Draft Evasion During The Vietnam War

Draft Evasion

For many years, draft evasion has played a large part in the outcome of wars in the United States. Draft evasion, more commonly referred to as draft dodging, is the intentional decision to not comply with orders from one’s government regarding military conscription, or the enlistment for state service. During the Vietnam War, the draft was very popular as there was a shortage of volunteer military personnel to fight the war that lasted nearly two decades. As a result of this, many young men were forced into military service by the American government. At first, many complied with orders to partake in the war, however, over time many became resistant. The United States’ mandate for conscription during the Vietnam War led

to high amounts of draft evasion.
The start of the draft in the United States occurred during the American Civil War, though it wasn’t used to the extent it was during Vietnam. Only about 2% of soldiers during the American Civil War were draftees and 6% of soldiers were substitutes hired by draftees who did not want to partake in the war (Chambers). During this war, both sides allowed substitutes to be hired in the place of draftees. Despite this allowance, the conscription system during this time did not work effectively. This resulted in the Confederate government mandating military service for three years among all men ages eighteen to thirty-five (History). The United States government also authorized conscription within a state when said state did not meet its quota of soldiers through volunteers. This system ultimately failed, resulting in the passage of the first national conscription law, known as the Enrollment Act, that drafted men ages twenty-five to forty-five for service. The passage of this act resulted in high amounts of draft evasion and the New York City draft riots that occurred July 13-16, 1863 (History).
Over fifty years later, the United States entered World War I. Upon entering the war, the Selective Service Act of 1917 was established to gain more soldiers, as the United States only had 110,000 soldiers at the start of the war (Encyclopedia). This act also was an attempt to remedy the issues that occurred with the draft during the Civil War. It made registration for the draft mandatory for all men from ages 21 to 30 (Encyclopedia). As a result, over 24 million men had registered for the military draft by the end of World War I. During this time, men who did not partake in the draft were referred to as “slackers” and deemed unpatriotic (Trademark and Copyright Law). In addition to this, it is important to note that the draft was successful with nearly 60% of the 4.8 million soldiers who served in WWI were drafted into service as opposed to volunteering (History).
The most prominent occasion in which the draft was used in the United States was during the Vietnam War.

At the beginning of the war, the Selective Service System collected the names of all draft-age men and were selected for service from this compilation (The Vietnam War Info). From there, the men drafted were examined and evaluated by local boards composed of residents within the draftees town. This created an unfair advantage for men who knew board members, as these men were often times deemed “incapable” of performing their duties and therefore received medical deferments, exempting them from the war. These men, deemed “incapable”, were more times than not men from wealthy families that bribed the board members out of being selected for

draft.
Many of today’s politicians were a part of these wealthy families that were permitted to partake in draft evasion in exchange for money. A very relevant example of this is the current President of the United States, Mr. Donald J. Trump. From 1964 to 1972, Mr. Trump managed to receive five deferments that allowed him to escape military service. Four of these deferments were S-2 deferments, otherwise known as college deferments (Snopes). These deferments occurred from 1964 to 1968 while Mr. Trump was attending the Wharton School of Business, however, upon graduation Trump was reclassified as a 1-Y. The 1-Y classification deemed an individual eligible for military service only in states of emergency. Trump claims that this was on account of bone spurs that he had on his heels at the time that were considered a “short-term” medical issue. However, in 1972 Trump was yet again reclassified, this time as a 4-F, or not capable of military service on account of the same bone spurs (Telegraph).
Later on, as President Trump was running for election in 2016, these deferments were revealed. These revelations came to light following Trump’s commentary on Senator John McCain, who had actually partaken in the Vietnam War. Trump said that McCain was not a hero because he had been captured during the war as a POW (Prisoner of War) by the Vietnamese. At the time, Senator McCain had been suffering from disease, broken bones, and malnourishment in a Vietnamese prison while President Trump was living a glamorous and wealthy lifestyle in the United States (Telegraph). This is just one example of wealth and privilege being used to evade the draft. Many other famous figures also used this tactic to dodge being drafted. Some of these figures include former President of the United States George W. Bush, former President of the United States Bill Clinton, and former Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney (History and Headlines).
Another way in which men evaded the Vietnam draft was by being a conscientious objector.

According to the selective service system, a conscientious objector is defined as “... one who is opposed to serving in the armed forces and/or bearing arms on the grounds of moral or religious principles” (SSS.gov). Many of these men included men that were Jehovah's Witnesses, Mennonites, Quakers, or the Amish. These religions were all considered to be “Peace religions” which condemn the concept of war therefore allowing members of said religions to avoid military service (We are the Mighty). In theory, dishonest conscientious objection is illegal, however it is generally hard to prove that one is telling the truth on these matters to begin with. In addition to conscientious objectors, clergymen and missionaries were exempt from the draft. The exemption of missionaries was how former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney dodged being drafted, as he went to France for two years during the Vietnam War as a Mormon

missionary.
Other ways in which men avoided the draft included pretending to be homosexual, running away to Canada, and forging military papers. These methods all worked in one way or another. During this time, being a homosexual automatically exempted a man from the war. As a result of this, many straight men would wear lace panties to medical examinations to be deemed “gay” by examiners and thus dodge the war (Guardian). Other men just fled to Canada and stayed there until the Vietnam war ended. It is estimated that approximately 40,000 men fled to Canada between 1965 and 1975 to dodge being drafted (We are the Mighty). President Carter pardoned all of these men on his first day in office and those who stayed in Canada became Canadian citizens. Some additional men also created forged military papers to make it seem as though they had prior enlistment and were therefore exempt from serving again.
Following the ending of the Vietnam War, the United States draft ended. However, President Carter issued Presidential Proclamation 4771 that made it mandatory for all United States male citizens to register for the draft within thirty days of their eighteenth birthday. This later went on to affect United States male non-citizens as well as male citizens. Today, it is now a popular debate amongst government officials on if women should also legally be obligated to register for the United States draft. As of now, it is not mandatory for women to register for the draft, however, many believe it should be. This idea will continue to be debated in the United States and is just one of many of the vast nuances that this country will continue fact when it comes to the draft.