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My strongest memory of the 60’s is of my older brother playing his Beach Boys albums on the record player during his high school years. After returning from Vietnam Nam, Jethro Tull was his music choice.
My brother also loved Jethro Tull, as did I. Neither of us ever went to war. But I loved The Beach Boys too. Tull was simply an “era” thing. The Beach Boys went on and on.
My strongest memory of the 60’s is of my older brother playing his Beach Boys albums on the record player during his high school years. After returning from Vietnam Nam, Jethro Tull was his music choice.
Likewise....I left Beach Boys behind....I got home to San Jose to "weed, whites and wine", The Doors, Big Brother, The Youngbloods, Cream, Santana, Country Joe...and my world view changed...I'd have to say for the better.
I was a freshman in college in the fall of 1967. My biggest worry was that I could get drafted and sent to Viet-Nam at any moment. I had majored in Engineering, not an easy subject. I'll never forget going into my calculus final, a 5 unit course, knowing that if I flunked the final I'd lose my deferment, get drafted into the Army infantry, and be on my way to Viet-Nam.
Talk about motivation! I studied 40 hours for that exam, got 100% and received an A in the course.
Here I am 57 years later and I still have occasional nightmares of that day.
I turned 18 in 1974. My draft status was 1-H, plus I had a high lottery number. I have seen comments from women on this site who didn't seem to think the draft was a big deal for males. Believe me, it was! The thought of being drafted and sent to Vietnam, and possibly shipped home in a body bag, did not appeal to me at all. We had a next door neighbor where I grew up who had been in WWII. He suffered from PTSD, and still lived with his parents. My dad referred to him as one of the uncounted casualties of the war.
What I remember of the 1960s was the increasing crime, the political assassinations, the violent protests & riots. I also remember one of my classmates in high school government class (in the early 1970s) stating that "Capitalism is the system of devils, communism is the system of angels". Oh my!
I turned 18 in 1974. My draft status was 1-H, plus I had a high lottery number. I have seen comments from women on this site who didn't seem to think the draft was a big deal for males. Believe me, it was! The thought of being drafted and sent to Vietnam, and possibly shipped home in a body bag, did not appeal to me at all. We had a next door neighbor where I grew up who had been in WWII. He suffered from PTSD, and still lived with his parents. My dad referred to him as one of the uncounted casualties of the war.
What I remember of the 1960s was the increasing crime, the political assassinations, the violent protests & riots. I also remember one of my classmates in high school government class (in the early 1970s) stating that "Capitalism is the system of devils, communism is the system of angels". Oh my!
I'm sure you knew back then that you had nothing to worry about. The last men drafted was in December 1972 who were born in 1952 and earlier. You missed the draft by four years. I'm a year older than you. I had lottery number and draft card, but I knew there was no chance of being drafted. The last draftees were discharged in November 1974.
This song sums up our belief system during the 60s..."harmony & understanding"--that's what I wanted with all my heart...it was a time of sharing, great music, a wonderful time to be...
Bu then came the Vietnam War, the Kennedy & MLK killings, Kent State.
I graduated from high school in 1966. A wild party might have included vodka in the punch. I got knocked up and married a guy who checked all the right boxes that same year and set out to be June Cleaver, which I was.
I often wonder what would have happened if I had gone to UMass on schedule? Maybe I would have gone down the rabbit hole of drugs, or become a Moonie, or whatever.
I turned 18 in 1974. My draft status was 1-H, plus I had a high lottery number. I have seen comments from women on this site who didn't seem to think the draft was a big deal for males. Believe me, it was! The thought of being drafted and sent to Vietnam, and possibly shipped home in a body bag, did not appeal to me at all. We had a next door neighbor where I grew up who had been in WWII. He suffered from PTSD, and still lived with his parents. My dad referred to him as one of the uncounted casualties of the war.
What I remember of the 1960s was the increasing crime, the political assassinations, the violent protests & riots. I also remember one of my classmates in high school government class (in the early 1970s) stating that "Capitalism is the system of devils, communism is the system of angels". Oh my!
Like so many other things in life, it isn't a big deal if it is happening to someone else.
Sitting in a park in Paris, France
Reading the news and it sure looks bad
They won't give peace a chance
That was just a dream some of us had
-Joni Mitchell-
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