The Navy Years - Draft Notice

-
In late Spring of 1968 I received a letter to take a physical for military service. It was scheduled in New Haven, CT and was unlike a regular physical performed by a personal physician. The experience was surreal and is pretty much as described in Arlo Guthrie's classic song Alice's Restaurant.

There was a lot of sitting around on benches with lots of other guys waiting to get inspected, injected and prodded. We weren't in the service but I remember being yelled at by people who were. According to the official Selective Service Website we were being examined for mental, physical and moral fitness by the military. Some of the people on the bench had prepared for their physical by ingesting large quantities of drugs but in 1968 they were mostly interested in making the numbers so everyone was deemed moral enough for war as long as they had a pulse.

The part that stuck in my mind was when we lined up and some army guy (with a bad facial wound) had us count off  and be assigned to either Army or Marines. I kept wondering about what happened to his face as we counted off. They needed more Army than Marines. I was picked for Army. I had no ambition about being in the Army, being drafted, being in the War or having the physical but that was the reality.

After my physical I took a drive over to the Yale War Resistance center to ask for an alternative to military service. We chatted a bit about fleeing to Canada but that didn't appeal to me, my Dad and Uncles had served in WWII. I would never leave my family. I left with a really cool button with the Greek Letter Omega, the symbol of resistance. The war was just heating up.

After i was classified 1-A (fit for military service) I realized I didn't have much time before I was have to report for duty. At this time there was no lottery so I couldn't play the odds of getting a low draft number. I took the action of going  on a whirlwind tour of recruitment centers. I was motivated to find the right one and was successful. Here were my results.

  • Reserves - No openings  (unless you are a Fortunate Son, which I was not)
  • Coast Guard - No openings
  • Navy - Yes, signed up.... good choice, school and a free cruise to Vietnam
  • Air Force - Never got that far
  • Space Force - Trump didn't invent it yet, but I did see 2001 when I went on Liberty from Boot Camp (movie was released in 1968), It would have been my first choice.


Draft Card issued after my Navy service, classification went from 1-A to 1-D meaning reserve status. I served 4 years and one month active duty. I was considered reserve for 2 additional years but they didn't bother me after separation.

Location: New Haven, CT, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

I'd like to hear from you

Popular posts from this blog

Why can't I find lyrics to "Hupaj Siupaj"?

-
Image
UPDATE (June 21, 2016) - I found the words! I have found a book called Treasured Polish Songs which contains the word to "Our Company" the song that most of us know as Hupaj Siupaj. The book is available at Amazon . Nine years ago after a fruitless search I posted a request on my blog. Some of the comments pointed me in the right direction. I'm including the words but STRONGLY suggest you buy the book, it has all the Christmas Songs and so much more. Page 104 - Treasured Polish Songs Page 105
Read more

823rd Bomb Squad - “The Terrible Tigers”

-
Image
On April 16th, 1944 over three hundred bombers and fighters of the 5th Air Army took off on a mission to bomb and strafe the Japanese airfields located at  Hollandia , Dutch New Guinea. The mission was successful and no aircraft was lost to enemy action, however their safe return was blocked by a massive weather front. 37 aircraft were destroyed or went missing because of the bad weather.This event known as  Black Sunday  and marked the biggest operational loss due to weather in WWII. My uncle piloted a  B-25  on this mission. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea Ed Poltrack's Squadron The experience of crews who did find an airfield was no better. Alfred B. Colwell,Jr., was the Navigator/Bombardier on a B-25 in the 38th Bomb Group based at Nadzab, New Guinea April 16 Mission #48 – Hollandia. … The whole area was full of planes-B-24s, B-25s, A-20s and P-38s. We got down to 50 feet above the coast and followed it towards Sa...
Read more

Caturday (Analog Edition)

-
Image
Saturday is Caturday Saturday is Caturday , a time to post photos and videos of our feline companions. While reviewing some of my scanned slides and negatives I found this purr-fect collection to share. Our old friend Mojo didn't mind being dressed up. He was a gentle soul who could actually play catch with corks We had a black and white cat when we lived in an apartment in 1973. This cat was hit by a car and I now suspect he suffered from congenital sensorineural deafness which is common with blue eyed white cats. In the Navy I was stationed in California. I spotted this guy in a flower bed. In the 1960s my sister found a kitten which she called Andrew, Eventually that became Fat Andrew. Fat Andrew wasn't fat she was pregnant. Like all cats she did her best to disrupt any desktop activity I was involved with. In this photo I was working on a Linocut  for a Christmas card. My mom had a Siamese she named Abigail, a beautiful creature with deadly claws ...
Read more