# Percent of all 1-A's drafted in WW2? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 16, 2022, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474 "2022-05-16T02:40:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/1 "2022-05-16T02:40:59Z")
Let’s say an American man was between the ages of 18 and 23 from 1941 to 1945. In good health, not otherwise deferred or ineligible to serve. Prime meat, especially given that at one point they were prepared to call up men 38-44 years old. Was there anyone whatsoever meeting that description who _wasn’t_ drafted? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/2 "2022-05-16T03:22:23Z")
It’s possible. The country was divided up into hundreds of local districts. The military would tell each district to send X number of draftees If the number of potential draftees in your district was large, you had a lesser chance of being called than if your district had a lower population. But not all of the draft pool were prime meat. [Up to half of potential draftees](https://www.encyclopedia.com/defense/energy-government-and-defense-magazines/conscription-world-war-ii) were rejected or deferred, and the standards changed throughout the war. My father, for one, was rejected for military service in December 1941. By the fall of 1942 he was judged to be prime, despite the fact that he was 26 years old and now married with a child on the way. Interestingly enough, [there doesn’t seem to be agreement about how many eligible men there actually were.](https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/12375/percentage-of-the-draft-pool-that-were-conscripted-during-ww2-and-vietnam) Common cites say there were 50 million eligible men, but some other sources say the real number was more like 35 million. However, the 1940 Census listed only 32 million men ages 15-44 (the age for drafting started out in 1940 as 21-45, then was changed in 1942 to 18-38.) About 10 million men actually were inducted. Starting with a pretty certain figure of 10 million drafted, with a potential draft pool of (let’s use the lower figure) 35 million, half of whom didn’t make the cut, we’re left with roughly 57% of potential prime candidates actually being drafted. The odds would be higher if you were under age 38. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/3 "2022-05-16T05:03:45Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Was there anyone whatsoever meeting that description who _wasn’t_ drafted? I’m sure some of these guys meet that description. > **[Alternative Service: Conscientious Objectors and Civilian Public Service in...](https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/conscientious-objectors-civilian-public-service)** > > During World War II, a new program gave young men who refused to wear a uniform other ways to serve their country. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/4 "2022-05-16T05:23:09Z")
I am sure there were a few exceptions, but the Army started lowering its entry requirements, so piety much all A-1 before VE day would have been called up. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/5 "2022-05-16T10:04:09Z")
[16.1 million people served in the US Military in WW2](http://www.world-war-2.info/casualties/) (defined as I recall from summer of 1941 when the first real naval patrols began to December 1946), although not all served simultaneously and during this time people would have become eligible and others would have aged out. But presuming numbers of military age males\* mentioned upthread are true are true, anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of people who could serve did. \*Some women served in the Nursing corps and as parts of various women’s auxiliary forces, but those are very small as a total so is ignored here. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/6 "2022-05-16T16:05:45Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > I’m sure some of these guys meet that description. But those people weren’t classified as 1-A, which is what I interpreted as the OP’s idea of “In good health, not otherwise deferred or ineligible to serve.” [In fact, there were dozens of draft classifications between I-A and IV-F, including some that only applied to dead people.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Training_and_Service_Act_of_1940) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/7 "2022-05-16T16:42:44Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > including some that only applied to dead people.] And I’m sure they would have drafted those if a use for them could have been found. 😄 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/8 "2022-05-16T16:59:29Z")
Undoubtedly many who served were volunteers who were not classified 1-A. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/9 "2022-05-16T18:46:33Z")
AFAIK, there wasn’t any sort of graded scale that went like 2-B, “fat, but otherwise fit”, 3-C, “bad eyes, bad back, explosive flatulence”, and so on. There were just two main categories based on fitness: 1-A, meaning you were fit for military service, and 4-F, meaning you weren’t fit for service. The rest were various sorts of deferrals - for example, 2-B is a deferment for working in an industry essential to national defense, and 4-D is someone who’s a minister/clergyman of some kind. 1-S is a high school student deferment, for example. [Selective Service System - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Service_System#Classifications) I think the problem that we face in trying to determine this is that the sequence of events is such that we don’t know how many 1-A men registered but never had their numbers called, as the 1-A/4-F classification is done _ **AFTER** _ someone was drafted, not before. So the best we can do is to note that [as many as 43% of draftees were rated 4-F](https://twu-ir.tdl.org/bitstream/handle/11274/325/2013SmithTiffanyOCR.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y#:~:text=While%20standards%20from%20the%20Armed,43%25%20of%20the%20drafted%20American), and apply the same percentage to the 40 million who weren’t inducted. So of the remaining 34 million or so who were not actually drafted (6.5 million 4-F, and about 10 million drafted), we assume that they’ll break down as 19.3 million 1-A, and 14.6 million 4-F. Of the total pool of 1-A (29.3 million), we had about 10 million drafted, which is right about 1/3, which not coincidentally is the same for 4-F ( 6.5 out of 21.1 million), as they were sorted AFTER being drafted. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/10 "2022-05-16T19:32:50Z")
I had an uncle who had only one eye. Yet they drafted him. Apparently, his kid brother had enlisted and deprived his draft of one to meet their quota, so they drafted his older brother who was definitely not 1A. OTOH, the army actually made good use of him. He was an auto mechanic and he spent the war in Florida repairing tanks. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/11 "2022-05-16T20:56:27Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > OTOH, the army actually made good use of him. He was an auto mechanic and he spent the war in Florida repairing tanks. Did they ship tanks back to the US to get them repaired? Or was he only repairing training tanks and the like. I suppose they had otherwise mostly empty ships returning so they could have sent tanks back. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/12 "2022-05-16T21:03:38Z")
> [@bump](#): > > AFAIK, there wasn’t any sort of graded scale that went like 2-B, “fat, but otherwise fit”, 3-C, “bad eyes, bad back, explosive flatulence”, and so on. Actually there was according to [Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Training_and_Service_Act_of_1940) , although as the table there indicates there were several changes between 1940 and 1946 as the war and perceived needs changed. Generally class 1 was available for service (with or without several subgrades of caveat). Class 2 was deferred by occupation, class three was deferred by dependency and class 4 were declared unfit. Within class 1 there were several grades of nominally available, such as for limited service, available after correction of defects, and aged 38-44. Generally there were two major dates of reclassification: 1942 when demand was exceptionally high, and 1944 when eventual victory was in sight and demand became less desperate. From May of 1945 to Nov of 1946 there was even a grade that was effectively “good enough for occupation troops”. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/13 "2022-05-16T23:42:55Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Generally there were two major dates of reclassification: 1942 when demand was exceptionally high, and 1944 when eventual victory was in sight and demand became less desperate. I find that interesting. One of my grandfathers was deferred twice, because he was working on a farm. And yet he was finally inducted sometime late in the war–I think in late 1944. It was late enough that by the time he got through training, there apparently wasn’t any need to ship him overseas. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/14 "2022-05-17T00:25:00Z")
He wasn’t alone. The biggest increase in U.S. troop strength was from 1942 to 1943, [but went up by 1.5 million in 1944, and another 600,000 in 1945.](https://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/student-resources/research-starters/research-starters-us-military-numbers) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/15 "2022-05-18T00:20:26Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Did they ship tanks back to the US to get them repaired? Or was he only repairing training tanks and the like. I suppose they had otherwise mostly empty ships returning so they could have sent tanks back. I don’t know. I never thought to ask him. You make a good point. Even if they had empty ships deadheading back, they still would have had to send them back. Maybe it was only the training tanks. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/16 "2022-05-18T02:57:54Z")
> [@bump](#): > > AFAIK, there wasn’t any sort of graded scale that went like 2-B, “fat, but otherwise fit”, 3-C, “bad eyes, bad back, explosive flatulence”, and so on. > > There were just two main categories based on fitness: 1-A, meaning you were fit for military service, and 4-F, meaning you weren’t fit for service. Yes, but as the war wore on, they lowered the standards. There were also sub-ratings such as _I-A (B) Nominally available for limited military service, but below standards for general military service._ > **[Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 | World War II draft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Training_and_Service_Act_of_1940#World_War_II_draft)** > > The draft began in October 1940, with the first men entering military service on November 18. By the early summer of 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked the U.S. Congress to extend the term of duty for the draftees beyond twelve months to a total of thirty months, plus any additional time that he might deem necessary for national security. On August 12, the United States House of Representatives approved the extension by a single vote; Roosevelt's former Secretary of War Harry Woodring Ma... ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/17 "2022-05-18T13:38:48Z")
They were all subcategories of 1-A though. Anyway, it’s not like we have numbers of how many draftees were categorized as 1-A(B) or whatever. > [@OldGuy](#): > > Did they ship tanks back to the US to get them repaired? I don’t believe they did; from what I gathered, there wasn’t that much to carry _back_, and it was more effective to ship finished tanks and spare parts and set up repair depots in Europe to fix them there. Certainly _much_ faster at any rate, to fix them in Europe- probably at a fairly low level of the military hierarchy. I’d guess divisional. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/18 "2022-05-18T15:04:12Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Did they ship tanks back to the US to get them repaired? Or was he only repairing training tanks and the like. I suppose they had otherwise mostly empty ships returning so they could have sent tanks back. FWIW, My late uncle served in the Korean war and he told me of a depot in the rear areas where battle damaged tanks were brought for repair from battle damage. He saw some disturbingly graphic sights of some of the interiors following penetration from enemy shells. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/percent-of-all-1-as-drafted-in-ww2/964474/19 "2022-05-18T16:58:54Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > > [@OldGuy](#): > > > > Did they ship tanks back to the US to get them repaired? Or was he only repairing training tanks and the like. I suppose they had otherwise mostly empty ships returning so they could have sent tanks back. > > I don’t know. I never thought to ask him. You make a good point. Even if they had empty ships deadheading back, they still would have had to send them back. Maybe it was only the training tanks. I’d imagine tanks used in training would need a lot of repair and maintenance - between the noobs learning to drive them (how many clutches did a driving instructor’s car go through before automatic transmissions?) and constant use (no down time between actions). Plus, all those mechanics working in the repair depots overseas need to get trained somewhere - an ideal job for someone with skills but unfit for overseas deployment.