Was it compulsory to serve in the vietnam war?

Question

if you were coming from america

or did people sign up voluntarily?

Answer 1

It was only compulsory to register for the draft (in fact it still is).  The difference then was that they had a draft that was active and if your number was picked you went.  Some got out of it by going to college, others went to Canada...

Answer 2

It was compulsory, people of appropriate age were conscripted to serve

Answer 3

There was a draft and the draft works as a sort of lottery system, if your number comes up, you're drafted and you had to go. But the poster who pointed out that only a small percentage of Vietnam War soldiers were draftees is correct.  During the Vietnam War Era (1963-1976) more than 8 million men and women served in the US armed forces and an overwhelming majority of them were volunteers. College students could get deferments and not have to be drafted (d**k Cheney got six deferments) and some wealthier, well-connected kids got spots in the National Guard, which was never deployed to Vietnam (guys like George W. Bush and former vice president Dan Quayle).

Answer 4

There was a draft for all but the last year of Vietnam combat.

However, about 2.6 million US servicemen served in Viet Nam. Of that number, 25% had been drafted into the military service. The remainder--75%-- volunteered to serve in Vietnam

http://capmarine.com/cap/statistics.htm

Answer 5

compulsory

Answer 6

if your number came up it was compulsory, but you did not always end up in  Vietnam the USA still had military forces in Germany and Korea at the time, Elvis was consctipted and went to Germany.

Answer 7

Why don't you ask d**k cheney this? He had better things to do.

Why don't you ask bushit? He couldn't even complete his national guard service requirements in the US.

Why don't you ask the other chickenhawks? I am sure they all have good explanations why they didn't get to visit Vietnam.

Compulsory??? Since when did republicants have to do anything, other than ..... others?

Answer 8

yes there was a draft. there were draft dodgers.

Answer 9

if you had enough money and power you could buy your way out of the draft, some people did sign up voluntarily, some fled the border to canada

Answer 10

There was conscription during the Viet Nam war, but there were many, many patriotic young men and women who enlisted.  There were also a lot of cowards who ran out of the country to avoid the draft.

Answer 11

You were exempt if you went to college or joined the Coast Guard. If you were drafted the only ways to avoid it was if you  refused to serve and went to prison instead of serving, like Muhammad Ali, or fled the country, or claimed you were a conscientious objector.

P.S.

Elvis served in Germany from 1958 to 1960, before Americans were drafted for the war in Vietnam.

Answer 12

Unless you were rich.

Answer 13

Compulsory if you were drafted.

Answer 14

Depended on whom your daddy was.  You might get to serve in a plushy air force base Stateside facing calamities like bourbon shortages at the officer's club.

Answer 15

Compulsory.