I talked about leaving home at 17. Again.
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I thought you had once said that your draft number did eventually come up, making your Coast Guard enlistment one of your best bets ever. Am I remembering wrong?
I didn’t have to register because I was under age. The numbers were assigned by birth date. On the year I turned 18, my number was 12. Anybody over 300 was considered “safe” for that year. Anybody under 100 needed to put their civilian lives on hold or apply for a deferment.
Yeah. That was the best bet I ever made.
My number wasn’t 12, but it was guaranteed I would be drafted, so I got a deferment to finish my community college program, and then volunteered for the Air Force before I graduated. I received my draft notice the day I left home for basic training. The mailman came literally as I was getting in the car to go to the bus terminal.
12! Holy smokes! You definitely made the right choice.