Military draft- did it affect your family? how would a new one look?

[poppy]

I saw a report about how the Vietnam War draft impacted baseball history and Hall-of-Famers.  Talking about the impact of birth date for boys born in the early 1950s. Draft number was apparently based on birthday-- you got lucky, or  you didn't.  It got me to thinking.

 

My dad could have been drafted.  His local (Catholic) church had a collection to help pay for a college education for him, because you were exempted from the draft if you were in college.  And he had good grades and wanted to be a teacher.  He says he wouldn't have been able to go otherwise, just did not have the money. He is the oldest of 12 kids.  His five brothers, all young enough to not be impacted by the draft, did not go to college.  So, that set him on a path in life different than his family.   Of course there were people who did get drafted and sent overseas, and people who enlisted based on the war.   It's 50 years ago now. From that distance I can only imagine the stress and fear of that draft.

 

If there were a need for a draft today, to have young people be legally bound to join the military to fight far away- I'm sure it would look different.  The college exemption was so unfair, really.  You could buy your way out of the draft. It is also unfair that selective service is for men only.  Not that I want to sign up my daughter.

 

I don't know much of anything about the military.

 

I'm curious what other WTMer think a new draft would look like.

[Ravin]

I don't think the draft should ever be reinstated. The military has changed a lot, it's more professional, requires more specialized knowledge even for "basic" jobs like infantry. There is no place in the military for people who don't want to be there. It would undermine good order and discipline and create more problems than it would solve.

 

If we really need more people, pay raises and quality of life improvements for families, signing bonuses in addition to the GI Bill, higher retention incentives and elimination of "up or out" policies can all be implemented to increase the size of the force.

 

If the draft ever was to be reinstated, it should be gender-blind but parents with legal custody of their children (not just physical custody) should be exempted. There should not be exemption for college, but there should be a draft deferral option for full time students, with loan forgiveness upon completion of service plus the GI bill which they can then spend on grad school.

 

A majority of Americans, however, would probably not qualify medically. Either that, or they would have to have a pre-boot camp program for those who are overweight but otherwise healthy, and they might have to loosen some of the restrictions on things like ADHD medication.

[Carol in Cal.]

My dad was drafted toward the end of WWII.  He went through basic training and then the war ended, so he spent his term typing return paperwork for guys coming back from the Pacific Front.  That took a lot longer than most people thought.  Anyway, since technically he was in the service during the war, he was eligible for VA education benefits and for a favorable state specific mortgage.  These meant that we could claw our way into the lower middle class, barely.  It was HUGE for our family.

 

OTOH, his sister married a returned vet who had PTSD and a painful injury and it ruined her life and that of their kids.

 

And his brother (military) made it through the war and then was killed as he was hitchhiking home after being discharged.  Horrible.

 

His other brother (Navy) married three times but had no children.  I've always wondered whether something happened to him overseas that contributed to that.  He had a ship sink out from under him and spent the night in the ocean waiting to be rescued, and another ship disabled but not sunk by a kamikazi pilot.  Crazy memories that he would never talk about.

[LucyStoner]

My father joined the Air Force because he knew he had a high probability to be drafted into the Army and he figured he'd beat them to the punch. At least that is what he says...my dad is not the world's most reliable narrator. He served in the Vietnam era. Going to college was not an option for him because at the time, he needed his parent's permission to do so before he turned 21 and he didn't get along with his dad, who wanted to send him to college but only for a certain major.

[Ethel Mertz]

My brother-in-law served two tours of duty in Vietnam. He came home with PTSD which, to this day, remains untreated. He was also exposed to Agent Orange and has some of the health problems associated with that exposure.

 

My cousin-in-law went to Canada to avoid the draft. His brother enrolled in college and studied philosophy.

 

I remember friends of my older sister (7 years older than I) who burned their draft cards on the steps of our small town courthouse.

 

DS13 has been firm for several years now that he is and will be a Conscientious Objector.

[SKL]

My parents were just starting / growing their family when the draft was happening.  My mom would heave a sigh of relief as another life event put my dad farther from being a draft pick.  However, if he had been drafted, he would have gone.  We have military family members and do consider it a duty to go if you're called.

 

I thought I wouldn't have to worry about the draft as a parent, but recently I heard that they are talking about making both girls and boys register for the Selective Service.  Oh well, that was always a "possibility" and I believed I was up to it if I had to go (when I was younger).  I try to keep my kids in shape and prepared for anything.  :)

[maize]

The WWII draft impacted my grandfather's family immensely. Grandpa's older brother was drafted and died in the war. They weren't going to draft grandpa--he was running the family farm (his father died young) and instead planned to draft his younger brother; grandpa insisted on going instead (I'm not sure how this worked, but I think it had to do with exemptions and which one was exempted). Fortunately he never ended up fighting; he was a paratrooper and did suffer an accident that caused him ongoing pain throughout his life.

[SKL]

Oh yeah, my dad couldn't go to college because (a) he was poor (b) he couldn't read and © he was too busy working to support his growing family.  So he couldn't use the student exemption.

 

I do think the student exemption changed the way we think about higher education in the USA.  I think that was a good thing.

[Mbelle]

My Dad was called to the draft and he was in college.  He, however, had an unknown wasting illness that prevented him from being accepted.  He nearly died before they figured out it was Celiac disease.  How far we have come with that diagnosis since those days!

[SparklyUnicorn]

My dad was exempt for mental illness.  An uncle went and was discharged early for mental illness.

 

That's all I know.

 

I'm not in favor of drafts. 

[poppy]

My parents were just starting / growing their family when the draft was happening.  My mom would heave a sigh of relief as another life event put my dad farther from being a draft pick.  However, if he had been drafted, he would have gone.  We have military family members and do consider it a duty to go if you're called.

 

I thought I wouldn't have to worry about the draft as a parent, but recently I heard that they are talking about making both girls and boys register for the Selective Service.  Oh well, that was always a "possibility" and I believed I was up to it if I had to go (when I was younger).  I try to keep my kids in shape and prepared for anything.  :)

 

Same with mine, of course he'd have gone. Not just because of duty , but also because not going would --or at least could-- lead to criminal penalties including jail time.  There wasn't a whole lot of choice, really.  Especially for people who were supporting families.

 

I remember during the first Bill Clinton campaign there was a lot of talk about him being a "draft dodger".  I was in high school at the time , and I naively asked my dad "do you think it's right a draft dodger should be commander in chief?"  and he gently said, "Put yourself in those shoes, would you have been willing to die-- and kill-- for that cause?"  He also defended both George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to me--- two guys he despised, both "draft dodgers" --- on the same grounds. 

 

Always said all that with absolute respect for those who served.  It was really a terrible situation. I'm grateful to not have lived through anything like that in my life, to have to make those choices.

[poppy]

These responses are really interesting, by the way, thank you for the thoughts.

 

 

My Dad was called to the draft and he was in college.  He, however, had an unknown wasting illness that prevented him from being accepted.  He nearly died before they figured out it was Celiac disease.  How far we have come with that diagnosis since those days!

 

Of all the threads I've  been in, this is definitely not one I expected Celiac disease to pop up in, haha.  My MIL had it too, by the way, and suffered a long series of terrible miscarriages.   I think it's one of those things people think is new only because it wasn't labelled before.

[QueenCat]

Both my father and father-in-law were already in the military long before the draft started.....

[Guest]

A military draft == a nightmare, both for me personally, and for the country.

 

My brain just screams NOOOnononononononono when a draft is mentioned.

 

I suppose wed slready be halfway up the creek in this country if a draft was instituted, which is reason enough to freak out.

 

And then the minutea...like should it be men and women? Oh man. My fight or flight instincts are already poised...

[SparklyUnicorn]

A military draft == a nightmare, both for me personally, and for the country.

 

My brain just screams NOOOnononononononono when a draft is mentioned.

 

I suppose wed slready be halfway up the creek in this country if a draft was instituted, which is reason enough to freak out.

 

And then the minutea...like should it be men and women? Oh man. My fight or flight instincts are already poised...

 

Yeah, I highly doubt it would be popular. 

[Amira]

My dad was called up for Vietnam before he married my mom but didn't pass the medical screenings.  My mother's father wasn't drafted for WWII- he was lucky the first few years and then was almost too old after the age limit was changed in 1942.  

 

My dad's father was drafted and worked as a radio technician.  He has an interesting story for getting drafted.  He was a forest ranger in Yellowstone and was snowed in at Bechler Ranger Station with my grandmother and a toddler.  He would ski out once a month to pick up the mail and got a notice in February that he had been drafted.  The Forest Service contacted the draft board to tell them he was snowed in and the draft board told them to get him out.  The park service plowed the road just for him as far as they could go (miles and miles) and then had to get the county's snowblower equipment to clear the road to Bechler. My grandmother called that a cold, hard, and sad move, waiting for the snowblower and then loading their stuff in order to send him to war.

 

We went to Bechler about 10 years ago- it's still not the easiest place in Yellowstone to get to- and I thought about that story.

[FaithManor]

I agree with Ravin. I think that a drafted military is a very, very bad idea in this day and age, and in the way that war and military incursions are waged now. No one needs a bunch of poorly trained, don't want to be there people trying to figure out how to operate high tech equipment. 

 

As for our family, dd would be exempt medically though I think she would consider - if she were not the mother of a young baby - volunteering for a MASH unit because her medic license is still valid, and she is an IV tech and EKG tech as well. Next oldest has a titanium rod and six screws in his leg, permanently disabled and sometimes walks with a cane in the winter. Exempt. Middle boy wants to go into the Coast Guard as a marine scientist but due to metabolic issues so far has not been able to gain enough to make weight and would be exempt from a draft. Youngest might be the only one who would be draftable, but I am fairly certain that the government would leave a robotics and aerospace engineering student in college because he's a lot more use to the DoD with those degrees than without.

 

I have a nephew serving now. But both of his brothers would be medically exempt. One is diabetic, and the other had three surgeries to fix an injury.

 

I have had this discussion recently with a local school principal and one thing that was brought up was that often a lot of the students that played sports avidly were often recruited, but now with the concussion protocols in place and more and more players being check out with even minor injuries well documented, he thinks that a huge portion of the students would be medically exempted. He feels that in times past injured 18 year olds escaped notice due to lack of medical documentation, but with medical records much more complete, and soft tissue injuries now taken seriously, it would mean many athletes would not be found suitable. I know my dad had some terrible football injuries that were never documented back in the late 50's, early 60's, and he didn't talk about them when he went for his military physical which was very cursory at best. Given the problems with his back, it is amazing to me that he hid it so well. He probably should never have been allowed to join.

[Butter]

One of my mother's father's brothers was drafted for WWII.  They were a farming family so only one was required to go.  The rest were left to help farm.  I think only 3 brothers were even old enough to fight.  He survived, had a family, and died when I was a toddler.

 

My father's father was drafted into the Army in WWII.  My dad was born in 1944 at a point when my grandmother had not heard from Granddaddy for a few months and feared he was dead.  He was not and came home and met his son, his second child, when Daddy was 10 months old.  Granddaddy lived to his 70s and would almost never speak at all about the war.

 

My father knew he'd be drafted soon because of Vietnam.  He and my mom had been married a few years.  He did not want to go in the Army so he joined the Navy voluntarily.  His draft notice arrived while he was at boot camp.  He had the strangest military career ever.  He did it all at one base, including active duty and reserves (retired when I was 14).  He never ended up being sent to fight anywhere, always staying stateside.  He got very lucky.

 

I am opposed to a draft.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Quite a few of my family members are military.  As far as I know they were all voluntary.  My father went to college partially to avoid the Vietnam draft, but he would have likely gone anyway.  My step-mother's family are Quaker and as such could've avoided the draft, yet many joined and served.

 

I am not a fan of the draft.  At. all.

 

I don't think the draft should ever be reinstated. The military has changed a lot, it's more professional, requires more specialized knowledge even for "basic" jobs like infantry. There is no place in the military for people who don't want to be there. It would undermine good order and discipline and create more problems than it would solve.

 

If we really need more people, pay raises and quality of life improvements for families, signing bonuses in addition to the GI Bill, higher retention incentives and elimination of "up or out" policies can all be implemented to increase the size of the force.

 

If the draft ever was to be reinstated, it should be gender-blind but parents with legal custody of their children (not just physical custody) should be exempted. There should not be exemption for college, but there should be a draft deferral option for full time students, with loan forgiveness upon completion of service plus the GI bill which they can then spend on grad school.

 

A majority of Americans, however, would probably not qualify medically. Either that, or they would have to have a pre-boot camp program for those who are overweight but otherwise healthy, and they might have to loosen some of the restrictions on things like ADHD medication.

 

Well said!! I agree with (most of) the above!!  

 

Unfortunately a large percentage of the population would likely not qualify, so if we were to institute a draft, our country would need to loosen some of the rules or the potential pool of draft-able people would be significantly lower than the drafting board would like.

 

 

I do disagree about a gender-blind draft. (This is not in response to the above quote, just my personal beliefs.) Men are more equipped physically and emotionally.  I have no problem with women choosing to join the military, but have a huge problem with women being required to fight, especially on the front lines.  I know many disagree, but it is my belief all the same.   :leaving:

 

Edited May 23, 2016 by Excelsior! Academy

[shawthorne44]

My father was drafted for Vietnam.   He is blind in one eye, and any other time they would have refused him.   It worked out well for my family though.  In the 60's computer programming was a trade school thing and dad had just finished learning programming.   Back then the exciting thing was computer hardware and he flunked out of that into programming because he is also color blind so couldn't read transistors.  Military needed programmers, so that is what he did.  He was extraordinarily lucky in that he was sent to Germany.   Mom was able to join him there, and I was made in Germany.  So, for dad it was really just a job with good benefits in a foreign country.   

 

I am in early college when the first Iraq war started and people thought that the Iraq military would be tough to beat.  I remember wondering if a draft would start then.   I didn't like the idea.   I am pro-military but anti-being outdoors.  

 

I remember an old college professor saying that the draft had a huge impact on grade curving.   He said professors knew that flunking someone meant sending them to Vietnam.   So, unless the student was a jerk, they give a barely passing grade if the student showed up occasionally to class.   Then there would be another student who genuinely got a barely passing grade, but did a lot better than the person that should have been flunked, so that person's grade was bumped.  

 

 

[poppy]

 

 

I am not a fan of the draft.  At. all.

 

I don't think ANYONE likes the draft.

Some random people will be selected to fight in a war. Maybe someone you love. 

It's awful. 

It was awful in Vietnam.

It was awful in WWII.

It was awful in the Civil War.

Did they have conscription in the Revolutionary War?

*googles* Yes, a little.

 

The draft is unpopular with the people, the politicians, I'm sure the military too.  

But, what do you do when you need more people than you have volunteers?

Of course the unpopularity of the draft absolutely does affect military strategy. And should.
And I'm sure drone technology is partly a result of the unpopularity of the draft .

Or, more broadly, no one really wanting to send young people to die. 

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2016 by poppy

[Joker]

My dad and two of his cousins all dropped out of college and signed up voluntarily during Vietnam. So, the draft didn't affect my family but only two of the three came home.

 

I can't imagine a draft today. Neither of my dds would be capable of taking a human life, heck they don't kill bugs or spiders - they just relocate them. They've never been around guns either. So, they would be a liability to others and themselves. I would do everything in my power to get them out of it and feel no shame in saying so. Dh feels the same and he is a former Marine.

[aggieamy]

My dad dropped out of high school when he was 17 to join the army because he was concerned Vietnam was going to end before he got a chance to get over there.  My family has a long history of military service.

 

DD once asked if Grandpa had any problems (I'm sure she meant PTSD but didn't know the name for it) because he had been in the war.  DH answered that he didn't because Grandpa enjoyed every minute of the war. 

[FaithManor]

I think one of the biggest problems, one that was very much an issue in Vietnam, is that this country is not likely to be as "united for the cause" as in the past. While the country was pretty patriotic about our involvement in WWII, Korea left a bad taste in many American's mouths, followed by Vietnam, and now the controversy over our involvement in Iraq. I think there would be far more objecting draftees than in times past, and a far less united culture as well which could spell big trouble!

 

It is a very bad idea, bad, bad, bad.....

[elegantlion]

My dad served in the draft period in the Air Force. He served in the late 50s, a sweet spot between Korea and Vietnam. His experience was positive because it allowed him to gain experience (he served in radio with the Far East Network) that would become part of his career. He served in Japan and my avatar is a photo he took there. I get that his positive experience was not typical, however, and I would not support a draft today. 

[Audrey]

My father and his two oldest brothers were all given draft notices in the mid-1950's. None of them ended up in the Army, though. The oldest found out you could ask to join another service and if they'd take you, that satisfied the draft requirement. So the oldest went to the Marines. The second, also to the Marines, and my dad, who always wanted to see the ocean, thought the Navy was for him. All three ended up staying in their services well past the required time. The oldest stayed until he was killed in Vietnam. The second was dismissed after being wounded very badly in Vietnam. My dad stayed in the Navy 25 years then retired, but not unscathed. All of those experiences definitely affected our family. All in different ways. I have very strong opinions about the military. That's all I will say here on that.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Audrey

[ChocolateReignRemix]

It would now take a truly catastrophic event to justify a draft, and I am not sure an event of that magnitude would leave us in a situation where a draft would even be effective.

[3 ladybugs]

I don't know if this actually happened, but I was told my father's draft number came up but Vietnam ended before he had to serve so he was "let off".

 

My uncle had a forced draft imposed on him. He did something stupid (I remember thinking that sounds very typical for a teenager, but I can't remember what it was) and his father made him join the army. So not drafted but forced to join. He ended up spending some time in Germany before going to Vietnam, and his relationship with his father was permanently damaged. 

 

I really fear the draft. I have lost 3 children and I will do everything in my power not to go through that again. It nearly killed me the first three times. If my children decide to go into the military I will figure out a way to deal with it, but for them to be taken without want is a completely different animal. I really respect the military and will go out of my way to tell anyone I see, thank you for their service (Thank you to any military families on here now), I just can't go through even more pain... unless it is God's will then I guess I will have to deal. 

 

I also think that there shouldn't be female draft. As unpopular as it is to say, men and women were created to do different things. Bending the rules so women can be in the same divisions as men just makes the men have to work that much harder and puts everyone at risk. If they keep the same standards for everyone and a woman was able to do the job, that is different, but from what I have heard that just isn't the case right now. 

[Ravin]

I didn't mention family history. My maternal grandfather was 4-F for a childhood injury--a broken leg that wasn't set right and had become infected several times (it eventually cost him his leg). My paternal grandfather was a Merchant Marine hardhat diver in WWII--I'm not sure whether he was drafted; I'm not sure whether he was a citizen or not (Dad says he was born in the U.S., but we have historical documents that refer to him as an "alien" in the merchant marine service.

 

My dad joined the Air Force to avoid the risk of draft into the Army, and did two tours in Vietnam as a evac medic.

Edited May 23, 2016 by Ravin

[Dmmetler]

My father and both my uncles who were adults were all drafted during Vietnam. My father lucked out-he had a degree completed in chemistry, and they put him doing research stateside. Having said that, I was conceived during a leave, and he missed my birth.

 

Overall, my family was lucky-for the most part, our men made it through drafts without long-term physical or psychological damage.

 

Not a draft, but I was at a college during the first gulf war with a large military population. The drop off in kids in classes because their units were deployed was shocking, as were the number of students who died or suffered long-term injuries. And quite a few of those kids died after return due to psychological effects and a lack of support services. These were mostly teens who signed up mostly to get education benefits. For some, that worked out. For others, not so much.

Edited May 23, 2016 by dmmetler

[Mom-ninja.]

My dad enlisted in one branch of military in order to avoid being drafted into the Army. He didn't want to be in the Army. 

[Tita Gidge]

My family wasn't living in the U.S. during any of the wars mentioned. I'm pretty sure it's illegal to impose a draft in our native country, but I'm not positive. I do know that we lean very heavily towards pacifism and peace-keeping, at least in the lifetimes of my generation and my parents'.

 

So I'm vaguely familiar with the U.S. draft, but posts here have me questioning: was the draft for the Army only? If so, was this specific to the conflict in Vietnam, or was it also true for WW2?

 

A number of posts say a relative enlisted in one branch to avoid being drafted into the Army. I'm curious, if this is true I hadn't learned that before. I married a U.S. soldier who is strongly against the draft. He served multiple tours in two war zones and said he'd rather fight alongside mercenaries over draftees. I don't know ho he could possibly know, but then again what do I know. He immigrated in the 80s as a child, so his family wasn't affected by the U.S. draft.

 

But his family comes from a communist nation that required military service.  Having immigrating to the U.S. after mandatory military service in their native country, his family views a U.S. draft through a very nationalistic lens: "everyone is expected to do their part" by serving. Toss some hooch into the mix, and debating mandatory military service of any color made for quite the entertaining dinners!

[maize]

My family wasn't living in the U.S. during any of the wars mentioned. I'm pretty sure it's illegal to impose a draft in our native country, but I'm not positive. I do know that we lean very heavily towards pacifism and peace-keeping, at least in the lifetimes of my generation and my parents'.

 

So I'm vaguely familiar with the U.S. draft, but posts here have me questioning: was the draft for the Army only? If so, was this specific to the conflict in Vietnam, or was it also true for WW2?

 

A number of posts say a relative enlisted in one branch to avoid being drafted into the Army. I'm curious, if this is true I hadn't learned that before. I married a U.S. soldier who is strongly against the draft. He served multiple tours in two war zones and said he'd rather fight alongside mercenaries over draftees. I don't know ho he could possibly know, but then again what do I know. He immigrated in the 80s as a child, so his family wasn't affected by the U.S. draft.

 

But his family comes from a communist nation that required military service.  Having immigrating to the U.S. after mandatory military service in their native country, his family views a U.S. draft through a very nationalistic lens: "everyone is expected to do their part" by serving. Toss some hooch into the mix, and debating mandatory military service of any color made for quite the entertaining dinners!

 

The draft was for all services, but the army took the most--and it was in the army that you were most likely to die. People would enlist in the Navy or Air Force rather than take their chances with being assigned to the army if they were drafted.

[maize]

Most of the young men from my grandpa's small home town ended up in the same army unit together, and most of them never came home. Grandpa got sent a different route initially because he had experience raising pigeons and they were still using carrier pigeons in WWII. After the pigeon training he got pulled again for paratrooper training, and by the time that was through the war was mostly over.

[goldberry]

This thread makes me sad how many lives were affected (or ended) not voluntarily.

[Tita Gidge]

The draft was for all services, but the army took the most--and it was in the army that you were most likely to die. People would enlist in the Navy or Air Force rather than take their chances with being assigned to the army if they were drafted.

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer, Maize.

 

You taught me something new today! :coolgleamA:

[shage]

AFAIK all the men drafted in my family served as conscientious objectors. Same with my husband's family. There were quite a few: grandfather, great uncle, uncle, father-in-law, husband's uncle. The common CO jobs during WWII and Vietnam were in state psych hospitals or large medical centers.

 

We have taught our children that if a draft is in place, don't run away. Serve in accordance with your conscience.

 

Of course, their conscience is ultimately up to them.

[Lanny]

I don't know how a new Draft would work, but my decision was not to bet on whether or not I would get Drafted into the U.S. Army.  I enlisted in the Reserves.   

[frogger]

A draft is simply a form of slavery. There is no other name for something that entails an entity completely taking over another's life. Period, institutional slavery that can include forced exposure to chemicals (I have a friend whose children were affected by his exposure to agent orange and don't think today's combatants aren't exposed to rotten stuff too.), torture, death, and the requirement to do what you are told even kill others.

 

Now, if people saw they needed to fight and chose to fight for self defense, honor, money whatever they wanted to and they were willing to give up their life to do so then that is different. But to force someone is hideous.

 

I believe there are options to the draft. If the wars you are fighting don't inspire people to fight then it is time to simply bring troops home. And secondly, we should take better care of and recognize the true cost of war as a nation rather than single people out. Everyone should be hit with a war tax. They should all have to pay both poor and rich in various amounts of course. Perhaps war would be less palatable if it weren't hidden from so many and then with the extra money provide more help to all these veterans with PTSD etc. A measly, "Thank you for your service" feels like a cop out to me to a person about to commit suicide. Who can never sleep well again, whose ears never quit ringing, or who has been permanently injured.

 

 

My family missed the draft. My Grandfather volunteered for WW II and Korea but my father was a child during the draft.

[ktgrok]

My husband's father was drafted, and became addicted to drugs in Vietnam. When he returned home he died of an overdose, in front of my husband, who was 3 yrs old at the time. That had a profound effect on my husband, and has hugely shaped who he is, including lots of anxiety. 

 

On the other hand, if his father had lived the family would have stayed in Ohio instead of moving to Florida, and we wouldn't have met. 

[Wheres Toto]

My dad was too young for WWII but did join the military and served in Germany at some point.

I have a maternal uncle I never met who was in Vietnam and died due to effects from Agent Orange and PTSD.

 

As far as I know that's it.  My stepdad was a Marine but both he and my father were out long before I came along.  Military service is not something big in my family.  Out of 50+ cousins, I think there's one who served in the military.  I know my mother thought about it for my brother but he didn't qualify (medical).  I thought about it briefly but also didn't qualify (medical).

 

I found the comment above about sports injuries interesting.  DH had 3 or 4 concussions from playing football and dive team (hit the board).  It was definitely not seen as a big deal back then.

[frogger]

I didn't even think about cousins. I was in parent/grandparent or personal mode. Since Vietnam happened before I was born I can't say which cousins were drafted and which were voluntary. We didn't often discuss these things.

[Um_2_4]

My Maternal Gpa was drafted for WWII but had a medical exemption due to something with his leg (don't remember what). My paternal Gpadied before WWII started (my dad was only ~7) and was too young for WWI. 

My father's story was interesting. He was too young for WWII, but joined the Air Force before Korea. (He was from a super small town in midwest, had married his high school sweetheart, but she died in childbirth along with their son, so he ran away to the big city and joined up.) He was injured in Korea and sent home. He was a radio man and that is where he learned his trade. He worked the rest of his life in electronics/computers/radios.

I have no uncles, but my mom's 2 cousins, one of whom was drafted to Vietnam and was never quite right after he came home. He had tons of health problems (physical: heart/lungs and mental) and never settled down.

 

[poppy]

A draft is simply a form of slavery. There is no other name for something that entails an entity completely taking over another's life. Period, institutional slavery that can include forced exposure to chemicals (I have a friend whose children were affected by his exposure to agent orange and don't think today's combatants aren't exposed to rotten stuff too.), torture, death, and the requirement to do what you are told even kill others.

 

Now, if people saw they needed to fight and chose to fight for self defense, honor, money whatever they wanted to and they were willing to give up their life to do so then that is different. But to force someone is hideous.

 

I believe there are options to the draft. If the wars you are fighting don't inspire people to fight then it is time to simply bring troops home. And secondly, we should take better care of and recognize the true cost of war as a nation rather than single people out. Everyone should be hit with a war tax. They should all have to pay both poor and rich in various amounts of course. Perhaps war would be less palatable if it weren't hidden from so many and then with the extra money provide more help to all these veterans with PTSD etc. A measly, "Thank you for your service" feels like a cop out to me to a person about to commit suicide. Who can never sleep well again, whose ears never quit ringing, or who has been permanently injured.

 

 

My family missed the draft. My Grandfather volunteered for WW II and Korea but my father was a child during the draft.

 

So.

What do you do if the other side is winning?

If Hitler's army had taken Europe. It would have been terrible.  And they really, really could have. They absolutely could have won.

Even in Vietnam..... the real enemy was the Soviet Union, who was an absolutely terrifying and formidable foe (or, was thought to be).

There would not have been a "home" as we know it for long if without a strong US military presence.

Or, at least, that is what very smart people in positions of power thought. About both the Axis powers and the USSR.

 

And while I agree about the war tax: you can't magically make more money. During WWII the taxation rate skyrocketed to 94%.  94%!!!

But we still needed to have a draft to get soldiers to make the war effort successful.

 

It s terrible, it's horrible, but is it really always avoidable?

In retrospect, obviously the conflict in Vietnam was a mistake.   But WWII? Should we not have gone that far to try to stop the fascists?

These are hard questions, not simple ones.

[foxbridgeacademy]

The draft has never affected anyone in my family that I know of....

 

My dad (oldest of 4 boys)joined just in enough time to be considered a Vietnam Veteran but he had to get his parents permission since he was only 17.  He was all gung ho but only did the one tour, as a sharpshooter/paratrooper, not sure the Army would have wanted him for another round, he caused too much trouble  ;) . His dad was too young for WWII, had too many kids for Korea (was there even a draft for that one?) and obviously too old for Vietnam.  My mom's dad on the other hand quit College and signed up on December 10th 1941, he was an only child and double exempt but determined to do his part.  He was the belly gunner, you know, the little pod that hangs below the plane where you shoot from?  Never understood why they chose him, he wasn't a small man, even in his 20's he was tall. He came back and went to work as a Train Engineer, he used to take my mom with him sometimes on short trips.

 

 

[Farrar]

Both my grandfathers served in WWII, both drafted at a very young age, so before they could have made any real choice, I think. Dh's grandfather was older and didn't like the war - he was a socialist - he was drafted later and went to Europe during the clean up.

 

My father stayed in college until he realized they didn't want him because of his sports injuries. He promptly dropped out. Insert eyeroll.

 

Step-father was a conscientious objector. 

 

Fil did what others here said and joined before he could be drafted. It was good for him - he served, lived in Japan, got out and got a good job.

 

It's fascinating to me how much it was an element in everyone's life in my parents' and grandparents' generations. And now we don't even think about it. It seems so unlikely that the draft would ever be reinstated.

[AimeeM]

 

 

 

I do disagree about a gender-blind draft. (This is not in response to the above quote, just my personal beliefs.) Men are more equipped physically and emotionally.  I have no problem with women choosing to join the military, but have a huge problem with women being required to fight, especially on the front lines.  I know many disagree, but it is my belief all the same.   :leaving:

I agree with you. Glad you said it before me, though :D

 

 

[abacus2]

My grandfathers were just too young for WWII and my dad was just too young for Vietnam. My FIL was drafted for Vietnam, but luckily served in Germany instead.

[gaillardia]

WWII: my dad had nightmares ever after. About the only thing he told me about it was seeing his oldest brother in London, and the time he dated a Scottish lass. He said: "don't tell your mother." He and his oldest brother out of 4 sons were in WWII. Another had health issues and the other was too young.

 

Vietnam: my brother went to college to avoid it and had a crappy poster on the back of his bedroom door showing a young man with a smile on his face burning his draft notice, can you imagine what it said at the bottom: f**k the draft. 

 

My uncle served in Vietnam, he was an officer. He never spoke of it, just didn't.

 

A new draft: I have a son in the military. He's overseas. I think one other son would be eligible but two others have health issues.

My daughters: Please, NO. Only if they volunteer, and I know two will not. There are 3 other countries that require females to be in the military...what are they? Eretria, Israel and Norway, I think. 

I don't have a good feeling about the draft. So, for my family, I don't know what it would look like. I was shocked when my son said he was going into the military. I settled myself on knowing it was what he wanted to do and he explained why. I then felt the most important thing I could do was to show him I supported him in his decision and would stand by him or behind him.

Can you imagine the thought of knowing your mother didn't want you to do it and you remember that when you're in the thick of a battle? So I had to let it go. He needs my support.

My family has fought in the American Revolution, War of 1812, Civil War and WWII. 

[DawnM]

My father was never military.  He is now 83, so he would have been 33 during Viet Nam????  Too old maybe.  

 

I have 3 sons.  My guess is that only one of them would be forced into military service if there were a draft.  Oldest has ASD and has taken medications that make him except.  Youngest is missing fingers and toes that would physically disqualify him.   Not sure if there is anything to exempt my middle son.  

 

I don't want any of them going unless they CHOOSE to do it.