreciate it very much if you would give e some information about the draft like:

-when did it start
-how many americans were drafted
-what were the rules of the draft
-etc.

PLEASE help me.
i greatly appreciate it.
thanx, katelyn.

Answer 1

The draft (conscription) started in April of 1917 as we entered World War One. It was suspended until 1939, when President Roosevelt re-introduced it. My half-brother was drafted at that time. After World War Two the Universal Military Training and Service Act was passed in 1947 which re-introduced the draft again. One day prior to the beginning of the Korean War it was extended by the Congress and remained in force until 1973.
During Vietnam, over 90% of those drafted were placed in the U.S. Army. The other service which used draftees very briefly was the Marine Corps. The Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard did not use draftees during the Vietnam Era.
In the four major wars of the 20th Century millions of American males were drafted into the armed forces. The total manpower of all forces during World War Two, volunteer and draftee exceeded 12 million.
Despite the common myth, most of those who died in combat in Vietnam were not draftees. They were mostly volunteers. Another myth about draftees being poor and uneducated is also false. Most had at least a high school diploma and most did not come from poor inner-city neighborhoods. Of the 58,000 Americans killed in combat, 30% came from the lower third in income. But 26% came from families in the upper third in income.
A lot of men subject to the draft used college deferments to avoid serving. But, just as many finished their college and became officers, including pilots and Naval aviators.
The source below is a book which puts the lie to a lot of myths about Vietnam and the draft.
I'm a retired Naval officer who served as an enlisted man in 'Nam.

Answer 2

The Vietnam Draft

Answer 3

Well, maybe I'm wrong, but I think the draft continued to exist from WWII on until it was done away with in the 70s or 80s.

During the Vietnam era young men registered and there was a drawing, like a lottery, and they were assigned a lottery number from 1 to 365 depending upon their birthday, based on the number drawn for the day they were born. So, you were lucky if you were 365 'cause they never got that far, I don't think.

There were many ways out of the draft for some, one could get a student deferment if one was in college, there were deferments based upon occupation, etc. like being a cop. There were always the physical deferments. I loved the ones memorialized by Country Joe and the Fish best. "I'm just 18, I've got a ruptured spleen, and I always carry a purse."

I had one friend who enlisted in the Coast Guard to avoid Vietnam and others who joined the National Guard, like our current president. Of all my acquaintances from high school and college only two boys I knew went to Vietnam. One died and one won the Silver Star.

Answer 4

I was drafted into the Army in 1966. I was 19. I served from October 1967-September 1968 with the 4th Infantry Division. Since I served in combat I was not required to serve any active duty in the reserve. Even though my active service was 2 years. I was required to stay in the reserves for an additional 4 years. My cousin was drafted into the Marine Corp, and a friend of mine was actually drafted into the Navy. Hope this helped.

Answer 5

you can google " Selective Service System" and get a ton of info..but let me add tot he above answers.

the lottery by birthday didn't come into effect till 1971.

Prior to that , a local draft board....and there was one in every city and town, made up of appointees and frequently WW2 veterans, would classify each man as he turned 18.

You were classified 1 to 4, with sub letters......so 1A was a 18 year old, not married, no children, not in school...and those 1A's were the first to get a letter that said " Greetings: You are hereby ordered to report for induction in the US Armed Services.............." 2S, for example were single men who were in college who in theory would be taken after college, or if they left school, all the way down to 4F which was men who were physically unfit to be in the Army.

IN theory there were classes so that men in vital industries weren't drafted, or given a chance to finish college first; or if they had a family to support they were deferred. Since classification was done by a few men, the system was open to manipulation or abuse......so the lottery was put in place to make it a more random and "fairer"

Answer 6

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/jktTt

ok sooo later when they needed more ppl to fight in the war, a new draft is instated. pretty much it goes by ur birthday. theres 365 days in a year. u r assigned a number. soo if ur born on jan 1st, ur number 1 and if ur jan 2nd, ur number 2... and soo forth... then the draft system picks out the 365 numbers randomly. if jan 2nd is picked out first, ur going to the army... but if ur birthdate number is like after about 100, ur probably staying in school. sooo now u have the whole military made up of around 50% enlisted n 50% draftees. the ppl that got drafted went to fight in the war or served as support troops. and of course its a bad thing cuz u dont get to finish school n u have to risk n waste ur life fighting a pointless war, and when you go back to america, noone cares about you.

Answer 7

go to the 15th Field Artillery Regiment ,. the draft started in 1969 with the first draft lottery, the web site has a lot of , info , on all you need ,.

Answer 8

--->> Tips---> https://trimurl.im/g85/the-vietnam-war-draft