What were your feelings and thoughts when you first opened your draft notice?

I got a big laugh. Was already enlisted and through boot camp.

WTF! I thought. Then I thought that the army is playing with me as I had been a reserve unit for almost three years at that time.

I thought that I had a four year deferment but I only a two year deferment. I had flunked out of one school and had got into another tech school thinking I would finish there and then go back to the original school and get my associate degree, and then go on to a four year school. I knew that I had a heart murmur ( still have it). I called the draft board and the lady told me that I only had a two year deferment. I was less than completing the quarter and I asked her for an extension until the new year. She said no and I was drafted on December 6, 1966. When I took my draft physical, I told the doctor that I had a heart murmur and he listened to my heart and said, "yes, you do. 1A". :-)

I was at NTC Great Lakes for boot camp when I received mine

My brother was in Naval Air Reserves & wanted me to join so I could stay out of Vietnam. Did the application & took the tests. A few weeks later was told by Navy I did not score high enough to qualify for the Navy Reserves. Got my draft notice shortly after that (Sept. 1966) & since my uncle had been a B-17 & B-29 pilot (lost en route to Tokyo from Iwo Jima) my family were not overly concerned. I looked on it as an adventure & planned to make the most out of it. Scored well on tests & went to Engineer OCS & commissioned in Aug. 67. Went to Vietnam in Aug. 68 & was in combat 3 weeks later. I learned how much I didn't know but quickly got up to speed. Returned to Travis AFB & my active duty was finished. My brother wanted me to wear my uniform & meet his CO at the naval air station & I agreed to go. His CO tried to get me to join the Seabees (as a Lieutenant) & said because I was commissioned as an army engineer I was fully qualified. I told him I would pass since I had been told I wasn't good enough to join as an enlisted man. Found out later that senior NCO's were taking bribes so men could get into their reserve unit & avoid the draft. The lottery went into effect soon after & my number was 11. I was going no matter what. At 19 I was not informed enough about Vietnam as I was more concerned with chasing skirts & having a good time. Parents did not want me to be in danger but would not have supported me running to Canada. They felt, as did I, that it was my obligation to our country. Being in the engineers & being able to help the local populace with civic improvements such as building bridges, roads, markets, removing minefields, etc. helped to color my opinion. Fighting as infantry & seeing the incredible waste of men & poor planning by senior staff quickly showed the absurdity of the war.

I very advanced as a 2 month old. But I was ready to roll

I enlisted at 17. When I returned home after 3 years, I ended up with a draft card. What to do with it? What to do? I will leave up to your imagination. :-)

My feelings on the war were directly colored by my Brothers’ tours of duty in the Nam. I was attending what was referred as “BERKLEY EAST”; ie U MASS and absolutely refused to allow those card carrying communist so called professors, to call my Brother and his fellow Service Members BABY KILLERS. Needless to say this was not a very popular stance and I had to fight to get graded fairly. I enlisted directly from there and NEVER looked back. I was one of a total of 10 RA soldiers in my Basic Training Company ,A-1-1 on Tank Hill at Fort Jackson. I was one of two who enlisted for the NAM, me a 95B and the other an 18D. MPs were stopped shipping while I was at MP School at Fort Gordon.

Was still in High school would join the ARMY a little over a year after graduation in Oct 1974

To all my brothers and sisters, whether you were drafted or enlisted, welcome home.