"Good evening…Tonight for the first time in 27 years the United States has again started a draft lottery,"
Roger Mudd, Washington Correspondent, December 1, 1969
In 1969 a lottery drawing was held to determine the order of induction calls for 1970; registrants from January 1, 1944 to December 31, 1950 were involved. 366 capsules containing birth dates were drawn to assign order of call numbers. The first capsule to be drawn contained the date September 14 therefore all born on that day were assigned lottery number one. 19-year-old men were the first to go in this system.
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"In 1969, I was in my fourth year at college. I lived in a small apartment building…and everyone in the building crammed into my room to watch the lottery on my old black and white TV. Someone brought a six pack of beer that was to be awarded the 'winner,' i.e. the person having the lowest number of all the guys in the building. Well, unfortunately I won the six pack with No. 23. It was such an insignificant prize for something so potentially awful, but somehow I felt OK about it. At least I didn't have to wonder what to do, as some of my friends had to with numbers around 180. I drank the six pack, joined the Army Reserves (after graduating in 1970), and retired 31 years later as a sergeant major."
Gary, No. 023
Gary, No. 023
"I was able to attend college via a generous scholarship through the Navy ROTC. Following my graduation in January 1970, with a degree in journalism, I was destined to go into the Navy. Even so, the lottery was a memorable day, night and morning after. I was No. 2, April 24, and that was a cause for a celebration. I remember the bar where we started drinking, but the march down State Street will be forever lost in a fog. Being No. 2, whenever the cry went up for lottery numbers, I was always the winner, and the beer was free for me. Even though the lottery didn't determine whether I served in the military, it impacted many of my friends. I ended up serving two tours in Vietnam, and being in the Navy taught me how much I was capable of doing, and that nothing was impossible. Those were great years—and not so great years—all rolled into one."
Jim, No. 002 |
"Since 1969 I have been telling friends that the only lottery that I have ever won was the 1969 draft lottery. I remember being in the den of my dorm watching TV with all the other residents, most all eligible for service. I was a junior. My number came up quickly. I knew that from that moment on my life's highest priority was dealing with the draft and the Vietnam War. School, family and friends took a back seat."
Tom, No. 030 |
"A 19-year-old from a middle class family in New Bern, N.C., was simply not equipped to handle or understand all the various sides of the war issue, and I do not even today. Like everyone else, I did my best to avoid the draft….However, in the summer of 1969, I found myself at Cape Cod, Mass., where I was exposed to both drug parties and to young platoon leaders barely two years out of college coming home on leave from Vietnam or getting out of the Army. Seeing my friends getting further involved in the 'drug of the day' did little to impress me, but I was moved by the calm confidence of these returning vets, only 3-4 years older than me. At summer's end, I chose to enlist in the Army. After a year in infantry training, I was sent to Vietnam, where I sloshed through rice paddies and served with some of the most memorable 'buddies' I have had the privilege to be around. Thanks to my time in Vietnam, I have been able to face many challenging decisions with the same calm confidence displayed by the young platoon commanders I so respected in the summer of '69."
Mike, No. 217
Mike, No. 217
Draft Lottery Random Selection Calendars
Bailey Adolph
Senior Division Webpage
Senior Division Webpage