Two-thirds of the U.S. military who served in the Vietnam War — and more than half of the names on The Wall — volunteered for duty. The other one-third were drafted, primarily into the Army. The Selective Service System during the Vietnam war was highly controversial, especially because early in the war draftees came disproportionately from poor, working-class, rural, and minority populations.

Military conscription, commonly known as “the draft,” is one of the most complex topics related to the Vietnam War. It is emotional for many people – those who chose to serve when drafted, those who sought deferments to delay or avoid serving, to those who refused to serve and went to jail or left the country. Although statistics from different sources often conflict, it is clear that the draft was grossly unfair to segments of the population, especially early in the war. The majority of those who served during the Vietnam War were volunteers – not draftees – even though our public recollection often tells us just the opposite. Public backlash from draft-eligible men is a primary reason cited by many as to why public sentiment turned against the war effort.

One thing is certain – the Vietnam War was not the first time in our nation’s history that people were drafted, and it may not be the last.

The fact is that military conscription has been a regular practice in the United States since the American Revolution. When there weren’t enough volunteers to meet the needs of the military, the Selective Service System (the draft) was used to cover the shortfall. After WWII, the U.S. maintained a “peacetime” draft, so the draft already was in place as the U.S. deepened its involvement in Vietnam. In 1965, President Johnson doubled monthly draft calls to 35,000.

Local draft boards called up registered males and evaluated them for service. These boards were often made up of military veterans, who granted exemptions and deferments for a variety of reasons such as medical issues and student status. Many people perceived the deferment process to advantage white males with financial privilege or political connections. This perception is supported by race and ethnicity data: an October 1966 report by the National Advisory Commission on Selective Service showed that only 1.3 percent of local board members were African American. By comparison, African Americans constituted 11 percent of the U.S. population, 16.3 percent of all draftees, and 23 percent of all combat troops in Vietnam in 1967.

A 1969 revision of the Selective Service Act diminished the power of local draft boards and instituted a national lottery system. On December 1 of that year, on national television, capsules containing birth dates were pulled out of a large bowl. Those dates were then mounted on a large board, in the order in which they were drawn. September 14th was the first date placed on the board, and in 1970 local draft boards began filling their quotas with draft-eligible men born on that date.

Thousands of draft-age men refused military service in Vietnam. Burning draft cards, at first a symbolic protest, took on added significance in 1965 when President Johnson signed a law criminalizing the act. Some fled the country, often to Canada. A small number of men served jail sentences in order to protest the war. More than 3,000 men went to prison for some form of draft resistance.

“Conscientious objectors” refused to fight on the basis of conscience or religion. They were exempted from service as combatants but were required to perform two years of alternative service. Some conscientious objectors served in Vietnam as combat medics, not required to fight and not considered combatants.