Was every Vietnam era draftee sent to fight in Vietnam?

[Siam_Sam]

@Navy_draftee

something that is not true is certainly not “wisdom”

It was a common belief at the time though. I remember hearing it.

[Navy_draftee]

@SanDiegoTim

When drafted, you were drafted into the “Armed Forces of the United States.” The Navy and Air Force never needed personnel, in part because many who were “draft bait” enlisted in the USN & USAF to avoid the Army and VN. The Marines did not require a large number of draftees to fulfill quota as its a smaller force and there were a lot of guy who just wanted to be Marines. However, as was my experience, May of '69 found the Marines looking for a few good men.

Some who enlisted in the Navy were trained as Corpsmen and were assigned to Marine units. Those guys had it as tough, if not tougher, than a front line grunt.

The Navy "*never needed personnel " *** ?

Why were there about 20 draftees in my Navy boot camp in 1965?

( I WAS ONE OF THEM )

[ChitownBrat]

How could a low draft number not be drafted when a friend born the same day was called up?

[Voyager]

First, note this is a 10 year old thread, so don’t expect answers from anyone in it.
I’d need more information. I had a really low number, but had a student deferment that lasted until Nixon stopped the draft, so I was spared. So something like that might have happened.
(By low I mean single digit. Only lottery I’ve ever won. )

[bump]

@Musicat

The rules back then allowed you to enlist with a guaranteed MOS or training for one if you qualified, and unless you screwed up, that wouldn’t change. They allowed you to specify where you wanted to go in advance of enlistment, and as long as the position was open, you would be guaranteed assignment there, but only for one year. After that, you went where the military needed you most (but you could always request a transfer).

Sure, but once you’ve gone to your AIT/A-school, you’re not likely to be reassigned to another MOS lightly- they’ve already invested in your training, and it’s probably a LOT easier and cheaper to just grab a draftee and assign him to infantry.

[Kent_Clark]

@ChitownBrat

How could a low draft number not be drafted when a friend born the same day was called up?

The U.S. was divided into hundreds of sectors, each of which had a quota of enlistees and draftees to deliver. If enough young men enlisted, that draft board might not have to call any draftees at all. My own county was divided into several areas, some of which had many men without deferments and were either drafted or called up. Men who had relatively high lottery numbers were safe. In other areas where the pool of eligible young men was smaller, those with even very high lottery numbers might be called.

[ChitownBrat]

Low number was born in 1951 I think the number was 2 digits. A friend with the same birthday who lived next and was called up. But this person waited for a letter the entire year to come on the advice of his parents and one never came. His friend growing up next door with same birthday was called up, did get a letter and did serve. He postponed his life for a year waiting for the letter which never came. No deferments, he put his life on hold waiting for the letter that never came.

[Chefguy]

@SanDiegoTim

Some who enlisted in the Navy were trained as Corpsmen and were assigned to Marine units. Those guys had it as tough, if not tougher, than a front line grunt.

True enough. When I enlisted in the Navy, I was designated as “Group 8”, which was the Seabees, which meant that Vietnam was likely in my future (which I didn’t know at the time), so my scheme to avoid the war went sideways. A lot of 'Bees were posted in forward positions, but I was lucky to be on a large Marine logistics base further to the rear. While we took occasional incoming rocket fire, it was nowhere near as hairy as some of the situations others found themselves in.

[Voyager]

Interesting. I know that different draft boards had different policies, but that wouldn’t have affected this situation.