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

[grantcart]

86. It defined everything we did.

Born in '54 so just past draft age.

It defined everything else that was happening. Either you were against it and really against or you were uninformed.

If you were from a conservative family it provided a permanent schism in the family. I was active in progressive Republican politics (in those days the Republican Party Washington State had a wing that was more progressive than the hawkish Dem establishment that wass run by Scoop Jackson) and as a teenager was publicly identified as communist and national security threat while I worked for the Governor.

I worked with the Friends Education Service and conducted teach ins. You stopped normal teenage stuff like dances and proms and read a lot.

It defined who your friends were and ultimately you either persuaded them to join you in the demonstrations or the friendship ended.

I ended up meeting a lot of Asians at college and married an exchange student from Thailand. In the middle of graduate school she wanted to go back for her Masters so we took a break and while in Thailand I talked my way into a UN agency. I ended up spending 10 years resettling refugees and another 10 years in Thailand.

One of the things that happens if you spend extended periods in third world countries is that you are not building up a retirement in the US ( going to qualify for SS this year) with no 401k or pension I will not be able to retire here, and will work as long as I can and then leave to retire in Thailand.

So for some of us it defined everything, family, friends, work and even retirement. It was a wild ride - when I went to Vietnam in '78 I was one of the first Americans to go back in. I ended up converting to Buddhism and most of our family and friends are Thais.

It defined many of us, I cannot imagine what life would have been like if there had not been the Vietnam war. For all I know I could have become a Republican Congressman. If you were from a conservative family/community it absolutely changed everything if you were actively against it.