December 1 – The First Draft of the Vietnam War

December 1, 1969

December 1, 1969, was the first draft lottery held since 1942, during World War II. This drawing determined the order of induction for men born between January 1, 1944 and December 31, 1950. A large glass container held 366 blue plastic balls containing every possible birth date that affected men between 18 and 26 years old. The first “ping-pong ball” drawn by Congressman Alexander Pirnie of the House Armed Services Committee was September 14th.

1969 lottery numbers for 19 year old men were called at a rate of 30 per month during the first half of 1970. Following Basic Combat Training (BCT) and Advanced Individual Training (AIT) a draftee might find himself in the Vietnam war zone as his first duty assignment, less than six months after entering BCT, commonly referred to as “Basic”.