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The men in Lieutenant Jimmy Cross' regiment are most likely all drafted, using this lottery system. This can be seen by everyone's unwillingness to fight the enemy, the Vietcong. Some men stand out, like Ted Lavender, who was killed while urinating, and the lieutenant himself, who spends his time fantasizing about a girl instead of actually leading his regiment. Every man also brings a memento that reminds them of their home life, thus further solidifying the evidence that they were drafted into this war. The story always flashes back to the moment that Ted Lavender died, as it plays out in Cross' mind, showing that these men were not ready for the psychological effects that going to war would have.

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Why is this so significant? + Historical Context

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Why is this so significant? + Historical Context

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The Vietnam War draft lottery caused a lot of controversy when it was in action.  Most drafted soldiers were poor to working-class 19-year-old men; the rich only made up a small percentage of soldiers.  The draft lottery hadn’t been used since the 1940s, and when it was used again, Americans applauded it for being an improvement over the last draft system.  2,215,000 men were selected for draft service in the years that the United States served in the Vietnam War, with 15.4 million being deferred due to various, often made-up reasons.

The draft lottery helped improve the speeds in which the draftees learned their fates; before, it would take years before the men found out, and that would affect their lives deeply.

Now, men would be called up for physicals much earlier, and could prepare to go to war faster.

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Lottery #2: This one was held to determine the order of drafting of the men sharing the same birth dates that were selected

These capsules contained letters coinciding with the first, middle, and last initial of each man (EX: the letters “J”, “G”, and “D” were called first; anyone with those letters in any initial were called up first)

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366 plastic, blue capsules were drawn randomly; these capsules each contained a specific birth date (this included February 29th). Each capsule contained a birth date.  Anyone with the birth date in capsule 001 were most likely going to be drafted.

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This method of conscription replaced the older system, in which men would be randomly called up as part of the Selective Service Act.