when did the draft start for vietnam war
Draft lottery (1969) On December 1, 1969, the Selective Service System of the United States conducted two lotteries to determine the order of call to military service in the Vietnam War for men born from 1944 to 1950. These lotteries occurred during a period of conscription from just before World War II to 1973.
Vietnam War Beginning in 1950, American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina.[87][A 3] Most of the funding for the French war effort was provided by the U.S.[88] The Việt Cộng, also known as Front national de libération du Sud-Viêt Nam or FNL (the National Liberation Front), a South Vietnamese communist common front aided by the North, fought a guerrilla war against anti-communist forces in the region, while the People's Army of Vietnam, also known as the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), engaged in more conventional warfare, and had launched armed struggles from 1959 onward. U.S. involvement escalated in 1960 under Kennedy, with troop levels gradually surging under the MAAG program, from just under a thousand in 1959 to 16,000 in 1963.[89][90]
Veterans Day Congress amended the bill on June 1, 1954, replacing "Armistice" with "Veterans," and it has been known as Veterans Day since.[6][7]
Vietnam War Beginning in 1970, American troops were withdrawn from border areas where most of the fighting took place, instead redeployed along the coast and interior, and US casualties in 1970 were less than half of 1969 casualties after being relegated to less active combat.[285] At the same time that US forces were deployed, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam took over combat operations throughout the country, with casualties doubled US casualties in 1969, and more than tripled US ones in 1970.[286] The post-Tet environment saw a rise in membership in Regional Force and Popular Force militias, now more capable of providing village security which the Americans could not under Westmoreland.[287] In 1970 Nixon announced the withdrawal of an additional 150,000 American troops, reducing the number of Americans to 265,500.[285] By 1970 the Viet Cong forces were no-longer southern-majority, and nearly 70% of units were northerners.[288] Between 1969 to 1971 the Viet Cong and some PAVN units had reverted to small unit tactics typical of 1967 and prior instead of nation-wide grand offensives.[267] In 1971 Australia and New Zealand withdrew their soldiers and U.S. troop count was further reduced to 196,700, with a deadline to remove another 45,000 troops by February 1972. The United States also reduced support troops and in March 1971 the 5th Special Forces Group, the first American unit deployed to South Vietnam, withdrew to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.[289] [A 4]
Vietnam War After several attacks upon them, it was decided that U.S. Air Force bases needed more protection as the South Vietnamese military seemed incapable of providing security. On 8 March 1965, 3,500 U.S. Marines were dispatched to South Vietnam. This marked the beginning of the American ground war. U.S. public opinion overwhelmingly supported the deployment.[200]
Vietnam War Beginning in 1950, American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina.[86][A 3] Most of the funding for the French war effort was provided by the U.S.[87] The Việt Cộng, also known as Front national de libération du Sud-Viêt Nam or FNL (the National Liberation Front), a South Vietnamese communist common front aided by the North, fought a guerrilla war against anti-communist forces in the region, while the People's Army of Vietnam, also known as the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), engaged in more conventional warfare, and had launched armed struggles from 1959 onward. U.S. involvement escalated in 1960 under President John F. Kennedy, with troop levels gradually surging under the MAAG program from just under a thousand in 1959 to 16,000 in 1963.[88][89]