when did they start drafting for Vietnam

[acudanut]

I am in another club, and these clowns claim 1962. For being called up. I call BS.
What year did you come up with (with proof). ??? I say 1968. ??

[salt6]

Did the draft end at the end of WWII? Elvis was drafted in the 50s. I believe the draft ended in the 70s after the VN.

There was no draft for VN, per say, so it looks like 1940 to 1973 for the last draft. A caveat, they may have increased the numbers of conscripts due the needs in VN.

https://www.usa.gov/selective-service

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscript ... ted_States

[Fil Bonica]

Graduated from college in 1962.
Was registered with selective service.
If my number came up I was on the way.
Ended going in to USAF Reserves instead.
Draft ended in the 70s.


Fil Bonica

[Mark]

My draft # was 19, this was in 1971

[rickf]

My number was 56 and I was drafted right off the high school steps in 71. If I remember correctly the number did not matter since it was a lottery. A friend of mine was number 2 and he was never drafted. He volunteered in 74 and was refused due to RIF, Reduction In Force. THAT is a sore spot for me because there are a lot of people out there that could not get into the military for one reason or another and now with all of these hundreds of programs for veterans it leaves out the people who could not serve even though they wanted to.

[Auzziemutt]

I was attached to the US 173 rd Airborne in SVN in 1965 and remember being told they were a mixture of regulars and draftees . The regulars dog tags were stamped RA########.

[Surveyor]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft_lottery_%281969%29 states 42 then jumps to 69 next.

https://www.usatoday.com/vietnam-war/draft-picker …. I would not have been called based on birthday but I wasn't even born yet!

Proof? how about a dot gov website (cause the gubmint never lies ) https://www.sss.gov/About/History-And-Records/lotter1

[rickf]

I will have to see if I still have my draft papers. I doubt it, most of my stuff from that era was stored at my parents and was lost in a fire they had at their house. I got some boxes from there but they have been moved several times and buried every time. #56 sticks in my mind for some reason but there have been a LOT of numbers pushed through my skull in the 48 years since then. All I know is I got a letter telling me to report for military service. "Got good and drunk the night before so I felt and looked my best when I arrived for my Physical the very next day"

[acudanut]

Everyone has to register for the draft at age 18. But I am talking about when men where actually drafted for Vietnam. Goggle says 1968 ?

[Surveyor]

Dec. 1 1969 - lottery for first inductions in 1970.

[acudanut]

Yeah, that's what I also read too Matt. However, as some has stated it was earlier than that. I know goggle is not always 100 percent correct.
Cheers.

[acudanut]

Anyway, if anyone has Netflix. I strongly recommend the "Vietnam war" By Ken Burns. 8 episodes from 1963-1973.

[Mark]

I read somewhere the draft started in 1965, so I guess take your pick and or it never ended from WW2, every one had 2 years to do

[199th mp]

i was drafted and went into the army, arriving at ft lewis on 2 july, 1969. i knew a high school friend who lived across the street from me, and was 2 years older than me. he was also drafted, and was back from the nam before i even went. so it was prior to 1968, based on that alone. i arrived in country in nov 69. auzziemutt, i ran into some of your guys at nui dat in spring 1970. salute to the men of long tan.

[Surveyor]

Found more at University of Michigan site...

"Peacetime" draft was ongoing from 1954 till 1964.
Non lottery draft from 64 till end of 69.
69 lottery started due to reaction to inequalities perceived in draft up till that point.
Draft ends Jan 73.

So a call up in 62 is quite possible according to UMass.

Conscription during the 1960s took place under the legal authority of the peacetime draft, because the United States never formally declared war on North Vietnam. Legal authority for a peacetime draft came from the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, signed by President Franklin Roosevelt in order to mobilize American civilian-soldiers in anticipation of entry into World War II. During the Korean War, the Selective Service began the policy of granting deferments to college students with an academic ranking in the top half of their class. Between 1954-1964, from the end of the Korean War until the escalation in Vietnam, the “peacetime” draft inducted more than 1.4 million American men, an average of more than 120,000 per year.

http://michiganintheworld.history.lsa.u ... uring-the-

May have to recalibrate that BS meter.
In other news, I got the windshield frame back today with new glass. Another step closer to hitting the road.