Hi Jesseanne--
I'm sure they were eligible for the draft, but I think when the lottery came in in '69 it made it more clear if you were likely to be drafted or not. In 1963 before they restored the lottery I think it was less certain that you'd be drafted or not.
Hi, Dalemidex -
Sorry it took so long to respond to you, but I had to go back to my sources (my neighbor who served in Korea (1951-1952) and friend who served in Vietnam in 1970's) and ask more questions.
Just a reminder - all men over the age of 18 had to register with Selective Services. All men (MARRIED and single) aged 18-26 (1948-1968), and 18-24 (1968-1973) were eligible for the draft, but not every one was selected. The U.S. discontinued the draft in 1973.
The main difference in the lottery draft (1969-1973) and the pre-lottery draft (1948-1968) were:
1. The lotteries were publicly held.
2. ALL ELIGIBLE DATES were selected in LOTTERY days. Since all men 18-24 were eligible then all dates in those six years were chosen (365 x 6). The lottery for each of those six years was done separately. Each day of the year was was written on balls (like the lottery) and loaded into a drum. Then balls were selected at random and that established the sequence in which men were called for the draft. The first date pulled was the first date called for induction, the second date pulled was second date called, etc.
In pre-lottery days, days for each year were selected at RANDOM by the Selective Service. Not all eligible dates were selected. Out of the eligible dates (365 x 6 = 2,190), only a portion (determined by Selective Services needs ) were used. (In 1951, approximately 600 days were selected and 550,000+ men were inducted). This was felt to be unfair at the time, which is why they came up with the lottery.
Also, pre-lottery, there was no sequence to the call to induction. So, if your birthdate was selected, you still wouldn't know if you would be drafted.
One thing remained the same, however, the selection dates would have been published (in newpapers and official government publications) and posted in US Post Offices.
In 1963, both Ennis and Jack would have known if their birthdates had been selected and if there was a chance that they would be called for induction.