Tags
Draft Cards, Frank Terranella, Men, opinion, Selective Service, The Write Side of 50, Vietnam war
My son most likely will never receive a draft card – is that a good thing?
BY FRANK TERRANELLA
I was looking for something in a drawer in my bedroom recently, and came across a relic from the 1970s – my draft card. It occurs to me that the Baby Boomer generation is in a unique position when it comes to military service. While we were the last generation of men in recent times who were saddled with compulsory military service, most of us didn’t serve. So we are unlike our fathers, who mostly did serve, and unlike our sons, who may never have experienced the threat of compulsory service.
I think that every man my age remembers going down to the Draft Board and registering. Those of us who were more fortunate were able to claim college or other exemptions. The less fortunate got their induction letters, and were sent to war.
