DENNIS PATRICK: VETS DAY 2023 |
Veterans I’ve met, especially from the draft era (from 1940 to 1973 ten million men were drafted), almost without exception remember with bittersweet nostalgia their days of military service. Many were drafted reluctantly, although a few joined voluntarily and some even stayed in the military for a career. That speaks volumes in affirming their generally positive experience.
Veterans, especially those who served as youngsters, found the military to be a type of finishing school as they transitioned from adolescence into adulthood. Many who wished to elude the draft were motivated to enlist in other services to avoid the rigors of Army field duty. Many people were never aware that the draft also populated the other services though not to the extent as with the Army. Either way, the vast majority served honorably much to their credit.
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