In the thick of the Vietnam War, the U.S. military decided to draft all young men into the army. Naturally, many people decided to evade the draft, either in protest of the war or simply to avoid risking their lives halfway across the world. Here are some of the most creative ways that Americans dodged the Vietnam draft.
Getting Married
On August 26, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed an executive order stating that married men whose wedding came after August 26 would no longer be exempt from military service like their predecessors. As a result, young couples across America tied the knot in the late hours of the day in order to register their marriage in time to save the husband from going to war.
Become a Conscientious Objector
Some people were actually exempt from the military on religious grounds. Amish, Jehova’s Witnesses, Mennonites, and Quakers were all eligible to legally avoid the draft on the basis of being a conscientious objector. Around 170,000 men’s services were deferred thanks to their conscientious objector status, including 61,000 in 1971 alone.
Attending College
Throughout the war, college students were exempt from serving in the military. As a result, it came as no surprise that college admissions rose by up to six percent during the late 1960s.