In 1965, when Kerry decided to enlist, students "still saw the world in black and white," Brinkley said, and "not serving wasn't really an option" for the son of a foreign service officer. "His big decision was which branch of the military to join," said Brinkley. "Did he want to go to Vietnam? No. But how could he live with himself if he finagled his way out of his duty?" It was well-known to those subject to the draft in the 60's that if you knew you were going to be drafted and wanted to avoid the chance of being sent into combat in Vietnam, you should enlist in the Navy. That's why there was a waiting list for that service, as well as the Coast Guard, while the Army and Marines had to use draftees.
You imply that enlisting in the the Coast Guard was a way to avoid Viet Nam service. Maybe for some, but not for the many. The Coast Guard has a long tradition of serving this country and its men and women regularly face danger in war (when it is under the Navy) and in peacetime. The Coast Guard was very active in Viet Nam and I was one who spent 50 weeks over there. See this link:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1555715281/ref=sib_rdr_dp/102-2772432-4659326?%5Fencoding=UTF8&no=283155&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&st=books
About 60 days ago a Coast Guard man was lost in Iraq while performing boarding operations. Last week I visited the Maritime Museum in Astoria, Oregon, where there is a display to honor the men who go out rescue fishermen and weekend sailors at the risk of their own lives. No, the Coast Guard, not unlike the other branches of the armed forces, is not the service you enter if you want to stay safe.