Draft number.

Rustyt1953

Rustyt1953

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What was your draft number?

In 1971 mine was 63. I figured the chances of me going to Nam were good so I joined the Air Force. I told the recruiter that since I inlisted, could I stay stateside. "No problem" he said.

What did P.T. Barnum say? Next stop DaNang.

Looking back, of all my accomplishments on this earth, besides my family, my DD-214 is the one I'm most proud of.

I'd like to hear from you folks. Thanks.
 
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I think 51 was my number in 70. I was in middle of 14 day spring
bear hunt in northern Ontario when my dad got word to me I
had got the letter from my friends & neighbors. Packed my gear
and headed home. My Canadian friends told me I was headed
the wrong direction. I ended up in Army, coming from a long line
of Navy I thought I could redeem my family name. Went to RVn
pulled extended tour. I remember down around Toronto the
Draft Dodgers hanging out at the truck stops, panhandling. I
think some of that crew are running things up in DC as we speak.
 
I have no clue what my number was, but within 2 weeks of turning 19 in April of 1966 I received my greetings. I was already on the USAF delayed enlistment plan and scheduled to go in August of that year.

I called my recruiter and told him I had a notice to report by May 1st or 2nd. He said no problem and saw to it I was moved to the front of the USAF line.

I was in basic training in Texas about May 2nd. The next 4 years got me about 3/4 of the way around the globe, including a short stay in the RVN at Nha Trang for Tet of '68.

LTC
 
On 12/1/69 I was a senior in college and went through the Selective Service Draft for Viet Nam. My number was 364 which meant that I was not going to get drafted. In 1965 I took a pre-induction physical after turning 18, however, I received my student deferment (2S) the following week, and kept that deferment until the 69 lottery. I was married at the time, and there was some consideration given for those folks.

In 1970 I applied for the PD and was hired and in the Academy. Our local Selective Service Rep told me LEO's would not be drafted and just serve America on the streets. I took his advice and did so for 33 yrs.......
 
Good gravy....

I haven't thought about that in a few decades. My number came up after they had stopped the draft but later I was declared 4F anyway (terrible eyes). Now I'm wondering more about what my son is going to have to do. A lot of people aren't even signing up for the draft anymore and nobody seems to care. That could change in a heartbeat.:(
 
December 1969 - I drew the low 300s and was 1 month from graduation from college. I hadn't been working too hard on job hunting because I figured I would get called right away.

My first thought was to volunteer, but my dad (WWII infantry veteran) told me to take the pass they gave me.
 
Wow. I don't remember the number, but I was to report at 6am. The night before, on the 10 o'clock news, they announced that the draft was over. Some showed up (myself included) the next morning, lest we be required to. We were processed, then dismissed. We were in for a few hours. Not even a DD-214.

But some of us had already been through medicals, an abbreviated summer basic, and a short OCS. It was anti-climactic. I had spent months in voluntary training to enter as an officer, then it all vanished. On paper I was never there.
 
The draft ended about 6 months before I turned 18, but that wasn't good enuff for me. I graduated HS in May 1973 and was in bootcamp 3 weeks later. A little over a month later, I celebrated my 18th birthday
 
Don't remember my number but, I had signed up for selective service as early as possible. Back then a driver's license didn't have a photo on it. A draft card was a federal ID. I needed it to cash my paycheck, since I didn't get a DL 'til I was almost 18. I lost my wallet in late 73 and requested a replacement card, but privacy laws made it worthless. I Graduated from HS in May, a friend early enlisted in February in the USMC. He went through boot camp and clerks school in time to be on a Aircraft Carrier of the coast of RVN, and sent ashore by chopper to help with the Embassy evacuation. The cover of Time magazine has a chopper on it saying it was the last chopper out. Actually it was #3, they shoved the photographer on #2, and my friend was on #1. As they took off, they couldn't get airborne because of all the people hanging from the skids. They started stomping hands, but 2 on his side held on until they were high over the city. They must have felt the risk of falling out weighed the risk of staying.

My older brother was class of 69. His number was in the high 80's, but they only got to the mid 70's that year.

The friend that became a Marine and I walked in the recruiters office in late August 73 and tried to enlist in 82nd Airborne. They showed us they door, said the war was is over, and said, thanks for thinking of them. Didn't try to get to be anything else. He became a Marine, I became a street minister. He's been home 36+ years now, I'm still serving my enlistment! Ivan
 
on the first year of the lottery, i got a real low number and could have been drafted but i was in college on a student deferment. next time around, again my lottery number was low and since my deferment had expired, i was drafted. i appeared at the oakland army base at 0600 and was run through another final medical before being sworn in. i got all the way to the hearing exam where they found a problem, surprised the hell out of me, and sent me home with the instructions i will be notified of the next step. in about a month's time, i was ordered to letterman hospital in san francisco where my hearing was examined and sent home again, with the word that they will be in contact. so another 30 days or so goes by when i received a letter reporting i was not qualified for the us army, and was given a 1y classification, which was later changed to a 4f.
 
Last edited:
I don't think I got a Draft Number in '63; I just remember getting the greetings from my friends and neighbors with a time and date to report for processing.
 
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