The 1970, 1971 and 1972 Draft Lotteries for the Vietnam War

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However, with the draft system back in effect, including the paternity deferment, the pace of decline slowed between 1966 and 1968, and the birth rate actually rose again in 1969 and 1970 before resuming its decline in 1971. Jobs with a likely deferment, such as engineering and teaching, exerted a magnetic pull on draft-age men, such that those fields became glutted with recent college graduates by the late 1960s. In 1969, 85% of New York City teaching trainees were draft-age men. A survey in the 1970s found that the career choices of 10% of draft-age men were influenced by the availability or lack of a deferment. At the time of the first lottery, deferments were still available for those who flunked the fitness test, or worked in various jobs deemed to be essential , as well as for students , fathers with a child at home, and conscientious objectors.
Certainly for Donart, the results weren’t as dire as he first feared. He joined the Marine Corps Reserve and was to be trained as a machine gunner. But by the time he completed boot camp, troops were starting to come home.
Due to the heavy demand for military personnel, the United States increased the number of men the draft provided each month. Each table shows all the birth dates in a given year and the lottery numbers assigned to those dates. In the first column, on the far left, are the dates of the month. Thus, the tabular format is set up to show the random selection sequence, by month and day. Growing up, Dzung Lewis’s family celebrated Tet in a very traditional way. She explained that the idea was to bring in good fortune for the year.
In a theoretically fair draft, we would expect to see an average draft position of 183.5 for each month of the year. From the chart above, it is immediately apparent that months earlier in the year were given higher draft numbers on average than later months. If you are one of the millions of men who were subject to the lotteries, we want to hear from you . Also, you are welcome to read the stories of others affected by the lotteries ; or read a short history of the draft lotteries ; or follow links to other resources ; or read the list of top ten well-known draft avoiders . Statisticans soon cried foul, arguing that birthdates near the end of the year had inadvertently been clustered toward the top of the bin, making them more likely to be drawn first. The U.S. Census Bureau in 1984 observed that men who came of age during the Vietnam War accumulated more college education than those maturing before.
Moving up to Canada to avoid the draft also became popular. December birthdays were assigned many low numbers , representing early induction, and few high numbers . “Not many people from the LGBT community have top class jobs… we generally don’t make it to higher education because we are bullied at school,” she told AFP, perching on a tired floor sleeping mattress in her rented flat in Ho Chi Minh City.
Some also sent their children out of the country or purchased fake medical exemptions. Even those without money weren’t necessarily resigned to enlisting, however, as some fled to Canada to avoid the draft while others simply didn’t report for training. Still others faked conditions during their physicals so they’d be rejected (comedian Chevy Chase falsely claimed he had “homosexual tendencies,” and rocker Ted Nugent is said to have feigned mental illness). A total of 209,517 men were prosecuted for avoiding draft laws, and the military estimated that another 360,000 were never formally accused.
Most prizes can be claimed from an authorized lottery retailer, but jackpot winnings must be claimed directly from the lottery operator. Players choose four numbers between 0 and 9 to create a four-digit number. The jackpot is only available to players who match the first number drawn, with secondary prizes going to players who match numbers during draws 2 to 6.
(“The capsules were put in a box month by month, January through December, and subsequent mixing efforts were insufficient to overcome this sequencing.”) However, the non-uniform lottery was allowed to stand. 2, 12, 15, 17 and 19—were higher than the last call number of 195. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information contained on this website.
Eventually all men with number 195 or lower were called in order of their numbers to report for physical examinations in 1970. I had an anti- Vietnam War sentiment and draft just helped to personalize that feeling. Keep up with news and updates from the Milbank Memorial Fund. And read the latest blogs from our thought leaders, including Fund President Christopher F. Koller.
They also offer other lottery games, but the only certain way to participate in this specific game is at local retailers. Watching the sun come up the next morning, I couldn’t help but think about the other earth-shattering events my generation had witnessed on the airwaves. From mua vietlott of Sputnik to President Kennedy’s funeral, and from the Beatles’ first appearance on the “Ed Sullivan Show” to Neil Armstrong stepping on the moon, television always had brought us together.
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