Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Would being a cop in the late 60s help you dodge the draft?

Staying safe and exempt...
Musta been a wholesome experience among all the others in those guard units.

That spoken and unspoken common bond between all the turds in those units back then..
One level of "honor" above those who went to Canada....

Enlisted, had no use for those that evaded service.

Phil

Cats that had a draft# back then and didn't play the system out of fear for self interest and self preservation.

But woulda have served on AD if their # came up....

#respectforya

Oh my...
Even GayGhost the Liberal Socialist Democrat chimes in..

Talk about a Burn.......

I could never see what Viet Nam had to do with serving the country. If you had an engineering degree you could usually prevent the draft by doing something the DOD considered more valuable than being a soldier. And it paid more.

renegage50;
Top of the morning to you sir, I hope the day down in your section of Tennessee is getting decent weather and you're well.

Over the years I've worked with at least two people who came up here to avoid the draft and stayed. If one can trust the wiki sources for this sort of thing, they suggest that between 20,000 and 40,000 US citizens drifted north to do so.

What a lot of folks don't know is that roughly the same number of Canadian young men drifted south and joined the US forces. They don't know that number either because it was if not a common practice, not unheard of for young US men to trade identities with Canadians, along with some cash likely too sometimes.

I worked with a couple Canadian Vietnam vets, but as they never volunteered how it was they ended up there I didn't press them so don't know the details.

One fellow I heard interviewed on local radio did that - went down to Oroville, WA, was paid a small amount to take the documents from a young American fellow there and went on to do 2 tours in country. He then was discharged, went north across the medicine line and assumed his old identity. When the reporter asked him why he did that, he said life wasn't great at home and there were few prospects in the small BC town he was in, so he felt he had nothing to lose going to see the world and live life sort of thing.

Anyways sorry for the diversion, but it's something a lot of folks on both sides of the border are unaware of.

Best to you all.

Dwayne

Actually, in the unspoken pecking order that existed back then, the late 60's buildup, at least in my experience....National Guard, Army Reserve were held in about the same level of contempt as the draftees. And they paid in small ways for the lack of trust, the inherent suspicion that went with the prefix on their service number. The Regular Army guys (voluntary enlistment) were given preference in jobs and duties, more responsibility, little perks etc. The pecking order kinda sorta went RA, 3 yr hitch regular army...US, 2 yr conscript...ER, 6 mo active duty reservist...NG, 6 mo active duty national guard. There were exceptions of course...good NCO's watched their troops, and the conscripts who were willing 'to get with the program', learn, work hard, were treated well. Guard and Reserve were considered a lost cause since they were always considered short timers, serving only 6 months active duty...placeholders, drones, labor.
After Tet, reserves were called up to go in country, but they were mainly transportation, quartermaster and support units I think.

Or I'm pretty sure many would have paid for a substitute if allowed to back then here in the states.

Just like during the Civil War.....

To avoid even the icky national guard option....

1969 I was a senior in high school and the drummer from my garage jam band was in Nam and sending me letters.

Without going in the military, I already knew the Viet Nam war hand signals for boom boom and weed.

I was born in 73 and served in the Navy from 91-94 as a Missle Technician on submarines. On my boat I was standing watch one night talking to the COB who was ending his 25 year career. I asked how he ended up on submarines in 1969? He said his draft number came up so he went and joined the navy and told the recruiter he wanted a job with zero chance of going to Vietnam so they made him a Nav ET on boomers. After learning this from him it turned out three old senior chiefs on the boat had also done the same thing.

Skilled trades AND skilled trade apprenticeships were legitimate draft deferments back in those days.

Good friend's older brother (former Army Special Forces), strongly advised him to do everything he could to avoid military service as long as he could while the Vietnam thing was going on.

Friend went to a Jr. college for as long as he could, then got accepted in a paint and body repair apprenticeship program at a local new car dealership. Went on to own his own paint and body repair shop for years.

Wow

You could paint pearlescent flames on chivy lowriders and avoid mil service?

I have an uncle that was drafted after he graduated college with bachelors degree. My other uncle, joined the USMC instead of being drafted. Uncle that was drafted told his brother that joined the USMC he’d be out of the Army before the one in the Marine’s enlistment was up, and sure enough he was. My uncle that was drafted said, said when he got to Vietnam they asked everyone he came in with that day if anyone could type. He said he was the only one that raised his hand, so he was sent to the Stars and Stripes to work there. He said all of his buddies he came in with all were KIA in action and that typing saved his life. Uncle in the USMC, said he never stepped foot in Vietnam and spent the majority of his enlistment on ships in the Bermuda Triangle.

My dad had rope burns on his right hand that left his fingers permanently bent. He said he really wanted to be a Marine, and they told him no, as they said he couldn’t shoot a gun with bent fingers. He told the recruiter he could shoot his deer rifle with no problems, but was still a no go. He then said he tried to join every other branch and they all said no. This was during the Korean War, so my dad decided to become a diesel mechanic instead.

I am breaking a cardinal rule of mine by posting as I tend to get into arguments I would rather not.

First, Rene thank you for the acknowledgement.

I was one of thousands of kids in a crap hole town with no prospects. I tried to join, they offered me ASA based on test scores, however I was turned down as I was 3Y after the physical. I had cosmetic surgery, it fixed nothing, but hid the problem. I still would have been 3Y.

The following year I was a low number, was called for a physical, and the doctor thought the operation scars were from a fight. I was 1A after the physical. I was drafted without binocular vision. My doctor wanted me to fight it, I refused.

When my number was called, I had been married 18 months.

Again, I was offered ASA based on test scores. I replied that they could do with me what they wanted, but I would not hide in a safe spot while another draftee went into harm's way in my place. No clerk's office or supply, or kitchen because I was afraid to face fate.
I was 21 when I was sent on a hardship tour. Drugs were horrible, the mess hall was worse. For about 6 months I stole a can of dog food from the guard dog supply and heated it for dinner. At first, I was laughed at, but soon I had most of the platoon joining me for dinner.

We were allowed two hours of heat per day, one in the morning, one in the evening. Most of us spent the winter wrapped in blankets like ponchos as winter clothes did not arrive until spring.

At 65 I went to apply for VA benefits, and I was means tested out of them.

I stood and said I could take whatever they threw at me. Most of the RA's looking down on the US were ones who were peeking out from behind the kitchen door, or the supply room and were looking down on the draftee not because he was drafted, but because he had bigger balls.

My best friend joined the navy out of high school. He did 2 tours on Nam on a carrier. He told me that the 1st time they approached the Nam coast he knew exactly what it was all about. It was Johnson getting our guys killed to protect those oil wells owned by his buddies. It wasn't about freedom or communism. It was about oil and big money.

Number 15 here but I had been offered an NROTC scholarship and accepted it just the Friday before the first lottery. That lengthened my obligated service after commissioning but as long as I stayed in good standing academically, I wouldn’t be drafted. I ended up staying 21 years. 😁

As an apprentice accepted in an approved apprenticeship program, yep... Same for apprenticeships in Tool & die, Plumber, Electrician, Heavy equipment operator, etc., etc., etc., etc.



https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=OLSF19520711.2.29&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------

Did I miss the VarmintReply??

I was anti military when they would draft me in 1969. Then in 1970 the draft medical exam threw me out for double vision. Then my draft number was too high.

But from 1982 to 1987 I worked on USAF fighter electronics design sub sub contracts... and was pro military. The USAF contracted with General Dynamics for the F16. General Dynamics would sub contract for a system like radar warning. The sub contractors would send to sub sub contractors [whatever little company hired me] a request for quotation on the power supply design. Typically $250k non recurring engineering and $1000 per cigar box sized power supply in manufacturing quantity of 100. Typically lose money the first 5 years but make big profits the second 5 years.

My father was in the army 1944-1946 and worked on Army design contracts [mostly from Detroit Arsenal M55, M107, M110] from 1948 to 1986. He had a draft deferment from 1941 to 1944 for both being in ROTC and a war job doing sheet metal work on ships.