I thought you were arguing about leftist professors demanding that students demonstrate, but instead you are arguing about something else entirely, about the possibility of being drafted and sent to Vietnam to die.
So I will address that, instead of refuting what I originally thought you were arguing against. In future, it would help to specify when you are calling someone a liar. Unless you are just being argumentative.
Statistically, losing a draft deferment only meant someone was eligible for being drafted. Of those, the higher numbers of the draft lottery were most at risk of being drafted. Those that were drafted had to pass induction, and some were rejected for medical incapability. Draftees only “rounded out” military needs, because of voluntary enlistment.
Once basic training was successfully completed, branch assignments were issued. The ratio of combat support and combat service support personnel to combat personnel during Vietnam was about 13:1. No matter what branch assignment, the majority of personnel were assigned to service in CONUS, Europe and non-Vietnam Asia.
After arrival in Vietnam, assignment of combat branched personnel to forward units was based on unit need. Since there were many instances of reenlistment of personnel on a “remain in unit” basis, each reenlistment would bump a replacement from that unit. And of those forward deployed units, relatively few were engaged in heavy combat at any given time.
Therefore, the odds of any given college student, “losing their deferment, being sent to Vietnam, and dying”, were quite small.
The flip side of the statistics were the actual casualty rates. All numbers from the National Archives:
58,000 dead plus 2,000 missing, about 60,000 total killed in 10 years.
39,000, or about 2/3rds of these were in a three year period of 1967 through 1969.
In 1967, 480,000 personnel were deployed in theater. There were 11,153 killed. 2.3% chance of being killed.
In 1968, 512,000 personnel were deployed in theater. There were 16,592 killed. 3.2% chance of being killed.
In 1969, 543,000 personnel were deployed in theater, the largest number for any year of the war, out of 3,000,000 total active duty personnel. There were 11,616 killed. 2.1% chance of being killed.
So, out of the 1/6th of the active duty US military deployed to Vietnam, in 1968, the bloodiest year of the war, there was still only a 3.2% chance of getting killed.
Out of the active duty military as a whole, a .55% chance of being killed in Vietnam. Half a percent chance.
And yet, according to the MSM, and many in academia, if a student failed in school, they would lose their draft deferment, and be sent to Vietnam to die.
This was a lie. And one that students of that period have suffered under then and even now. They were told, believed then, as many still believe today, that their lives were at great risk.
No I'm not, I made it clear in post 33.
"Though the odds were quite small of being drafted, being sent to Vietnam, and dying, students were threatened that if they *didn’t* protest against the war, their professors would fail them, they would lose their draft deferment, be drafted, sent to Vietnam, and die."
Did you actually see any professors saying that? I never did.
33 posted on Thursday, July 30, 2009 6:34:03 PM by ansel12
You were making that up about what professors were saying and that is what I was calling you on. Rather than simply saying that you made that part up you keep posting unrelated, distracting, diversions.
Thanks for the little distracting history lesson, as someone that was in the first draft lottery, fought the draft for two years and had a lot of dealings with the draft resistance community, won a permanent deferment and then enlisted in the army and asked for jump school shortly after I had defeated the draft board (as planned), I do remember that stuff pretty well already.
By the way high numbers meant you were safe.