At one time all the Midshipmen attending the State Maritime Academys had their names removed from the draft rolls. From 1967 until July I had no draft status. And when someone at the local draft board goofed and clasified me 1A in December 1969 the academy’s administration had that status changed to no claissification and name removed from draft list. but at graduation if you did not recieve a reserve Naval Commission and did not ship out the Army would be knocking on your door in about a week.
I lived in the US in the sixties and was eligible for the draft as a green card holder. I was at high school and college. No-one I knew of personally was sent to Viet Nam as cannon fodder. We were white, educated, savvy and calculating. I did not lose one friend to enemy action- they made decisions such as- join voluntarily- longer time served but a safe job (especially the Air Force), volunteer for the Peace Corps, feign illness, get a picture of you sucking someone off in a picture booth. Those that were unlucky enough to get drafted usually ended up in non-combatant roles because they were educated and competent.