Yeah, but, if you wanted to do anything besides be a grunt you had to volunteer.
All draftees were grunts.
And at least 1/2 of volunteers did so to avoid being drafted.
Even at that the term “volunteer” might not exactly mean what we assume it means. I have no idea to what degree this may have come in to play and Im certainly not suggesting that all volunteers were criminals of some sort but...
Two of my youngest uncles were characters that society didnt fully approve of and in different incidences they found themselves before a judge. I wasnt there and dont know exactly how this was relayed but I know that they were made aware that they were going to be guilty and face some time unless they just so happened to decide to volunteer as marines. Immediately thereafter they discovered that they really wanted to be marines.
“And at least 1/2 of volunteers did so to avoid being drafted.”
Yep.
Count me. My lotto number was 60.
5.56mm
Exactly. I got my draft notice and I took it down to the Navy recruitment office to get a better deal. Ended up as a corpsman.