[Red Badger]

I am too young (49) to have been worried about going to Vietnam when I was 18, so I don't know a lot about the deferment process in the 60's. But were they not legal? If one got a deferment, was it not the government that gave it to you? If the VP got a deferment, then ipso facto it was the same govt that drafted that gave it out, no? And, if the Vietnam war was considered a bad war by the Left, then he should be praised by them for not going to fight it, no?.......

[Semi Civil Servant]

I am too young (49) to have been worried about going to Vietnam when I was 18, so I don't know a lot about the deferment process in the 60's. But were they not legal? If one got a deferment, was it not the government that gave it to you? If the VP got a deferment, then ipso facto it was the same govt that drafted that gave it out, no? And, if the Vietnam war was considered a bad war by the Left, then he should be praised by them for not going to fight it, no?.......

Your logic is impeccable, as always, Mr. Spock.

[stevem]

I am too young (49) to have been worried about going to Vietnam when I was 18, so I don't know a lot about the deferment process in the 60's. But were they not legal?

Not only were they legal, but in another venue, serving in the Air National Guard was an honorable way to fulfill the military requirement.

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

Up until 1969, there were many avenues for deferment. I graduated from college in 1969 and began working for a defense contractor (Grumman.) At the time, employees of firms in this industry were granted deferments.

By that year, however, there was a great deal of pressure to make the war more egalitarian (the left was protesting, among other issues, that the burden of soldiering was being unfairly borne by those not fortunate enough to be attending college; college students were deferred.) Many deferments were no longer to be given, and the fairest system imaginable--a lottery-- was instituted, with one's date of birth being the random number. Link . I lost my defense deferment, got a low lottery number (i.e., Number one was first to go--I had #37--the top 100 was surefire induction), and promptly enlusted in the Air Force for a 4 year stint. So, technically, I had two deferments. Maybe John Kerry or Terry McAuliffe will call me a coward.

[estrogen]

My ex husband got a draft notice and because he was married and I was pregnant, he got a deferrment. There was nothing wrong with that. Fathers shouldn't have been drafted at that point, nor were students.