| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Last Army Draftee (CSM) Retires After 39 Years Of Service |
| 2011-07-03 |
| Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Mellinger was drafted to fight the Vietnam War, and the Army believes he's the last draftee to retire, after 39 years. Most did their two years and left. But Mellinger had found home. "I think I'm pretty good at it, but I like it. That's the bottom line. I love being a soldier and I love being around soldiers," he said. When the draft notice arrived in the mail in 1972, just 19, he was impressed that President Richard Nixon would write to him. "I opened it up and it said, `Greetings from the president of the United States.' I said, `Wow, how's he know me?'" Mellinger said, laughing. "It was a form letter that said my friends and neighbors had selected me to represent them in the Armed Forces and I was hereby ordered to report for induction." Mellinger told the draft board there was a mistake. "I ... told them I don't need to go into the Army, I've got a job,'' said Mellinger, who hung drywall for a living. ``They just kind of laughed.'' Once the path was set, he said, he didn't consider trying to find a way out. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #3 "I ... told them I don't need to go into the Army, I've got a job,'' said Mellinger, who hung drywall for a living. ``They just kind of laughed.' Unknown to a lot of people today is that in fact the draft was also utilized to do just that. To take young men graduating from high school out of the job pool to keep the unemployment figures lower. Back in the 50s and early 60s, paying them $76 a month was considered a good trade off than unemployment with a governing class that had just gone through the depression. The problem was, as we see with the current President, it provided a means to get into trouble someplace in the world. It's the 'if you have them, use them' attitude. And they did in Southeast Asia in the mid-60s. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-07-03 21:36 |
| #2 Ah yes, the dreaded "Greetings from the president. Your friends and neighbors have selected you to serve them" letter. Me, I took the chicken way out - I signed up for Navy OCS before I graduated from college. Strictly speaking, I was never eligible for the draft - I went from a 2-S (college deferment) to enlisted. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2011-07-03 21:01 |
| #1 Mike Yon wrote many articles about traveling with the Command Sgt. Maj. Mellinger. |
| Posted by: Sherry 2011-07-03 19:51 |