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[at-l] OT- Fun Site



At 07:31 AM 1/12/2005 -0800, Paul Magnanti wrote:
>A for your comment :
>
> >>I am part of the "Lucky Generation". I'm not sure
>why >>being born then was
> >>deemed lucky but I know it hasn't helped me in the
> >>LOTTO.
>
>If you were born between 1936 and 1945 you were too
>young to remember the last days of the Depression and
>too young to  be drafted for WW2 and Korea. By the
>time drafting for Vietnman really ramped up in 1969
>you were not considered within drafting age.[1]

Not so, my friend. I was very much draft age during the Vietnam War and 
ended up in the Army in 1964. My brother was drafted in July and my number 
was coming up. I enlisted in September to avoid the draft in November. That 
sounds strange now I'm sure but at that time if you enlisted they would 
*guarantee* either an MOS (military occupational specialty) or the place 
you would serve. Not wanting to end up in the infantry I enlisted to be a 
photographer. They wanted to send me to OCS but as some folks are learning 
now, when you accept a commission they own your soul (slight exaggeration) 
and OCS 2nd Lieutenants were all headed for "Nam, so I said "NO". The 
promises were, as it turned out, a bit of a farce. They did give you the 
assignment (either job or location) they promised but upon receiving it you 
were immediately eligible for 'reassignment'. I made out better than some. 
I spent 75% of my 3 years in my chosen MOS. I knew guys who enlisted to go 
to (fill in a country), went there and stayed only a few weeks/months 
before being reassigned to Vietnam. Only the Army was making such 
*guarantees* BTW. The other branches were getting adequate recruits at that 
time without such incentives although a small number of draftees were being 
sent to the Marines and Navy. In retrospect I should have joined the Coast 
Guard (also known at the time as "The Draft Dodgers Yacht Club).