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A protest against the draft. These were especially common in
the United States with the younger generations.
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During the Vietnam War, surprisingly about 2/3 of the troops were made up of volunteers, and only a measly 1/3 were enlisted through the draft. This selective service program had been around for many years before the Vietnam War, since about 1940, to provide a backup system to provide manpower for the United States' military. The draft continued during peaceful times and wars, to fill jobs in the military that couldn't be filled with volunteers. It wasn't very common to be drafted for the Vietnam War, since the means of selecting citizens wasn't very broad, but when people were selected it was always in a very large group. 366 capsules, each with a date were placed in a bucket. Congressman Alexander Pirnie, or a child selected for this purpose, would then pull out one of these capsules. All men born between 1944-1950, on the date they pulled were then required to enlist in the military for duty. Although the odds of your birthdate being pulled were very low, the number of people who still fled the country to Canada and Mexico was extremely high. About 70,000 people fled the country, as to not be drafted, and 60% of men eligible to be drafted fled the country.
http://thevietnamwar.info/vietnam-war-draft/
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ReplyDeleteIt surprised me to learn that only 1/3 of the troops in Vietnam were drafted. The draft during the Vietnam War has become infamous in United States history. Almost everyone knows about the protests against it and the "draft dodgers". It's shocking to realize just how few people it actually ended up affecting.
ReplyDeleteIt almost gives me the Hunger Game effect, picturing men standing around flinching every time someone said their name hoping it was followed by "You've been drafted to go to war" I am also shocked though at how small the numbers actually were, when it's talked about it made to seem like men were essentially disappearing because how fast they were being drafted. Im happy I was able to join by choice, and I wonder if some men ever stayed in Canada or Mexico.
ReplyDeleteI always felt horrible for people who were drafted, but I think it was necessary for the US to actually make any progress in the war. I think there were so many problems with PTSD because of the fact that a lot of these people in this brutal war would have never even tried to join the military. Our soldiers were fighting a war they didn't want to fight and then coming home to a bunch of people who disrespected them because they fought.
ReplyDeleteI always felt horrible for people who were drafted, but I think it was necessary for the US to actually make any progress in the war. I think there were so many problems with PTSD because of the fact that a lot of these people in this brutal war would have never even tried to join the military. Our soldiers were fighting a war they didn't want to fight and then coming home to a bunch of people who disrespected them because they fought.
ReplyDeleteAt that point in time the draft was a necessary evil which is a horrible thing to do. Forcing people to do something they don't want to do is bad especially when it could possibly kill them. I'm sure the government didn't want to make it that way but it was there only option.
ReplyDeleteI'm really shocked to know that only 1/3 of the people who went to Vietnam were drafted. I would have expected it to be more than that. But still, I think the draft is a horrible idea. It reminds me of the guy Tim O'Brien's character killed in the novel we're reading. He clearly was not a soldier and did not want to be, and he ended up dying for something he didn't even want to do. I don't think it's right that so many people had to go to war against their will and risk their life simply because they were unlucky and their birthday got drawn. Also, I agree with Andy that PTSD was so common with Vietnam vets because a lot of them did not want to go to war and were basically forced to do things and see things they did not want to do or see at all. I think without the draft, there would have been far fewer suicides by vets.
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