In Australia, 15,300 men were conscripted into the Australian Army during the Vietnam conflict. More than 200 died and at least 1,200 were wounded on active duty. Most 20-year-old Australian men had to register for national service between 1965 and 1972.
From 1962 to 1973, more than 60,000 Australians served in the Vietnam War as part of an allied force led by the United States.
VOLUNTEERS: 25% (648,500) of total forces in country were draftees. (66% of U.S. armed forces members were drafted during WWII).
From the time of the arrival of the first members of the Team in 1962 over 60,000 Australians, including ground troops and air force and navy personnel, served in Vietnam; 523 died as a result of the war and almost 2,400 were wounded.
Inside here today were 181 marbles, representing birthdays. 96 were drawn to provide a nucleus of 4,200 young men for training this year after exemptions and deferments have been decided upon. These young men, the 4,200, will be drafted in two intakes.
Before the lottery was implemented in the latter part of the Vietnam conflict, there was no system in place to determine order of call besides the fact that men between the ages of 18 and 26 were vulnerable to being drafted.
During the Vietnam War, about two-thirds of American troops volunteered, the rest were selected for military service through the draft. In the beginning of the war, names of all American men of draft-age were collected by the Selective Service System.
This included 2 years of continuous full-time service in the Regular Army, followed by 3 years of part-time service in the Army Reserve. As part of their duty, national servicemen on full-time duty were liable for 'special overseas service', including combat duties in Vietnam.
Of those 15,381 served in Vietnam where 200 died, 45 per cent of the Australian fatalities while conscripts were "in country". It's these war veterans, and not least their dead, to whom Mark Dapin devotes his fine book.
During the Vietnam conflict the standard helmet issued to both American and Australian troops was the Second World War vintage United States pattern M1 helmet, with minor modifications. For American troops, a cloth helmet cover was designed with a disruptive camouflage pattern.
Overall, the U.S. military used nearly 12,000 helicopters in Vietnam, of which more than 5,000 were destroyed. To be a helicopter pilot or crew member was among the most dangerous jobs in the war.
997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam. 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall. Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.
Charles McMahon (May 10, 1953 – April 29, 1975) and Darwin Lee Judge (February 16, 1956 – April 29, 1975) were the last two United States servicemen killed in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
Birthdates drawn in National Service ballots 1965-72
Men included in the ballot who were born in the period 1 July 1945 to 31 December 1945. Men included in the ballot who were born prior to 1 July 1945 but were absent from Australia when their age group was required to register.
Military conscription for peacetime service was abolished in 1972. However, in times of war, the Defence Act 1903 allows the Governor-General of Australia to authorise conscription for service in the Defence Force, provided it is approved by the Parliament of Australia within 90 days.
It is now known that, during the Vietnam era, approximately 570,000 young men were classified as draft offenders, and approximately 210,000 were formally accused of draft violations; however, only 8,750 were convicted and only 3,250 were jailed.
The average age of the combat soldier from Australia in Vietnam was 20 years old.
The American soldiers who were most feared by the Vietcong during the Vietnam War were those who operated in the Special Forces. These soldiers were highly trained and had a reputation for being fierce fighters. They could operate in any environment and were experts at guerrilla warfare.
James Ward was one of at least 18 juvenile soldiers killed at Vietnam—five were 16, like him, 11 others were 17, and one was 15 and had forged his birth certificate to join. And his death led the military to change its rules about juveniles in combat. James Calvin was raised in Hot Springs, Arkansas and Milwaukee.
'Aboriginal men were exempt from conscription, which was one form of recruitment of the day,' said Michael Bell, lead researcher and Indigenous Liaison Officer at the Memorial.
About 52,000 Australians served in Vietnam, with 521 killed and more than 3,000 wounded. Those who returned to Australia were often given a hostile reception by a public that chose to blame the soldiers (a third of whom were conscripted), rather than the government.
Errol Noack was the first Australian conscript to die in the Vietnam War. He died at the age of 21 and became a symbol for the growing anti-war movement. The photographs and letters of the Noack family are a poignant record of the loss of a young life.
Draft Resistance in the Vietnam Era
Draft resisters filed for conscientious objector status, didn't report for induction when called, or attempted to claim disability. Soldiers went AWOL and fled to Canada through underground railroad networks of antiwar supporters.
At what age can you no longer be drafted? Once you're 26, you're exempt from being drafted ... kind of. “There's historical precedent for extending that age,” Winkie says before noting that in August 1918, during World War I, the age limit was amended to 45.
Lottery Drawings
The APN (highest number) called for a physical was 215 for tables 1970 through 1976. The last draft call was on December 7, 1972, and the authority to induct expired on June 30, 1973.