How did it work?

The draft began in 1940 under President Roosevelt when he signed the selective service training act.   Though about 66% of troops during the war volunteered, the rest were drafted. A drafted person received notification in the mail and then had to report to his local 'draft board' which was made up of members of the community. The board could decide who could defer and who could to to go to war. This gave board members enormous power, which was subject to conflicts of interest. Most draftees were working-class, and very few came from high-income families. The soldiers often came from rural areas.

When people began to criticize this system, a lottery system was put in place. This system was based on birth dates. 366 blue capsules containing days of the year (including February 29, leap day) were placed into a glass container. The capsules were then assigned a number in the order drawn, 001 through 366. The first date drawn from a capsule, September 14th, was given 001. (As you can see in the video) This process was televised until each birth date was assigned a number. Lower numbers were more likely to be drafted.The draft lottery also changed from choosing 'oldest men first' to picking the 19-year-olds first. After this first lottery in 1969, drawings were conducted again in 1970, 1971, and 1972. Then in 1973, the draft was abolished.

The video below is CBS news coverage of the draft lottery. Young men watched with their families as their birth dates were called. 

According to National Archives, the draft system elicited 2,215,000 men for military service between the years of 1964 and 1973. Around 15.4 million were able to defer their service for education, mental/physical health, or because of family hardship. There were more than 300,000 deserters and evaders. Around 10% of these men immigrated to Canada.

What was it like to be chosen?

 One Veteran said of his experience,

“I was a a senior at UGA scheduled to graduate from Business School in the fall of 1969...Our fraternity had scheduled a “lottery party” on the night of the lottery but it slipped my mind completely. I had actually gone to the UGA library to handle some homework (proving to myself in later years that I actually did visit the place). I got to my car (67 blue GTO – what a beauty) turned on the radio, and the second date that was announced was my birthday for draft #176. In my home county of Fulton, that was not going to cut it.

Two memories remain in my recollection of the feeling at the Pi Kappa Phi house that night. One was that the winners did not celebrate too much because we were all really concerned about the low-number brothers that we feared were going to war. Most of our ROTC and bigger boys got the coveted high numbers. There were mixed emotions that night. At our school there had up to that point been no campus demonstrations or open talk of not going if called to serve. That never came up. It was just a given that you go and serve your country if asked.

My last fall quarter was wonderful. My girlfriend had graduated earlier in the year and had a good job back in Atlanta working for Coke. She would come up on weekends or I would go home. After my last intermural touch football game that fall quarter I knew the good times were about over. I remember looking over all the young brothers and their dates at the house dining room. They were so full of life. Wishing I could stay with them a little longer I knew my life was about to get real serious, real fast.

I was I-A and had passed my military physical. I still had the option of joining the Navy for 4 years rather than serving in the Marines or Army infantry for 2 years as a draftee. I would decide that move when the orders came to report for duty. One weekday morning before Christmas, I got a hurried call from my fraternity brother John Johnson. He was at Dobbins AFB just up the road telling me that the Marines were taking a few good men into their Air Wing Reserve unit. He and Spunky Good were already signed up, and were filling out the paperwork. I told him I was on that unit’s list and every other Reserve list in the state. He said it didn’t matter, they were taking the next two or three guys through the door. I must have hit 90 on I-285 but got there in time. I very much to this day appreciate that phone call.

My brother made it home alive with several Bronze stars for heroism. It would be 13 years before he got married to start his wonderful family. I served 6 safe and secure years working weekends on F-8 jets for the Marine Corps. I was able to start a career, and start my family immediately. My wife and I were so lucky and fortunate. Several of my fraternity brothers and high school classmates did not make it home from that horrible war. Some came home very much injured from their honorable service. Their lives were forever injured as well.”

American soldier with his siblings before leaving for Vietnam. 1965.