Conscripts were not part of the Australian forces who served in Korea, Malaya and Borneo. Vietnam War Era Draft Lotteries 1970 – 1971 – 1972 Draft Lotteries ‘WINNING’ THE LOTTERY The lowest numbers drawn were called for induction into the military first, so men always hoped to draw a high number in the draft lottery. Conscription during the Vietnam War | State Library of South … Although only 25 percent of the military force in the combat zones were draftees, the system of conscription caused many young American men to volunteer for the armed forces in order to have more of a choice of which division in the military they would serve. Draft Lottery results for the Vietnam War in 1969 – Bobscaping Two hundred were killed, just under half of all Australian fatalities. During the Vietnam War era, between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. military drafted 2.2 million American men out of an eligible pool of 27 million. Birthdays. The Vietnam War had considerable effects on Canada, but Canada and Canadians also affected the war.. 1969 - President Nixon orders the "19-year-old draft": if a young man is not drafted at age 19, he will be exempt from future military service except in the event of war or national emergency. Birthdays were drawn from 366 blue plastic capsules. ‘The army got more people than it needed from the ballot, so it could choose. After their full-time service, they were required to serve for 3 1/2 years part time. Not many people these days think that their children's lives would be enhanced from learning to fight and kill in the way that in the past they may have.’, Edwards agrees: ‘I think it's absolutely clear across the political spectrum now that no government in circumstances that we can foresee, unless there is a very strong immediate threat to not just Australian interests, but probably to the Australian mainland itself, would even conceive of reintroducing compulsory national service.’. On December 1, 1969, the Selective Service System of the United States conducted two lotteries to determine the order of call to military service in the Vietnam War for men born from 1944 to 1950. They were a much smaller group but they wanted to radically reform or revolutionise Australian society.’. Not long ago, for no reason and because I was just curious I asked if he was drafted during Vietnam war. I thought all Americans were eligible for the draft no what what their background was. ‘Throughout the period of this national service scheme it had about 80 per cent support from the voters, Labor, Liberal, everyone. Enlistments were extended indefinitely for soldiers, previously discharged soldiers were recalled, and an increased number of young people were inducted into military service. Eligibility for legal protection from finance agreements including mortgages, debts, contracts and hire purchase agreements made before the national serviceman received his call-up notice. Vietnam army buddies were neighbors in Detroit for 18 YEARS but … Everyones birthday is celebrated on new years day. Group 001 birthdays would be the first group to be called upon. Inside here today were 181 marbles, representing birthdays. If he didn’t enlist, he knew he’d be drafted. Otherwise, you had to serve two years full-time in the regular army and three years part-time in the reserves. Australians have traditionally supported compulsory military training, although the issue of conscripts fighting overseas has always been controversial. [3] At least seven men were killed (although not all were combat casualties) and three were wounded in action. Mandatory military training began again in 1965 with the National Service Scheme. Those called up were selected through a ballot of birthdays. Birthday Celebrations from Vietnam. Any number that was 195 and lower was drafted at the time. The draft board filled their quota requirement by setting the age at which 1Y boys would be drafted, like perhaps 19 years and 2 months, and the age would be constantly changing if they needed more or less draftees for the Selective Service district. The other service which used draftees very briefly was the Marine Corps. Conscription, however, was taking place against the backdrop of the war becoming increasingly unpopular. Over 63,000 Australian men were conscripted (drafted) during the war. (365 days per year plus one to account for leap year birthdays.) Among those that were happy to be in the army, they were all happy to form an integral part of their unit. When I teach students about the Vietnam War I like to get all their birthdays and tell them who would have been drafted and who wouldn't have. 96 were drawn to provide a nucleus of 4,200 young men for training this year after exemptions and deferments have been decided upon. In Australia they pulled certain birthdays out of the hat, if it was your birthday you had to go no matter what. Australia had conscription in place and active , before the Vietnam war in 1972 ,( or somewhere close to that) in the elections, the labor party defeated the democratic party. For more than 80 years after the first British settlement, the only professional soldiers in Australia were members of British Army garrisons.The first conflicts in which large numbers of Australian-born soldiers fought overseas were the New Zealand Wars, between 1863 and 1872, although almost all of these—about 2,500 men—served in New Zealand colonial units, or the British Army. Update to the latest version for the best experience of FUSE. Not until 1987 were the Vietnam veterans allowed their big welcome home parade, and the year after the government started building the Vietnam Forces National Memorial in Canberra. Your information is handled in accordance with the ABC Privacy Collection Statement. ‘Of course, if you didn't register that was when you became a conscientious objector. ‘Between 1965 and '72, the years when it was operating, over 800,000 young men were eligible for the call-up and registered, but about 63,000 went into the army, and of those about 15,000 actually served in Vietnam. From left: Private Rodney Cox of Ganmain, NSW; Private Gordon Stafford of Gunnedah, NSW; Private Neil (Pop) Baker of Newcastle, NSW; Private Mark (Scrub) Minell of Moree, NSW; Private Graham Irvine of Coolamon, NSW. Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War - Wikipedia Other memorials had been erected almost straight after a war had ended, with the initiative taken by the Australian … From 1948 until 1973, during both peacetime and periods of conflict, men were drafted to fill vacancies in the armed forces which could not be filled through voluntary means. This was the fate that awaited the men whose birth dates were chosen in the Vietnam ballot. This event determined the order of call for induction during calendar year 1970; that is, for registrants born between January 1, … Rethinking the 20th century through an anti-war lens. Please ensure you read copyright statements for individual resources and understand the terms and conditions for any resource you intend to use. And we Aussies were only there because we agreed to support the US in conflicts, not because we had any personal connection to Vietnam. In 1940 Congress passed the Selective Training and Service Act which created the first peacetime draft and established the Selective Service System as an independent federal agency. This event determined the order of call for induction during calendar year 1970; that is, for registrants born between January 1, 1944, and December 31, 1950. Although there were still soldiers in Vietnam, the previous government under Liberal prime minister Billy McMahon had wound back the Australian commitment and the election of Whitlam merely hastened the process. The second, in December the following year, was defeated by a larger margin. ‘Some others served in Malaysia, both East and West Malaysia, and in Singapore and in Papua New Guinea, but that is, as you see, a very small percentage of the total age group.’. Not only is Tet the beginning of a New Year, it is also everyone's birthday. How did they know you had flat feet? Although only 25 percent of the military force in the combat zones were draftees, the system of conscription caused many young American men to volunteer for the armed forces in order to have more of a choice of which division in the military they would serve. ‘Roughly 8 per cent of the total number of people eligible for call-up were actually called up,’ says Edwards. He was 20 years old, and the Vietnam War was raging a half a world away. This was the fate that awaited the men whose birth dates were chosen in the Vietnam ballot. Lottery Numbers, by Birth Date, for Selective Service Lottery Held July 1, 1970. Therefore, it was pure coincidence that two consecutive dates were matched with No. If you haven’t had your birthday yet, Vietnamese age = Western age + 2. Members have even been identified in the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam[2] and detachments of the Special Air Service Regiment. For the lottery, 366 blue plastic capsules, each containing one date of the calendar year, were dumped in a large glass container. ‘The kind of war where large numbers of perhaps lightly trained infantry are required doesn't really happen anymore. Lower numbers were called first. ‘This was massively electorally popular,’ says Mark Dapin, author of The Nashos' War: Australia's national servicemen and Vietnam. I have a friend who recently had a birthday - he turned 59. The Vietnam War call-up for young Australian men that came … I have a friend who recently had a birthday - he turned 59. Conscripts were could initially only serve in Australia and its territories but after New Guinea was invaded by the Japanese, the government, by this stage Labor under Curtin, allowed conscripts to be sent within the south-west Pacific. Some volunteered to go to Vietnam. It was a lottery supposed to be based on the month and day you were born. There were those who objected on religious grounds, there were people who objected just to the Vietnam War because they thought it was an immoral war, there were people who objected to all wars, and there were civil libertarians who objected to the system and who said it's wrong to conscript people.’. It's a fun … In Australia they pulled certain birthdays out of the hat, if it was your birthday you had to go no matter what. ‘[The government] was worried that that might escalate the conflict between Indonesia and the new Federation of Malaysia in Borneo, but they were also worried that it might escalate into a direct confrontation between Indonesian and Australian forces on the island of New Guinea.’. In the 1960s hundreds of thousands of United States troops were involved in support of South Vietnam and the Australian government also decided to commit troops. Vietnam Lotteries A lottery drawing – the first since 1942 – was held on December 1, 1969, at Selective Service National Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Those sent to 'special service areas' overseas such as Vietnam, and the dependents of such men, were also entitled to settle their affairs at the Army's expense before leaving Australia. That was how Australia went to war 50 years ago yesterday. Keri Phillips looks at the chequered history of conscription in Australia on the 50th anniversary of the first ‘birthday ballot’ for the Vietnam War-era National Service Scheme. During the war, two referenda were held on an issue that divided the nation—whether or not conscripts should be sent to fight overseas. When the lottery took effect, men were assigned a number between 1 and 366. When the Second World War broke out, the Menzies government  brought back military service in the form of three months of CMF (Citizens Military Forces) training for all men who were turning 21. Although Australia had been fighting in many wars before it decided to send its military to Vietnam in 1962, this was the conflict that changed the country forever. I was drafted in 1967. That's not everybody but certainly the majority. * 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam Era (Aug. 5, 1964-May 7, 1975). You can copy and share this content for educational purposes.This work cannot be changed. The Vietnam War Selective Service Lottery and the U.S. All five men were called up in the first intake of national service in July 1965. The last man inducted entered the U.S. Army on June 30, 1973 during the last draft conducted. Birthdays are not usually celebrated in Vietnam. During the Vietnam War era, between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. military drafted 2.2 million American men out of an eligible pool of 27 million. As you understood about to the young people forced to be drafted in the army during the Vietnam War? If you haven’t had your birthday yet, Vietnamese age = Western age + 2. General John Wilton, the chief of army, hoped to recruit people who actually wanted to join the army and to attract them with good pay and conditions of service. Vietnam Lotteries A lottery drawing – the first since 1942 – was held on December 1, 1969, at Selective Service National Headquarters in Washington, D.C. During those years, the Selective Service used a lottery to determine the order in which draft age men would be called up for duty, usually in Vietnam. ‘At the time, the Australian government was much more worried about a conflict which we've almost forgotten these days, the Indonesian Confrontation,’ explains Peter Edwards, the official historian of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War and the author of Australia and the Vietnam War. During 1965, North Vietnam expanded the size of its army by 290,000 personnel and its self-defense militia from 1.4 million to 2.0 million. The capsules were then drawn out and opened, one by one, and assigned sequentially rising numbers. ‘In the year that you turned 20, you had to sign a register,’ says historian Bobbie Oliver from Curtin University. Attribute the copyright owner and author. These young men, the 4,200, will be drafted in two intakes. Conscription was again suspended in the years after WWII but returned in 1951 with the outbreak of the Korean War. Mark Dapin interviewed more than 150 former national servicemen for his book, The Nashos' War. Origins. VIETNAM WAR STATISTICS IN UNIFORM AND IN COUNTRY... * Vietnam Vets: 9.7% of their generation. The Vietnamese do not know or acknowledge the exact day they were born. Draft Birthdays are not usually celebrated in Vietnam. The following shows the number of men who were inducted into military service through the Selective Service System during the major 20th century conflicts. Keri Phillips looks at the chequered history of conscription in Various schemes, some for boys as young as 12, operated in the years leading up to World War I. There were exemptions given to college students if they passed a special exam provided by the draft board (to show that they were somewhat educated). People could be exempted in some circumstances. During Vietnam, over 90% of those drafted were placed in the U.S. Army. In 1973, the draft ended and the U.S. converted to an All-Volunteer military. In today’s all-volunteer military, the idea of someone being forced into … When it became clear that the government was going force him to accept conscripts, he was determined to get the sort of scheme that suited the military: one which had a requirement to serve overseas and was highly selective. Between 1965 and 1972, almost 15,500 national servicemen served in the Vietnam War. From 1965 to 1972, 804,000 young men registered for national service, 63,375 conscripts served in the army, 19,450 in Vietnam; 1479 were injured and 200 killed. This determined the order in which men born in 1951 were called to report for induction into the military ‘The military now is a highly professional body where many people have quite advanced technical skills,’ says Dapin. A baby turns one on Tet no matter when he/she was born that year. The Vietnamese do not know or acknowledge the exact day they were born. Eighteen-year-old men were called up to serve either three months in the army with subsequent camps or six months in the navy or air force. ‘They held a series of lotteries and if your birthday date was drawn out of the barrel, then you could be called up. When the Labor government of Gough Whitlam was elected in 1972, draft resisters were released from jail and the National Service Act was suspended. ‘But because such large numbers of young men were involved, it took an enormous number of professional soldiers to train them, and eventually this became a major task of the army in the 1950s and it became slowly apparent that it wasn't really worth doing on a military basis, and only the moral arguments remained. By 1969, those who opposed the war in Vietnam had increased in number and become sufficiently well organised to coordinate Australia-wide mass protests, known as the moratoriums. Birthdays. How would you feel if your birth date was picked out of a barrel, lottery-style, and you were ordered to report for military duty? These lotteries occurred during "the draft" — a period of conscription, controlled by the President, from just before World War II to 1973. The calculator, of course, does not use your birth year because many of us Canadian corporations sold war material to the Americans. How likely were you to be drafted during the Vietnam war if you were eligible? Not long ago, for no reason and because I was just curious I asked if he was drafted during Vietnam war. The Court rejected that view and in the process made it clear that objection to a particular war, as opposed to war in any form, was an impermissible basis for asserting a claim of conscientious objection. Listen to the full episode of Rear Vision to find out more about the history of national service in Australia. While children do receive lì xì (lucky money) at Tết, my students were quick to tell me this isn’t in celebration of their increase in age per se. However, it contributed to peacekeeping forces in 1973 to help enforce the Paris Peace Accords.. Until 1973, American men were drafted to fill the needs of the country’s armed forces that could not be met by volunteers. Mandatory military training for homeland defence began not long after federation. This Licence allows you to download, remix, alter and re-use this clip in your own creations. Once again, the idea was politically popular, although those running Australia’s armed services were not so enthusiastic. ‘People loved the idea that their sons would go out slouching and sullen, and return straight-backed and disciplined. From 1948 until 1973, during both peacetime and periods of conflict, men were drafted to fill vacancies in the armed forces which could not be filled through voluntary means. You can share your creations by copying, distributing and communicating to others. The lottery of 1969 was conceived to address perceived inequities in the draft system as it existed previously, and to add more military personnel towards the Vietnam War.The war had arisen from a series of conflicts dating back to the early stages of French colonialism and Japanese occupation of Vietnam in World War II.In 1963, South Vietnamese generals seized power in Saigon in … Two were present at the momentous battle of Long Tan in August 1966. You must provide a credit to the ABC as follows: Clip/Main Title [Luck of the draw: the Vietnam 'birthday ballot'] provided by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. I thought all Americans were eligible for the draft no what what their background was. Those called up were selected through a ballot of birthdays. It was a process that would cause great debate between its supporters and detractors in the years that followed. Everyones birthday is celebrated on new years day. Discover the most famous people from Vietnam including Vy Qwaint, Lana Condor, Tina Le, Lovely Mimi, Eudrip and many more. And we Aussies were only there because we agreed to support the US in conflicts, not because we had any personal connection to Vietnam. Approximately 850,000 men were affected by the 1969 draft lottery. history Vietnam War By Ingeborg van Teeseling. Not many people these days think that their children's lives would be enhanced from learning to fight and kill in the way that in the past they may have. There had always been a moral case for national service as well as a military case, and often that came to the fore. As is the way with these schemes, gradually fewer and fewer people were inducted, and by '59 it was suspended.’, Related: Rethinking the 20th century through an anti-war lens. The issue split the Labor Party as well, forcing prime minister Billy Hughes to cross the floor and create a new party that continued to govern in a conservative coalition. While children do receive lì xì (lucky money) at Tết, my students were quick to tell me this isn’t in celebration of their increase in age per se. It was initiated by Australia's longest serving prime minister, Robert Menzies, who had long supported the idea, especially as similar schemes were operated by the UK and the US. The Canadian government did not officially participate in the war. On December 1st, 1969, America's first military draft lottery since World War II was held. A baby … In 1973, the draft ended and the U.S. converted to an All-Volunteer military. The registration requirement was suspended in April 1975. ‘There was a more moderate movement which included Labor parliamentarians, for example, and many people in society generally, who just said this is a war that we shouldn't be in, we are not likely to win it, maybe we are putting ourselves on the wrong side of Asian opinion,’ explains Edwards. He alleged that if section 6(j) were construed to cover only objectors to all war, it would violate the religion clauses of the First Amendment. Conscription in Australia, or mandatory military service also known as National Service, has a controversial history dating back to the first years of nationhood.Australia currently only has provisions for conscription during times of war when authorised by the governor-general and approved within 90 days by both houses of parliament as outlined in the Defence Act 1903. I know a lot about this. From approximately 1962-1972 over 50,000 Australian Servicemen fought in Vietnam, of which over 19,000 were drafted men. You could defer your national service until you finished your studies if you were a university student or an apprentice. Not only is Tet the beginning of a New Year, it is also everyone's birthday. In the four major wars of the 20th Century millions of American males were drafted into the armed forces. Results for Men Facing the Draft in 1971 . Members of 8 Platoon, C Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. The Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard did not use draftees during the Vietnam Era. Was the Vietnam Draft on This Is Us Historically Accurate? Keri Phillips looks at the chequered history of conscription in Australia on the 50th anniversary of the first ‘birthday ballot’ for the Vietnam War-era National Service Scheme. That was also the year that Trump graduated from Wharton, putting him at risk of being drafted. 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