79 COLLEGE AVE WELCOME HOME
  • Home
    • Overview
    • Undergraduate Chapter
    • Pig Dinner
  • Our History
    • National Register
    • Brother Reflection Videos
    • Year Book Pic by Class Year
    • Other Historical Facts
    • Campaign Video
  • Learn More
    • Donor List
  • FAQ
  • Blog
  • Pledge Form
  • Contact Us
  • Other Links

Omega Mu Voice: John L. Collins, 1970

9/15/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Omega Mu Voice
John L. Collins,
1970

Picture
John Collins, 1970

​On the evening of Dec. 1, 1969, lottery draft numbers were drawn to establish the sequence of men to be drafted for the war in Vietnam.
Picture
Picture
Briefly, random birthdays were selected and the sequence in which they were picked established the sequence of draftees. Here’s a quote from Wikipedia that describes some of the process:
Picture
"The days of the year, including February 29, were represented by the numbers 1 through 366 written on slips of paper. The slips were placed in separate plastic capsules that were mixed in a shoebox and then dumped into a deep glass jar. Capsules were drawn from the jar one at a time."
The first number drawn was 258 (September 14), so all registrants with that birthday were assigned lottery number 1. The second number drawn corresponded to April 24, and so forth.  All men of draft age, those born 1944 to 1950 who shared a birth date would be called to serve at once.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Pictures of the first number being selected, 258, September 14th.
The drawing of the numbers was televised, but we, being typical Omega Mu Fijis, forgot to turn on the TV in the library in time to catch the first 5-10 birthdays drawn. So, a bunch of us were watching the drawing together. If your number was drawn early, you were going to be drafted for sure, so these guys would immediately head down to Pat’s to drown their sorrows. If your number was somewhere in the middle (no-man’s-land) and you didn’t know whether you were going to be drafted or not, you headed down to Pat’s to drown your uncertainty. If your number came up over 200 or so, it was highly unlikely you would be drafted, so you immediately went to Pat’s to celebrate. If you were still sitting in front of the TV as the last few numbers were drawn, you didn’t know whether you were lucky or not. Remember, we had missed the first few birth- days drawn. As the last few numbers were drawn, the guys sitting in front of that TV knew they were either 1) really lucky to be way at the end of the list and not likely to be drafted, or 2) in the first 5-10 numbers drawn and would be the first to go. After the last number was drawn, a few guys were still sitting there. We all had a reason to be at Pat’s that night.
Picture
"If your number was drawn early, you were going to be drafted for sure, so these guys would immediately head down to Pat’s to drown their sorrows." ​
Picture
"If your number was somewhere in the middle (no-man’s-land) and you didn’t know whether you were going to be drafted or not, you headed down to Pat’s to drown
​your uncertainty."
Picture
"We all had a reason to be at Pat's that night."
Picture
Picture
​“What if the space be long and wide,
That parts us from our brother’s side
A soul-joined chain unites our band,
And memory links us hand in hand.”
(Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)
Picture
Picture
Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82
Perge
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2025
    November 2025
    October 2025
    September 2025
    August 2025
    July 2025
    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Copyright © 2018 Phi Gamma Delta House Corporation Maine. All rights reserved.
  • Home
    • Overview
    • Undergraduate Chapter
    • Pig Dinner
  • Our History
    • National Register
    • Brother Reflection Videos
    • Year Book Pic by Class Year
    • Other Historical Facts
    • Campaign Video
  • Learn More
    • Donor List
  • FAQ
  • Blog
  • Pledge Form
  • Contact Us
  • Other Links