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To: LPM1888

Wasn't there a Vietnam lottery in 1971? If so, #4 would have been NOT do any of the above.


233 posted on 09/08/2004 6:02:59 PM PDT by Howlin (I'm mad as Zell)
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To: Howlin
"Wasn't there a Vietnam lottery in 1971"

According to a historical website:

"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. Reinstitution of the lottery was a change from the "draft the oldest man first" method, which had been the determining method for deciding order of call.

There were 366 blue plastic capsules containing birth dates placed in a large glass container and drawn by hand to assign order-of-call numbers to all men within the 18-26 age range specified in Selective Service law.

With radio, film and TV coverage, the capsules were drawn from the container, opened, and the dates inside posted in order. The first capsule - drawn by Congressman Alexander Pirnie (R-NY) of the House Armed Services Committee - contained the date September 14, so all men born on September 14 in any year between 1944 and 1950 were assigned lottery number 1. The drawing continued until all days of the year had been paired with sequence numbers.

259 posted on 09/08/2004 6:15:34 PM PDT by mass55th ( “Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings.”)
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To: Howlin
Wasn't there a Vietnam lottery in 1971? If so, #4 would have been NOT do any of the above.

The draft lottery was an improvement over the previous system but that was still a factor in someones decision process. I seem to recall the highest number called was 125 but that may be high. The call level had been higher in 1970.

If we have to revert to a draft the old method has to be improved. Personally I believe the best approach would be to eliminate all deferrals for reasons not medically related. If your number comes up you go within 30 days, period. During times of a draft the only persons eligible for the Guard should be persons who have already served their commitment or were missed by the lottery in a previous year.

401 posted on 09/08/2004 8:29:56 PM PDT by LPM1888 (What are the facts? Again and again and again -- what are the facts? - Lazarus Long)
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