Draft Registration-Julian P. Steunenberg

My grandfather Julian Steunenberg's selective service registration card. He was 55 years old so this would have been circa 1941. He was probably never in any serious danger of being drafted at that age.

I was watching Vietnam In HD this week and they showed the first draft lottery taking place in 1969 (for 1970 inductees). My turn for the lottery would come the following year in 1970. I didn't know what a lottery was until that moment and guess I was a winner when 3-2-6 was drawn. Some of my friends were not so lucky. My memory is not very good, and I often forget numbers, but that one is etched in the brain forever. I was against the Vietnam war at that point but never understood the lack of appreciation afforded returning vets. After all, a lot of them ended up going there literally by the luck of the draw...and others of us not going because of the same. I still see the price of that war, and perhaps of the lack of support upon their return, when a graying vet walks though by office door. No matter what ones feelings might be about a particular war or military action, let's not make the same mistake ever again when our vets come home.