Does any one know how the draft in WW ll worked ?

Question

I am trying to find out how they let the people know they had been drafted did they say it over the radio or did they send a letter ????

please help

Answer 1

If you were selected, by coincidentally, the  selective service, you received a letter from the local draft board(the areas of the US were divided into several sections, and the selection of eligible men was accomplished by the local draft board, so that no one area of the country was over burdened by the depletion of the work force) so, you got a letter from the draft board,  and the first word was...GREETINGS...you knew at that time you had been had.  Mail service was based upon the address you gave the selective service upon registering at 18, and it was your responsibility to report any changes, if you did not they would do two things, they would post a list of names in the newspaper, and they would announce them over the radio station in the area you registered in.  If you still did not answer the call, you would have a warrant for your arrest issued-if you were arrested, you had a choice, report for the draft immediately(after a night in jail) or be prosecuted for a felony, your choice.  You might be interested in knowing that the draft was instituted early in 1940, not after the war began in December of 1941...after that attack by the j**s, there was little need for the draft in most places, and most draft quotas were met with volunteers, they were allowed to 'volunteer for the draft', but everyone knew, you were in for the duration of the war...

Answer 2

Wow, a lot of wild guesses here.

You would receive a series of letters, the first indicated you were vulnerable for the draft.  It directed you to report to what we would now call a "MEPS" for a physical.  The second letter would be from one's local draft board telling you the results of that physical and a possible induction date.  This was for two reasons, first to allow someone to volunteer if they wished-volunteering guaranteed one's choice of service and job; secondly to allow folks to wind up their personal affairs. The final letter was notice to report-this was a final physical-to see if anything changed-and departure to basic training.

One could challenge the draft board's decision by submitting documentation supporting a change in category.

If you've seen the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" they touch on the local draft board operation.

Answer 3

I believe it was a call to honor for those who ENLISTED to fight the war..........It was a World War and they volunteered.  What has happened to our country since then is my question.  THAT was patriotism at its finest.

Answer 4

Right after Pearl Harbor there were thousands of volunteers, but by 1943, in many places, if a guy went to try and volunteer they told him to go home and wait for his draft notice.  This was so there would be an orderly mobilization of manpower.

The first draft lottery was in October 1940.  Congress, alarmed over the state of world affairs, had authorized vast increases in the armed forces, and a draft was necessary to fill these slots and begin training for the war that each day seemed to bring closer.

All men 21-35 had to register at their local draft board.  Every man got a number when he registered - if you were, for instance, the 423rd man to register at your local board, you became number 423.  The largest local board had more than 6600 registrants.  When they went to have the lottery they put numbers in little capsules up to the total of registrants the largest board had - again, some 6600.  Then they drew these from a large spinning drum and opened them one at a time.  Whatever number it was, every man who had that number at every board across the land was a winner!  They drew numbers until they had the quota for the draft.  The draft continued until 1973, but by Vietnam they were going by birthdays - they drew dates from the drum, and everybody who had that birthday was a winner.

They did broadcast the first draft lottery and there were all sorts of newsreel and still photographers there.  It was a huge news event as it was the first peacetime draft in American history.  Each man who was selected did get an official letter of "greetings" but for the first lottery many were expecting it, because they already knew their "number had come up".

Edit:  By Vietnam, if your granddaddy was a US Senator, like the current occupant of the White House, or if you were otherwise well-connected politically, like Dan Quayle, you could get what suddenly every draft eligible man in the country would like to have - a slot in the National Guard.  Then you did not even have to bother to show up for your weekend drills if you were busy off helping Richard Nixon get re-elected.  Or you could just be an out and out draft dodger like Cheney, who got five consecutive draft deferments to avoid service.

Answer 5

Most enlisted, they also had a lottery

Answer 6

They would have names of boys in a specific city then they would just choose them most of them were young and fit and they would recieve a letter in the mail

Answer 7

The 1940 law did include a lottery and required men 21 - 35 to register.

I have never dug into how that lottery worked.

Once the war started a new law was passed and those 18-45 were subject to  military service and the draft, men up to 65 had to register...just in case.

2/3 of the men that served in WWII were drafted. There was approx. 11.4 million that served making 7.5 million draftees and 4 million volunteers. In contrast during the Viet Nam war only 18% of the total force were draftees. 1.7 million of 9+ million. Draftees were 25% of the total force that set foot in Viet Nam.

You got the letter, you reported for your physical, you were classified and notified of your status then given a reporting date if you won the lottery.

Volunteering was a bit different. I have all my dads letters home and his DD214. He joined on 2 Jan 42 and had gone thru basic at Camp Callen (San Diego)  and artillery school at Ft. Bliss (El Paso) and arrived in Dutch Harbor by 4 Apr 42. He is a vet of The Battle of Dutch Harbor (B/206th Coast Artillery, Arkansas NG) in June 42 and The Battle of the Bulge (Hq/2/317 80ht ID, 3rd Army). All the Coast Artillery got re classed in March 44.

Answer 8

They sent you a letter letting you know that your help was needed. The liberals would then blow a foot off with a shotgun so they couldn't pass the physical. This went on through the Koren war, shotgun, foot, and all. Then Viet Nam came along and you still got the letter, but the liberals went to places like Russia, Canada, and Mexico instead of blowing a foot off. And thats why Bill Clinton don't walk with a limp today.

Answer 9

You got a letter from the draft board.  These letters always began with the phrase. "Greetings from the President of the United States,"  That was the format for decades.  If you watch old movies and TV shows you can see that worked into the plot from time to time. The guy opens the letter, reads that first line out loud, then faints.

Answer 10

Some were at boarding schools. The ones who made the lowest grades, and flunked several exams were drafted. They just took them to a special room and told them face-to-face.

I'm not sure how if worked if you were at home.