Pretty much anytime the U.S. gets into any kind of conflict, fears of a draft start to bubble to the surface of American society. It’s totally understandable. We’ve come to accept and appreciate the American all-volunteer force.
The last time a draft call went out was Dec. 7, 1972, and those men were inducted by June of 1973. Today, all American men are required to register with the Selective Service System, but an actual draft has been and remains unlikely.
Also Read: 11 ways Americans dodged the Vietnam War draft
But the memories of Vietnam are still very much alive. To celebrate Ken Burns’ documentary “The Vietnam War,” PBS and USA Today created a Vietnam War Draft Lottery calculator, where users could simply enter their birth month and day to find out if they would have been drafted for Vietnam War service.
That calculator is defunct now, but a good idea is a good idea, and one can now be found at Vietnam War Draft Calculator.
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The calculator, of course, does not use your birth year because many of us were born well after the Vietnam War. For those born in 1950, however, being drafted in 1970 was a very real prospect.
In today’s all-volunteer military, the idea of someone being forced into that lifestyle change can seem very bizarre. Most of the men who rotated through the country were volunteers, but a significant number were not.
Unlike World War II, there were no lines to sign up for service. And unlike the Civil War, there was no paying a substitute to take your place. But still, the perception existed that with money and connections, someone could avoid serving. So, in an effort to make the draft more fair (or at least appear fair), a lottery was put in place.
Draft-age men were assigned a number between 1 and 366, depending on their birthday. The lowest numbers were called first. This was all entirely at random.
Of course, that didn’t stop some of those who were called to service from further avoiding the service. Some went to college or graduate school, while others faked medical conditions, while others fled to Canada. In all, half a million Americans dodged their Vietnam War service.
They were fugitives until 1977, when President Jimmy Carter ordered a general amnesty.
Deserters, those who joined the military and then left their units without taking leave, however, were not given amnesty.
Ken Burns’ film recalls the accounts of more than 100 witnesses to the war in what he calls a “360-degree narrative.” The 10-part, 18-hour documentary “The Vietnam War” is still available for streaming on PBS.
Although the U.S. military continues to engage in conflicts around the world, there is very little reason to worry about a new draft. Although it looked bad for a while, every military branch reportedly either reached or exceeded its latest recruitment goals. The all-volunteer system is alive and well.
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