We know how his friend avoided the war but I was wondering how Mike avoided the War since it lasted from 1954-1975

Maybe he was able to get out of it as a "conscientious objector". Or perhaps he did not pass the physical due to medical reasons.

Maybe he was able to get out of it as a "conscientious objector". Or perhaps he did not pass the physical due to medical reasons.

Knowing the Meathead, he probably ate so much he got fat, failed the physical, then lost the pounds after.

Maybe he just got lucky and his number wasnt drawn. That happened to a few guys. Plus he was in college and probably had a good GPA, so that helped keep him out of the army.

Maybe he just got lucky and his number wasnt drawn. That happened to a few guys. Plus he was in college and probably had a good GPA, so that helped keep him out of the army.


So after highschool, if you had no way to go to college during the Vietnam War era your only option was to go to the War?

My brother was of age to to into the service at the time of the Vietnam War (though he was a few years younger than Mike I believe), and he registered for the draft as was the law at the time. But his number simply never came up.

We know how his friend avoided the war but I was wondering how Mike avoided the War since it lasted from 1954-1975

From wikianswers....

The U.S. sent funding and military support to French forces in Vietnam starting in 1950. By 1961 the US had military advisors stationed in Vietnam. The US did not become fully involved as a military force until 1965. The French fought for roughly 11 years prior to that. There is also the point that there have been military actions between North and South Vietnam hundreds of years before the French became involved.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_long_did_the_Vietnam_War_last#ixzz1SVwlxLGF

I think that just because a person was of age to fight, doesn't mean that they would be called. My one uncle graduated in the early 70's and he was never called to serve. But my other uncle was called, I think it was just the luck of the draw.

I think Gloria married Mike, so he wouldn't be drafted. Married men were exempt from the Draft.

I think Gloria married Mike, so he wouldn't be drafted. Married men were exempt from the Draft.
True, at that time, my father was of age to be drafted, but since he was married and a father, he was not called on.

I was thinking this same thing the last time I saw the ep about his Draft dodger friend who lived in Canada that came to the Bunkers for Christmas dinner.

I never much thought about it at the time but I'm surprised that Norman Lear didn't do some shows with Mike fighting to avoid the draft directly. College students had deferments and Mike (I think) eventually became a teacher and teachers were not drafted, which is why many American men became teachers in the 1960's & 1970's.

A neighbor of mine was in college taking Thelogical courses and he was exempt. Since then they have change a lot. Not as easy to avoid the service. Well may it is but the certain situations of years ago you can't do. . Again if you draft number up you go, if not you stay. I always felt it wasn't fair that men could go to Canada to dodge the draft. The episode the "Draft dodger" always may me cry a little.

I know for quite a while and that time if someone was gay they weren't called. There were gays in the military that fought bravely for their country the United States. I don't think one can be called if they're an only child or male child if other kids are girls. I had a High School teacher in one of my classes who told the class about this guy he saw that gained a lot of weight so he wouldn't get called into service.

A neighbor of mine was in college taking Thelogical courses and he was exempt. Since then they have change a lot. Not as easy to avoid the service. Well may it is but the certain situations of years ago you can't do. . Again if you draft number up you go, if not you stay. I always felt it wasn't fair that men could go to Canada to dodge the draft. The episode the "Draft dodger" always may me cry a little.
Ummm, there's no draft anymore.

True, at that time, my father was of age to be drafted, but since he was married and a father, he was not called on.

http://i.imgur.com/js2a7Me.jpg

My neighbor was in college in 1967. I do believe there was a draft then. Unless your number is called you aren't required to enlist. You purposely took theogical course to avoid going. Yeah I am sure then were all sorts of way years ago to avoid not going. I never heard of the only child situation. I do believe if brothers or now sisters join the service they are encourage to join different branches of the service. After the Sullivan Brothers of the 1940's where all 5 brothers died they encourage siblings to not be together.

We know how his friend avoided the war but I was wondering how Mike avoided the War since it lasted from 1954-1975
hey, that's right-I never thought of that!

I always thought he avoided the draft primarily because of a student deferment; but I could be mistaken.

Not on the topic of Mike, but the Vietman Was in general.

In the Happy Days biography I saw many years back, Ron Howard mentioned the reason he made the original pilot was to avoid being drafted.

My neighbor was in college in 1967. I do believe there was a draft then. Unless your number is called you aren't required to enlist. You purposely took theogical course to avoid going. Yeah I am sure then were all sorts of way years ago to avoid not going. I never heard of the only child situation. I do believe if brothers or now sisters join the service they are encourage to join different branches of the service. After the Sullivan Brothers of the 1940's where all 5 brothers died they encourage siblings to not be together.

Interesting. Never heard of the Sul!Ivan Brothers. Was "Saving Private Ryan" based on that incident?

We know how his friend avoided the war but I was wondering how Mike avoided the War since it lasted from 1954-1975

There have always been incidents of young men avoiding the draft or just not getting called during wartime. A friend of mine who is now in her 70s remembered that her dad was "drafted" but not sent to war because he was a butcher and was just put to cook for the troops. This was probably WW2 or even WW1.

TV shows that depicted the 60s and 70s just depicted male characters (who were regulars of the particular TV show ) as happening not to get drafted, or at least not passing the requirements for enlistment for some reason. It would have to be relevant to the set-up of all the regular characters of the TV series to have an already-established character get drafted. It seems any TV show ever devised which had a young "military age" male character , just never intended to have that character suddenly leave home to be in the military for two years. It would require planning the show from the very beginning to have that caracter for a few episodes and then have him be drafted and leave.
It isn't the way sitcoms or any TV show are made unless the TV show is already about being in the military like "Gomer Pyle " or "McHales Navy " or "F Troop."

In The Partridge Family, Danny accidentally got drafted when he was only 10 years old but he was not enlisted by the end of the episode and did not end up in the Army and remained one of the major characters of the series.

But speakkng of this matter, why weren't other young male TV characters drafted , such as Greg Brady and Keith Partridge (both whom (probably) reached the age 18 after several seasons)?. What about Lionel Jefferson? What about "JJ" from Good Times?

I recall watching Happy Days episode in which some of the male characters were undergoing military physicals. (I never watched Happy Days much).
I recall Laverne and Shirley once tried to enlist in the military but by the end of the episode were not really enlisted.

I only heard of the Sullivan brothers thanks to TCM.

A movie was made in 1944, two years after all 5 were killed in 1942.

Yes, I do believe Saving Private Ryan was based on the Sullivans.

But speakkng of this matter, why weren't other young male TV characters drafted , such as Greg Brady and Keith Partridge (both whom (probably) reached the age 18 after several seasons)?. What about Lionel Jefferson? What about "JJ" from Good Times?



By the end of the Vietnam conflict, there was no uniform "draft", there was a "lottery" that was held once a year, from 1969 until 1975, however the "winners" from 1972 upwards were never actually called up.

Interesting. Never heard of the Sul!Ivan Brothers. Was "Saving Private Ryan" based on that incident?


No, Saving Private Ryan was based on the Niland brothers, four brothers who fought in WWII, but not together. Their name was changed to Ryan because Saving Private Ryan sounds better than Saving Private Niland. The Sullivan brothers all dying together on the same ship was mentioned in the movie as the reason the Ryan brothers were separated from each other while they were in the army. Interestingly, Matt Damon tells a story to Tom Hanks before the climactic battle of how one brother went off to basic training before the rest and that was the last time the Ryan brothers were together. Damon wasn't given the entire script and did not know they were supposedly in the same army outfit together. Damon made up the story of the brothers last night together at home without giving anyone advanced notice of what he was going to say. Even though it didn't fit into the script Steven Spielberg liked the scene and left it as is.

Two of the Niland brothers were killed in action in WWII and the third brother was missing in action and presumed dead until he was released from a POW camp at the end of the war. The fourth Niland brother was sent home during the war after after his brothers were killed.