Anyone got a college deferment, but were drafted afterward unless they were in an essential occupation, which did not exempt doctors, lawyers, and most professions. One way to get out of ground combat was to volunteer for the Navy or Air Force. I managed to string it out for 4 years, but was finally saved only by the lottery.
Of course, but back then, it was an indirect way of keeping the children of the wealthy out of harm's way, as manufacturing still had a big presence in the US. Rather than going to college, the children of the middle class/poor went to work in factories after high school, and so they could be sent to war.
> were drafted afterward unless they were in an essential occupation
That's good to know. Were there any other loopholes used by the wealthy (there must have been some)?
