The "Old Man Draft" was a little before my time, but I remember the draft very well. I registered for the draft in 1958 and in 1964 I got my draft notice. I had been expecting it so had made some plans. I went out to Fort Snelling and joined the Army Reserves as a part of the 5501 Army Field Hospital. Six years as a medic in the Army Reserves. Not a bad place to be in those times.
If you were draft bait during Vietnam era that was a very, very bad place to be. My friend spent 9 months in the jungles in Vietnam as a field medic, not a very good place to be.
quote:If you were draft bait during Vietnam era that was a very, very bad place to be
The choice to join the Army Reserves in the spring of 64 could also have turned out not so good. In the summer of 65 LBJ drastically increased the draft numbers rather than call up the Reserves and/or the National Guard. I can still remember going out to my car at noon on a day in July 64 to hear his decision. He chose to increase the draft rather than call up the Reserves. So my decision in March of 64 provide to be the better choice.
The war lead to a lot of decisions. My friend pre-emptively enlisted since his draft number was so bad hoping to get duty in Germany or Korea, but that hope didn't work out so well. In his class of 1969 3 men lost their lives in Vietnam.
One slightly amusing side of those years. If you remember the so called Domino Theory that if the North Vietnamese were allowed to defeat South Vietnam that all the other Southeast Asian countries would also fall. Well a few days ago I happened to notice that all of the t-shirts in my closet are labelled Made in Vietnam.
Apple supplier Foxconn announced the creation of a major new factory in Vietnam and a $300 million investment to expand its current operations in the country. The decision comes as Apple attempts to move parts of its manufacturing process out of China.
emigrant from norway
Posted - 14/02/2023 : 17:06:19
