Did I Have to Fight My Way into the Induction Center 40 Years Ago Today?

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Discussion Overview

The thread reflects on personal experiences and memories related to the events surrounding the Moratorium Day on October 14, 1969, particularly in the context of the Vietnam War and military enlistment. Participants share their recollections of that time, including protests, personal milestones, and reflections on their youth.

Discussion Character

  • Meta-discussion
  • Historical
  • Personal narrative

Main Points Raised

  • One participant recounts their struggle to enter the Induction center amidst protests against the Vietnam War, emphasizing their commitment to enlistment for educational benefits.
  • Another participant humorously reflects on their childhood memories during the same period, contrasting their experiences with the serious nature of the protests.
  • Several participants share their ages and personal experiences from 40 years ago, including significant life events like starting school, health issues, and family changes.
  • One participant mentions their interest in physics and military history during their youth, indicating a long-standing engagement with topics related to warfare and technology.
  • Another participant expresses confusion about the accuracy of their memories regarding the date of the protests, suggesting a potential error in recollection.
  • Multiple participants share links to images and external content related to the protests, enhancing the historical context of the discussion.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants share a variety of personal anecdotes and reflections, but there is no consensus on the specifics of the events or their implications. The discussion remains largely anecdotal and subjective, with differing perspectives on the significance of the protests and personal experiences during that time.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty about the accuracy of their memories and the details of historical events, highlighting the subjective nature of personal recollection.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in personal narratives related to historical events, the Vietnam War, and the cultural context of the late 1960s may find this discussion engaging.

Integral
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I was having to fight my way into the Induction center to begin my enlistment in the US Navy.

14 Oct 1969 was declared a national "Moratorium day". There were massive demonstrations at every draft center in the nation. In Portland Or, where I was, there was a huge crowd blocking the main entrance and my ability to get in. Someone then opened a side door near where I was and I managed to beat the crowd of protesters and enter the building.

There were open offers from the protesters in the crowd for trips to Canada rather then going into the building. But I had the GI Bill and my college education in mind and would not even consider such offers.
 
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I was fighting over the Linkin' Logs in KiddieGarden.
 
I was a few weeks into first grade.

I have very few memories of it...just that I was in the early reader group. Also, I was pulled out of class once a week or so, for speech therapy (I used to stutter).
 
I wasn't even born.
 
Integral said:
I was having to fight my way into the Induction center to begin my enlistment in the US Navy.

14 Oct 1969 was declared a national "Moratorium day". There were massive demonstrations at every draft center in the nation. In Portland Or, where I was, there was a huge crowd blocking the main entrance and my ability to get in. Someone then opened a side door near where I was and I managed to beat the crowd of protesters and enter the building.

There were open offers from the protesters in the crowd for trips to Canada rather then going into the building. But I had the GI Bill and my college education in mind and would not even consider such offers.

Wiki said it was tomorrow:
The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam was a large demonstration against the United States involvement in the Vietnam War that took place across the United States on October 15, 1969

But I'm sure we were preparing early here in Portland. Damn radical hippie city...

I was about 10.4 years old, so I'd have been all; "What the hell? Doesn't everyone have a homework assignment due tomorrow?"

The things we can't comprehend when young...

The http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/15/newsid_2533000/2533131.stm" is believed to have been the largest demonstration in US history with an estimated two million people involved.
 
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Hum, could it be my memory of the date that is in error? Nah... that could never happen :smile:

I noticed that the linked page even mentions the incident I was involved in. Though it is misleading when it says "conscripts". While there were some conscripts there there were also a fair number of true volunteers trying to get in. Indeed, the protesters where getting pretty rowdy as I entered the building.
 
President Eisenhower missed his first birthday (didn't live to see Oct. 14, 1969).
I would be born about 20 years later on that day.
 
Kurdt says I was waiting for him to be born.

I was 14 and my last year in school before college. I contracted such a severe case of mono, I was in the hospital for three days before I became aware of my surroundings. It was a significant turning point in my life.
 
hmmm...I'm thinking what we will be doing in the next 40 years !
 
  • #10
I am month and a half in a first grade.

1b_1969.jpg
 
  • #11
Here is a picture of me 40 years ago
http://www.sydneyivfstemcells.com/Portals/7/images/fert_immatureegg.jpg
 
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  • #13
40 years ago I wouldn't be born for another 20 years.

Integral: What did you do in the Navy (ie, what was your job)?
 
  • #14
Monique said:
Here is a picture of me 40 years ago
http://www.sydneyivfstemcells.com/Portals/7/images/fert_immatureegg.jpg
[/URL]
Whatta hottie.
 
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  • #15
hmm 40 years ago I was 13, and my parents gave me my first guitar. My first concert, The Who, was ruffly around this time, and life was never going to be the same.
 
  • #16
40 yrs ago I was in 6th grade. I was starting in a new school, having just moved to Oregon from Minnesota.
My Mom, sister and I were living in a house that my folks bought on impulse while we were on vacation. Since my Dad had to work another year before he could retire, he had had to return to Minnesota. We were working hard to get the house ready for winter as it had been left unoccupied for quite some time and had been heavily vandalized. (The nearest neighbor lived over 3/4 of a mile away and the road it was on was rarely used, so the local youth had been using it as a party house. All the windows were broken, there was no running water and they even took the kitchen sink.) My Dad had done as much as he could before he had to leave, but there was still work to be done.

At the same time we were fighting what seemed like a losing battle with the pack rats that had taken up residence in the attic space. (everyone had told us that they would leave once they realized people had moved in, but these rats apparently had assumed squatting rights. )
 
  • #17
SticksandStones said:
40 years ago I wouldn't be born for another 20 years.

Integral: What did you do in the Navy (ie, what was your job)?

I was an Electronic Technician.

I attended Navy electronics school in Great Lake Ill, then spend a year at Guantanamo Bay followed by 2 years aboard the USS John F Kennedy, which at that time was the newest air craft carrier in the fleet. Of the 2yrs I was aboard her we spent 15 months deployed to the Mediterranean Sea. My first Med cruise was supposed to be for 6 months but due to a fire on one replacement and 2 others being rotated to Vietnam we ended up getting back after 10 months. This was the longest single deployment until the current war.

We were scheduled to head for Vietnam in Apr of '73 until Nixon managed to end the war. I have never forgiven him for that. Instead of heading south to Rio and the straights of Magellan and Hawaii we went back to the Med. I did not complete that cruise but flew home to my discharge and college in the fall of '73.

BTW Thank you all for repeatedly pointing out just how old I am. I miss Self Adjoint :cry:
 
  • #18
Monique said:
Here is a picture of me 40 years ago
http://www.sydneyivfstemcells.com/Portals/7/images/fert_immatureegg.jpg
[/URL]

It makes you 39¾.
 
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  • #19
Borek said:
It makes you 39¾.
No, the timing was 11 B.M. :smile: (I'm my average age)
 
  • #20
Monique said:
No, the timing was 11 B.M. :smile: (I'm my average age)

That makes you a seal :smile:
 
  • #21
I was here:
http://media.lawrence.com/img/photos/2009/10/14/vietnam_protest_02_t640.jpg?a6ea3ebd4438a44b86d2e9c39ecf7613005fe067
40 years ago. At the University of Kansas.
http://www2.ljworld.com/photos/2009/oct/15/179331/"
 
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  • #22
dlgoff said:
I was here:
http://media.lawrence.com/img/photos/2009/10/14/vietnam_protest_02_t640.jpg?a6ea3ebd4438a44b86d2e9c39ecf7613005fe067
40 years ago. At the University of Kansas.
http://www2.ljworld.com/photos/2009/oct/15/179331/"

Execellent! Another old f@rt!
 
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  • #23
Evo said:
Kurdt says I was waiting for him to be born.

I was 14 and my last year in school before college. I contracted such a severe case of mono, I was in the hospital for three days before I became aware of my surroundings. It was a significant turning point in my life.

You were supposed to say that without telling everyone I suggested it. :rolleyes:
 
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  • #24
I had started 7th grade. I was interested in physics and nuclear energy. I had designed a nuclear powered aircraft the year before.

I was also studying military history, pyrotechnics and high explosives. I spent time with a Special Forces vet over the next three years learning about guerilla warfare (insurgency). It seems 40 years later to have been rediscovered. The vet told me about the effects of what an M16 bullet does to various parts of a human body - based on personal experience.

Twenty years later I was doing research on highly energetic nuclear systems.
 
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