Aside from being physically or mentall incapable of serving, what other reasons would allow you to be exempt from the draft during WWII? Did they allow you to defer service if you were in college, as in Vietnam? What about if you were the head of a family? Any other reasons? Thanks for your help.
The big one was always essential services. Police officers, firemen, farmers and numeorus others were exempt to some degree simply bacuase the country couldn’t do without them. All these positions were pruned during the war, but numeorus people in those jobs tried to volounteer and were turned down, never mind being drafted. A farmer wasn’t allowed to simply abandon his land to fight, nor was judge allowed to resign.
I don’t know quite what professions this covered, but it seems like most proffesions had to be kept active to some degree, and hence the participants could avoid the draft. I’ve heard of cases of people in what we think of as minor jobs like projectionists being allowed to defer or outright rejected because no one else in a small town could fill their shoes.
Interesting. The merchant seamen would have been safer in the real Navy than in the Merchant Marine, in the Atlantic at least.
Well, I think I’ve found a list of draft categories in WWII…still looking for an official list, though
1A–fit for general military service.
1B–fit for limited military service.
1C–member of the armed forces.
1D–students fit for general military service.
1E–students fit for limited military service.
IIA–deferred for critical civilian work.
IIIA–deferred due to dependents.
IVA–already served in the armed forces.
IVB–deferred by law, i.e. draft officials. I
VC–alien.
IVD–ministers.
IVE–conscientious objector.
IVF—physically, mentally or morally unfit for service.
Obviously, that should be
IVC–alien