How about that

[happy daze john in oz]

I think by the time i went to sea late 1957, national service had been scrubbed, unless i am on the reserve list, and i don't know about it LOL, in any case at 81 now would not be much good, kt

Mate, you may find that now you are on the reserve reserve list

[Keith Tindell]

Well young man, i certainly thought you were older than that Rodney , lol, thanks for the info, i was born in 1941, so as i thought , i was exempt anyway, kt
Keith and Lewis, I was born in 1958
Keith and Lewis, I was born in 1958

[Dennis McGuckin]

I passed my medical for the armed forces.
Said that I would like to be in the RN.
Few weeks later, I was told to report to the Tank Company.
I said could I not go into the MN.
He said. Sure, we can't all be solders.
I think at that time instead of 18 months National Service, you were expected to do seven years in the MN.
Anyway, shortly afterwards NS ended.

[Dennis McGuckin]

Just to add to that.
I passed A1 on my medical for the armed forces.
When I went for my medical for the MN, they would not pass me.
The reason was. I had a cut hand with a few stiches in it.
The doctors told me to come back when I was fit.
Stiches were due to come out in a few days.
Added travel expenses I didn't need.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Den
Perhaps he thought it was your important hand.
Des

[happy daze john in oz]

Des, they never realised he was going to make tab nabs

[Rodney Mills]

I emigrated into the States at the age of 22. There was always rumors of a coming draft for Viet Nam. Next the rumor was married men would be drafted, then married with a child, then you were safe past 26, then they were going to up it to 32 and so on.

I was 27 when the draft came in and breathed a big sigh of relief...until the next rumor.

I can't believe how stupid I was to worry. I was born with a defective left eye. If I close my right eye there is like a black disk in the middle of my left eye and I can just see around the edges of it, like a bit of a mountain, a bus, a face, I couldn't tell you anything about the Mountain, bus, or face. However I am still good, just need reading glasses, 20/20 in the right eye, so I wear bifocals with plain glass uppers and reading prescription in the bottom.

I am far sighted in my right eye and can see a bird on top of a distant tree and tell you if it's male or female. Just kidding, but a perfect right eye.

To me it wasn't a birth defect, never gave it a thought. It was only a few years ago that I was talking to a doctor friend about the draft and such and he said I was nuts to have worried about the draft with a bum eye. "They would have taken your mother before they would have taken you." see if I lose the sight of my right eye I would be blind. If that happened in the jungle of Viet Nam, somebody on the platoon would have had to get me out.

I never ever gave it a thought that I was handicapped, and I would have been a burden. Nobody at school at those annual little medicals ever told me I even needed glasses, probably because they wouldn't do any good.. I can't even pick out the Wall, let alone the big letter A with my left eye. So I worried about the draft for nout. Also I found out about ten years ago that I was born with just one kidney.

So how did I get in the MN with a bum eye.....I cheated! At my physical the doctor sitting at his desk told me to hold a card over my left eye. I rapidly read the lot top to bottom. Then he said hold the card over your right eye. I left just a little of my right eye peeping, and read rapidly down to the next to bottom, made a couple of mistakes, then stumbled slowly over the bottom line to make it look good. I passed.

You see I had always never thought I had a problem and cheated if it was needed.

Because I have good vision still, and peripheral vision I don't need glasses to drive and I just got my Oklahoma drivers license which was for five years for an extra 10 bucks I had it upgraded to nine years, so I will have to have another test when I'm 93.

dream on Rodney

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Rod.
Had to pass my eyesight test last year for my licence, the Dr said read the card with a card over your left eye,[my worst] then he carried on writing up my paper so I put the paper over my left eye and read with my good one. passed.
This time he was watching, but he did say he would fudge the test as long as I went to an optometrist, I now have to wear glasses again.
Des

[Len Tarleton]

UK National Service ceased for guys born after Sept 30 1939. I beleive, that those born prior to that, could do 7 years in MN or down the Pit in order to avoid NS. I was OK, being born Dec '39 but went away as Eng App with Esso as part of the Alternative Training Scheme, this scheme being an attempt to cope with the expected dearth of Engineers due to the foreseen shortage of ex Shipyard or heavy engineering' time served apprentices' guys not now going to sea on completion of their time An older neighbour born March '39 was able to avoid NS by virtue of studying for a degree at London Uni. I'm unaware of the ramifications that set-up, as is my lack of knowledge of other non engineering persons

Cheers, LenT ,now NZ,, go the AB's

[j.sabourn]

#20 Victoria thank you for your honesty, we all Have our own crosses to bear and it comes to us all . Far better to be honest than try to hide the inevitable .Being honest is not a sign of weakness and most would not be so outspoken.We all handle difficult situations differently, but in the end we all reach the same conclusion. I hope your situation improves . And you can continue with a much longer life to enjoy the way you like it. Regards JS