By Bill Yee
Recently I was listening to Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant” again. It was like a pop song calling for draft resistance. It was a pretty funny song about civil disobedience.
One of the shared experiences that male Baby Boomers faced was the draft and its impact on their lives at the height of the Vietnam War.
When a male turned 18, he had to register for the draft. Most of us did not want to end up in the jungles of Vietnam.
A young man had a few options, none of which were really great.
First, he could volunteer and join a “safer” branch of the military and perhaps avoid getting into a combat situation. For example, I had friends who joined the Navy and served aboard ships instead of on the front lines.
Second, he could join the Army Reserves and hope his unit did not get called up.
A third option was to go to college and receive a student deferment. As long as he carried 12 units and maintained a C average, he was safe from the clutches of the local draft board.
Fourth, a young man could apply for conscientious objector status based on his moral, ethical or religious beliefs. This was the path taken by the boxer Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali. He refused to serve based on religious grounds and served time in prison. Eventually the Supreme Court sided with Ali and overturned his conviction in 1971.
Another famous conscientious objector was the actor Lou Ayres. He declared himself a pacifist for his religious beliefs and served as a medic in the Medical Corps.
A fifth option was to flee to Canada to avoid the draft. This meant leaving the country and being labeled a criminal. President Carter eventually pardoned this group of draft dodgers in 1977.
Unfortunately, a disproportionate of those who served in combat were African Americans, Latinos and those who came from poorer backgrounds where they could not afford to go to college. Thus, a student deferment was not an option for them.
I took Option 3 and applied for a student deferment. During this time I made sure I kept a full load and kept a C average.
By the time I was ready to graduate from San Francisco City College, a lottery was instituted. Every Baby Boomer of that period remembers his number. It was 1972 and my number was 93. At that point the Vietnam War was de-escalating. So at 93 I felt I was safe.
My best friend, Warren Kubota, unfortunately drew a lottery number of ONE! He decided to enlist for four years to avoid being sent to Vietnam. He ended up serving in Germany. His time in the military changed his life.
I had a cousin who was drafted and was wounded in Vietnam. He came back a different person and had a hard time adjusting to civilian life as many Vietnam veterans did.
My brother Benny and his high school classmate Harmon Fong were drafted during the Cuban Missile Crisis (1961). Benny and Harmon were born in China. As a result of their service, both men gained American citizenship.
As they looked back, both felt being in the military during times of peace was a positive experience. Benny’s friend Harmon saw service in West Germany at the Berlin Wall. Benny lucked out and was able to stay home. He was stationed at the Presidio in San Francisco. He was a clerk at Letterman Hospital.
They both commented that the military gave them focus and discipline. It also exposed them to the diversity of the country. They served with people of different religions, regional and ethnic backgrounds and races.
Looking back, I do regret that I did not serve in the military. On one of my Washington, D.C. student trips, I remember one of our parent chaperones breaking down at the Vietnam War Memorial. He had found the names of two of the guys he had served with in Vietnam.
For me, it was a very emotional moment and I felt a little guilty that I had not done my part. It’s a chapter of my life I have not forgotten.
Bill Yee is a retired Alhambra High School history teacher. He can be reached at paperson52@gmail.com. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.