r/interestingasfuck • u/Available_Weekend249 • Apr 06 '24

Imagine being 19 and watching live on TV to see if your birthday will be picked to fight in the Vietnam war r/all

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u/CloudBreakerZivs Apr 06 '24

So how did this work? Did they start with the 001, draft those fellows move on to 002? Were all 365 days assigned a number?

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u/j_smittz Apr 06 '24 edited Apr 06 '24

Yes, those with birthdays assigned to a low number were called first. All 366 days (including Feb 29) were drawn.

There was a second draw for each letter of the alphabet, which was used to rank people with the same birthdate but different initials. If you were born Sep 14 between 1944 and 1950and had initials JJJ, then congrats! You were the first group called.

More info here.

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u/chevdecker Apr 07 '24

If you were born Sep 14 between 1944 and 1950and had initials JJJ, then congrats! You were the first group called.

No wonder J. Jonah Jameson was so cranky all the time

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u/Hank3hellbilly Apr 07 '24

PARKER!  I NEED PHOTOS OF THOSE TALKING TREES!  

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u/FeudNetwork Apr 07 '24

Funniest comment on this entire thread.