Is there anyone on DU-3 who lived through Vietnam War Era..whose life was changed by the DraftWar?

[frazzled]

64. When I was in college (1968-1972) ...

here's what I remember:

1. It was a part of our existence every day in every way, whether protesting the war or (for my male friends) trying not to get drafted, by any means possible (see below).

2. I remember a friend asking me to drive up to Toronto with him for a weekend, to visit a family friend. On the way back, we were stopped at the border, the car was torn apart, and we were sent to separate offices for questioning and total, invasive frisking. Turns out my friend, unbeknownst to me, had brought back literature on emigrating to Canada (which they'd found), just in case he needed to escape the draft. He was dead serious and prepared to do it.

3. Even though we were in college and thus obviously had student deferments, the fear was always there (for males) of getting drafted: either because you might flunk out or because they might drop deferments. I knew guys who got fake psychiatric or medical letters to have on hand. I knew one guy who was being called up for his physical who was contemplating cutting off his toe. Oddly, I don't remember whether he did it. We all knew that we were privileged because we were students, and that the draft was massively unfair: racist and classist.

4. I remember missing classes many times for bomb scares, where the university's buildings would be shut down. This was after the bombing of Cambodia.

5. I remember going over to take over a building to demand the university drop its contracts with the military-industrial complex. It turned out they had already canceled all research contracts with the military, so I went home to study. I also remember how scary it was to be in protests with horse-mounted police and tear gas. This was in New York City, and the protests were big and the horses bigger.

6. I remember when my brother got his Conscientious Objector status. I was very proud of him. My father (a World War II veteran) was not so pleased--until later, when he too realized how wrong the war was and was proud.

7. My (future) husband (I met him right after I'd graduated) had a low number and so was never drafted. Nearly forty years later, I asked him suddenly one night if he was sorry he'd never gone. He said hell no.