My dad, early 70s, knowing he was about to be arrested for refusal to comply with the Vietnam War draft.
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Good for him.
Can’t blame him
Fuck that stupid war. I was ready to leave the US if my number was called. All props to your Dad.
so much cool, defiance and chill in one picture
Brave enough to fight for his freedom. Guys like him ended the draft in America.
My number was 35. Sent for my physical,passed and told go home and wait. I waited and was never called up. Lost several friends in that shit hole war….for some unknown reason I was never called up…have felt guilty about that for over 50+ years…
My dad got drafted and had to go. He never got over his bitterness of it.
This man is a hero.
He looks like a hippie Zach Galifanikas
My Father to this day swears it’s the only lottery he ever had his number come up in.
Smart man
kudos to your father/activist!!!!!! (100%)
How long was he in prison for?
How did the draft lottery work? Did every guy get a number?
I was already in the army then. Your Pop made the right choice.
if the GQP keeps worshipping dictators the draft might be restarted. it still exists, fellas.
Fuck the draft.
OP, wondering what the final result was for you dad? we helped resisters get to canada from the US and deserters to england and sweden. one of my HS friends had his number called and asked for CO status but of course they said no. he went as an unarmed medic because he absolutely refused to shoot another human being. he made it home and saved hundreds of soldiers without ever touching a gun.
Great picture, he looks a bit like Jim Morrison.
What was the consequences to your Dad for refusing?
Can’t blame him, especially with what we know about the war now. So many lives destroyed over nothing.
His body language says ” Draft THIS!”
My dad was drafted and went and came back. He was also in university at the time and I guess all those rumors about dodging the draft by going to school were just rumors or didn’t work for everyone.
Looks like Eddie Vedder!
My dad was going to do the same thing when drafted. Became a medic instead and refused to carry a gun. Got wounded in 70, but saved lives instead of taking them to appease McNamara and the gang
Atta boy
My Marine combat veteran father would have cracked his skull and then disowned him.
I recently met cousins I’d never knew existed because their dad (my first cousin) was a draft dodger and he and his kids were anathema to the family.
I think it’s crazy how we use to treat draft dodgers..
Like what? You don’t want to go live in a creek, eat powered food, shit in a hole, and oh yea…. Probably die for like.. 80 bucks??
I would have dodged that shit so quick..
Wow! Thank you for sharing this! It took a lot of strength to do what he did! War is not the answer, ever.
I remember the eldest son of one of our neighborhood families was drafted when I was very young. He was a real “hippy” type with very long, blonde hair – that’s what I remember about him. He dodged the draft and split to Canada with some friends. He came home in a body bag. Apparently, some men found out that he was on the run and drowned him up in Canada. I’ll never forget hearing about it when it happened. I don’t know what happened afterwards, or if they even tried to find and charge the people who killed him.
Good on him ✌️
it really pisses off the youngsters to learn that the entire counter-culture was created by Boomers rebelling against forced conscription. something that none of us has had to contend with since…
Layne Staley here ain’t got time for war.
My dad was arrested for refusing to comply as well. He spent 4 years in prison.
Drafts shouldn’t be thing.
Based dad
Are you sure this isn’t the dude from spin doctors?
Every time people start whining about boomers, I think, they were the last generation to face the draft. No wonder they lived big.
the concept of a draft is fucked. There is absolutely no shame in “dodging” the draft. The state has no right to make you die for its existence
My draft number was 47. The war ended just before I had to make that same decision. Literally dodged a bullet.
One of the things I realize more and more as I get older is that all of us have choices, and sometimes living with them is harder than making them. I have tremendous respect for your Father making that choice, dealing with it’s consequences, and living with them unapologetically. People love to talk about having freedom of choice, but they don’t often talk about what it’s like to live with the consequences of those choices.
1971, the last draft. the war was starting to wind down; to get away from my family, I tried to enlist, the recruiter took one look at me and said ” no way” why I asked, look at your glasses, you’re blind, you get two pairs of glasses when you go in the army, Vietnam is a thick jungle, if you break both pairs of glasses, you’ll be blind, and maybe get someone killed guiding you out of the jungle, or killed yourself.
I respect the ones who went to Vietnam but I don’t blame the ones who didn’t go. I was lucky because I was a senior in high school in 73 when the POWs came home.
How much jail time?
My father was “lucky” in that he had terrible vision and serious asthma so he never would have passed the physical. As far as I know, his number was never called so he didn’t have to test it. But I know he lost friends to the war and a few of his friends that I do know that came back, are still not “right.” Screwed everyone up.
I think about this a lot. My dad was drafted in the Army but because of his degree, they put him as an officer and he worked at the army base. He met my mom who was a chauffer for the army. (she’s Vietnamese). If he wasn’t drafted, I wouldn’t be here. I have existential crises about this all the time.