The Draft Lottery

The history of the draft in the United States.

This book provides a concise but thorough summary of how the selective service system worked from 1965 through 1973, and also demonstrates how this selective process, during a highly unpopular war, steered major life choices of millions of young men seeking deferrals based on education, occupation, marital and family status, sexual orientation, and more. This book explains each category of deferral and its resulting “ripple effect” across society. Putting a human face on these sociological trends, the book also includes a number of brief personal anecdotes from men in each category, told from a remove of 40 years or more, when the lifelong effects of youthful decisions prompted by the draft have become evident. There are few books which address the military draft of the Vietnam years, most notably CHANCE AND CIRCUMSTANCE: The Draft, the War and the Vietnam Generation, by Baskir and Strauss (1978). This early study of draft-age men discusses how they were socially channeled by the selective service system. RANDOM DESTINY follows up on this premise and draws from numerous later studies of men in the lottery pool, to create the definitive portrait of the draft and its long-term personal and social effects. RANDOM DESTINY presents an in-depth explanation of the selective service system in its final years. It also provides a comprehensive yet personal portrait of how the draft and the lottery steered a generation of young lives into many different paths, from combat to conscientious objection, from teaching to prison, from the pulpit to the Canadian border, from public health to gay liberation. It is the only recent book which demonstrates how American military conscription, in the time of an unpopular war, profoundly influenced a generation and a society over the decades that followed.

This book provides a concise but thorough summary of how the selective service system worked from 1965 through 1973, and also demonstrates how this selective process, during a highly unpopular war, steered major life choices of millions of young men seeking deferrals based on education, occupation, marital and family status, sexual orientation, and more. This book explains each category of deferral and its resulting “ripple effect” across society. Putting a human face on these sociological trends, the book also includes a number of brief personal anecdotes from men in each category, told from a remove of 40 years or more, when the lifelong effects of youthful decisions prompted by the draft have become evident. There are few books which address the military draft of the Vietnam years, most notably CHANCE AND CIRCUMSTANCE: The Draft, the War and the Vietnam Generation, by Baskir and Strauss (1978). This early study of draft-age men discusses how they were socially channeled by the selective service system. RANDOM DESTINY follows up on this premise and draws from numerous later studies of men in the lottery pool, to create the definitive portrait of the draft and its long-term personal and social effects. RANDOM DESTINY presents an in-depth explanation of the selective service system in its final years. It also provides a comprehensive yet personal portrait of how the draft and the lottery steered a generation of young lives into many different paths, from combat to conscientious objection, from teaching to prison, from the pulpit to the Canadian border, from public health to gay liberation. It is the only recent book which demonstrates how American military conscription, in the time of an unpopular war, profoundly influenced a generation and a society over the decades that followed.

Dale Walker won the lottery, not the Power Ball but the Vietnam War Draft lottery. Being a draft dodger was not an option in his family. They believed in the old-fashioned virtues: God, family, and country. Did he want to go to Vietnam and perhaps be killed? No, but if his country called, he would serve like all the brave men before him. He had his life planned out: work for a chemical company, marry his girlfriend, build a home and live the "American Dream." When his birthday was the number one pick in the Vietnam War Draft Lottery, all those plans changed. Dale married his sixteen-year-old sweetheart, served at the Army Intelligence School and overseas in Germany. His exciting Army career had its ups and downs, from winning "Soldier of the Year" to making lifelong friends, to medical emergencies and assisting Interpol with drug smugglers. This fictional novel was inspired by actual events in the lives of the author's family and the many blessings along their journey of serving God and others. Reverend Dale Warren, his wife Jane, children and grandchildren live a blessed life in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. While serving in the Army at the Intelligence and Electronic Warfare School and overseas, he completed a BS and MBA with honors. He returned home living the American Dream. When God called, he sold the family home to attend seminary and serve over twenty years in ministry. He has received many awards and honors: graduating Magna Cum Laude, being named an honorary citizen of Tucson, winning the Paul Harris Award from Rotary International, and was appointed by Governor Tom Ridge to serve the community. For more information on the author and his works visit www.pastordalewarren.com . Publisher's website: http: //sbpra.com/DaleWarren

Like it or not, chance plays a big part in our lives. Every day we face situations where the result is uncertain, and, perhaps without realizing it, we guess about the likelihood of one outcome or another. Fortunately, mastering the concepts of probability can cast new light on situations where randomness and chance appear to rule. In this book, which uses lotteries and casino games to provide the many illustrative examples, the reader can learn about the world of probability. The author demystifies the law of large numbers, betting systems, random walks, the bootstrap, rare events, the central limit theorem, the Bayesian approach and more. Written with wit and clarity, this book can be read easily by anyone who is not put off by a few numbers and some high-school algebra. It is also ideally suited to students of all disciplines taking their first course in probability.

This true coming of age story that shares the humor, drama, and romance of a forty-year love affair that begins with me being picked number one in the Vietnam War draft lottery. Some have compared this story favorably with Forest Gump or The Wonder Years.Winning the lottery shaped and molded my life. No, I didn't win the Power Ball or some other Million Dollar prize. On July 1, 1970, I won the Vietnam War Draft Lottery when my birthday, July 9th was chosen number one. I Won a Life in the Lottery - The Vietnam War Draft Lottery, chronicles the true-life adventure that resulted from being drafted during the Vietnam War. This dramatic yet humorous adventure began with marrying my sixteen-year-old sweet heart and moving her across country from her family and everything she knew to serve at the United States Army Intelligence School. This couple of naïve teenagers not only faced the realities of the war, but medical emergencies, encounters with cults, and being able to assist Interpol with drug smugglers. They together faced life threatening emergencies, heights of winning "Soldier of the Year, and surprises of sitting in the dugout during the World Series at Dodger stadium in Los Angeles. Most importantly this young couple learned they could handle anything if they stuck together, counted on each other, trusted in the Lord, and let their love grow into a forty-year love affair. Winning the draft lottery gave them a life worth living, a life of true adventure filled with laughter and tears. This humorous heartfelt story is inspired by the unexpected opportunities provided after my birthday was the number one pick in the Vietnam War draft lottery.

The Casualty Gap shows how the most important cost of American military campaigns--the loss of human life--has been paid disproportionately by poorer and less-educated communities since the 1950s. Drawing on a rich array of evidence, including National Archives data on the hometowns of more than 400,000 American soldiers killed in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq, this book is the most ambitious inquiry to date into the distribution of American wartime casualties across the nation, the forces causing such inequalities to emerge, and their consequences for politics and democratic governance.