A lottery drawing – the first since 1942 – was held on December 1, 1969, at Selective Service National Headquarters in Washington, D.C. This event determined the order of call for induction during calendar year 1970; that is, for registrants born between January 1, 1944, and December 31, 1950.
~ The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old. 12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old. ~ 5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.
Before the lottery was implemented in the latter part of the Vietnam conflict, there was no system in place to determine order of call besides the fact that men between the ages of 18 and 26 were vulnerable to being drafted.
A Brief History of the Vietnam Draft. In the early 1960s, nearly all 18 to 26-year-old male U.S. citizens and most noncitizens living were required to register for the draft. Following registration, the U.S. Selective Service (SS) classified registrants as available for service, deferred, or ineligible for service.
The United States military conscripted approximately 1.9 million service personnel into their ranks over the course of the Vietnam War. Commonly known as the draft, conscription had been conducted in the U.S. through the Selective Service System (SSS) since 1917.
Men ages 18-26 were required to register. Civilian authorities conducted the registration. Individuals were responsible for their own registration.
Because the Vietnam War was primarily a ground war, 82 percent of American servicemen who fought in Vietnam were members of the Army and the Marines, and two-thirds of those soldiers were drafted.
The various exemptions which draft-eligible men could use to avoid service, such as still being in university education or being medically unfit, were thought to allow better-connected and middle class men to evade the draft more easily than working class or minority men.
The various exemptions which draft-eligible men could use to avoid service, such as still being in university education or being medically unfit, were thought to allow better-connected and middle class men to evade the draft more easily than working class or minority men.
Here are 7 of the most common ways that American men tried to avoid the draft during the Vietnam War. Enlisting in Another Branch of the Military. Registering as a Conscientious Objector. Getting Married and Having Children. Attending College. Claiming a Medical Condition. Burning Your Draft Card. Fleeing the Country.