Winning the Lottery
We had won our share at cake walks over the years, and sometimes got lucky at carnivals. Yeah...some might say we were one lucky family. Our family didn't win homes, new cars or big luxury items; but we did win things that many of us remember touching or using:
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We won our first bicycle at a church raffle. It was a red bike that stood 30 inches high with training wheels. |
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Grandma entered my name into a cripple child raffle, and I received a pair of "grown-up" binoculars. |
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Tim won our first stereo phonograph by guessing weekly football scores on KELO-Land correctly. |
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Mary Cecile won the old Nativity Set from the Catholic Church. |
But it was a lottery that Tim and I "won" in 1972 that had the family buzzing. On February 2, 1972 many of my fraternity brothers sat around the TV to watch the military draft lottery. The lottery was a major television event each year, and it determined the order in which men born were called to report for induction into the military. The results from this lottery would determine whether you were eligible for the draft. As we watched the TV, we saw the first number drawn...it was March 6th. This was the birthday of one of my fraternity brothers, and we consoled him on getting the worst number of all - he was a sure bet to enter military service. We continued to watch the "host" pull other birth dates...number two was March 7th...number three was August 3rd...and as the numbers continued to be drawn the tension mounted...then it was July 25th...and within a few minutes our birthday was drawn. I couldn't believe it. Our number was so low, it was guaranteed that both Tim and I would be drafted in 1973.
Shortly after these numbers were drawn that evening, dad called me. While I don't recall the details of our conversation, it went something like...sorry that you got a low draft number...hoping that it would be higher...you may not have to go anyway with your feet...and so on.
I never thought much about it again until we were home for Easter break. That Sunday afternoon dad asked both Tim and I to join him in the living room. We weren't sure what he wanted, but we found out soon enough.
"I know you boys received a low lottery number," dad solemnly stated, "and if you're called up for active duty, I want you to serve. It is your patriotic responsibility."
Now this comment didn't surprise us as dad was some sort of a big wig in the American legion. He had been on its national steering committee for several years, and had traveled to various conventions over this same period. However, what followed did surprise us.
"Your first three months will be in boot camp...and after completion you will get your orders," he began.
At this point it became obvious that he had been rehearsing his lines. "If you get orders to report to Vietnam," he continued, "they will give you a 30 day leave before shipping you off."
He paused momentarily, "I want you to come home, and I will personally drive you to Canada."
This left Tim and I somewhat speechless. It was at this point I realized that even dad no longer supported the war in Vietnam. Throughout most of the late '60s he was quite "hawkish" about his WWII experience, the American legion and the war; but by 1972 even the U.S. congressional leaders wanted to leave southeast Asia. I think he shifted with the mood of the country, but it manifested itself after Tim and I had received low lottery numbers.
It has been over 30 years since this conversation took place, but I think about it often, especially during this past election. I hear the criticism about Kerry's objection to the war, but no one wants to remember that by 1972 few people believed the war was justified. This was even true for the most patriotic Americans, like dad.
Story by Terry Smith