The men of their generation grew up bracing for a fight.
They would learn soon enough about the possibility of being drafted into the military.
Their grandfathers were sent off to fight in the First World War. Their fathers mobilized in huge numbers for World War II. Soon after this photo was taken recruits were thrown into the ‘police action’ in Korea.
Wars and the Great Depression had hardened our country. Families endured their losses with all patriotism they could muster. The ‘strong silent type’ became the masculine ideal, out of necessity.
Registering with the Selective Service was a universal obligation for men at eighteen years of age. A guy could forget about landing a job or attending college without a ‘draft card.’
The working-class boys in this photo weren’t destined for college, and so they weren’t exempt from the draft as college kids were. They came of age just as our war in Southeast Asia began to heat up. (Three of them enlisted without being drafted. The after-effects of Scarlet Fever made the fourth ineligible to serve.)
With no victory in sight and with growing questions about our purpose there, the U.S. abandoned Vietnam; and at the same time it abandoned a policy of military conscription.
It’s doubtful that we would have started yet another disastrous war a generation later, this time in Iraq, if we’d still had a draft that sent our sons to fight overseas. 
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Randy Gaynes
The picture says an awful lot about our Wild West, John Wayne mystique. No wonder so many teenage boys wanted to strap on their holsters and march off to oblivion. Still a country tethered to the gun.
Thanks for sharing this, Pat.
Pat Shiplett
It’s interesting that in the years of the draft, there were people who signed up voluntarily. Not enough the fill the ranks so conscription was necessary. We were facing off against the Soviets which maintained a huge standing army.
Lynn Crosswaite
Wow. So true. A draft would eliminate these stupid wars. My sister and I had cowgirl outfits but no guns.
Pat Shiplett
Lynn, if we ever have another draft (God forbid we’re in another war that requires a lot of bodies), women will probably be included. Many of the military processes are now digital, which does not demand battlefield strength.
Scott Pemberton
Thanks for this important reminder, Pat
I remember returning to school the fall after the lottery drawing that summer. I was very lucky and got a high number. Friends, though, did not and were in the 3 and 5 and 6 range. At some point they left school and I never saw them again.
Pat Shiplett
Guys of my age were right in the middle of the draft. Some draftees were called to Vietnam, others to non-combat posts. The country was in full debate about the body count being published each week. National defense can never be ignored but Eisenhower, who lead the Allied Forces in WWII, warned us about the ‘Military Industrial Complex.”
Nitish
Thank you.