The Selective Service Act was signed into law in 1940 by President Franklin Roosevelt. The purpose was to insure that the military services maintained adequate numbers of personnel for national defense. This system of non-voluntary military service become known as the "Draft". Predominantly, the "draft" assisted the U.S. Army in their personnel requirements but on occasion the Department of Navy (U.S. Navy and Marine Corps) also received some assistance from the "draft" during World War II.

Prior to 1973, every young man that turned 18 expected to find his "Draft Notice" in the mail. Districts were set up in each state, normally using county borders as jurisdictions. A "Draft Board" was established for each district and citizens of the area would serve on the Selection Board. They would receive a quota each month. Once a month, this board would then select men within their boundaries to report for their physical examination and possible induction into the military.

I was one of those men. I was a resident of Homer, Alaska and received my "Notice of Induction". The only problem was that I received the "Draft Notice" in January 1964 and had been serving in the Navy since October 1963.

With the escalation of the Vietnam War in 1965, the war and the draft were the primary objects of the "War Protests" in the early 1970's. The United States become involved in Vietnam after the French left Vietnam. Commencing in the early 1960's, we were sending in "Advisers" to assist and train the military forces of South Vietnam. The war escalated following the "Tonkin Gulf Incident" in August 1964 when two U.S. Navy ships were fired upon by vessels from North Vietnam. In March 1965, President Johnson ordered our first military forces into Vietnam.

In 1973, the Selective Service System curtailed the "drafting" of men into the military, although the "Draft Boards" remained in effect. The military services commenced the "All Volunteer" military services and extra emphasis was placed in the recruitment of men and women. It has now been 36 years since the draft ended. However, it was not abolished. Today, all men are required by law to register for the Selective Service System.

Although verbose, I thought it important to touch on the history of the "Draft" before you listen to the music that I have linked to this posting. This song was #61 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1962. The "Four Preps" parodied several vocal groups . They satirized the "Platters", "Marcels", "Dick and Dee Dee", "Four Ace's", "Highwaymen", and "Dion". Although there are some great sounds and satire; what got my attention was that the "Four Preps" were able to forecast the civil unrest in our country during the height of the Vietnam War several years prior to the protest marches.

Recently, I was given a gift of a deck of playing cards. Like the playing cards that were used in Iraq to identify the bad guys, each of these cards represent an Outlaw, Rebel or Con Artist that is part of Alaska history.

The majority of them are politicians, of course Ted Stevens, Frank Murkowski, Don Young, Sarah Palin, and Wally Hickel are all honored with a picture and brief write up as to why they made the list. In my personal opinion some of those that made the list really do not belong on the list of outlaws, rebels, and cons. I am sure, the $80,000 that disappeared when famed U.S. Marshall, Wyatt Earp left Alaska, after living in Nome during the "gold rush" was just an oversight or banking error.

A few names surprised me that they had a card dedicated to them:

Seven of Hearts: Steve McQueen: On a fishing trip to Alaska in 1972, he was stopped by the City Police in Anchorage for speeding and laying down brodies. Resisting arrest, he was charged with reckless driving and spent the night in the 4th Avenue jail. The following morning, he posted bail and left the "Last Frontier".

King of Hearts: Robert Stroud: Migrating to Alaska at 18, Stroud fell for a prostitute named "Kitty". Stroud killed a man in Juneau for messing with "Kitty" and then killing a guard in the local jail. He was sent to the Alcatraz Island prison where he educated himself. He wrote several books and was considered an expert on canaries and a variety of other birds. He gained fame as the subject of the Oscar Winning movie, "Birdman of Alcatraz" starring Burt Lancaster.

Five of Spades: Captain James Waddell: Sent to Alaska by the Confederate States during the Civil War, the English Captain sailed the Shenandoah to the Bering Strait to destroy Yankee whaling ships. In June 1865, unaware that the Civil War had ended the Shenandoah destroyed 21 whaling boats crippling the U.S. whaling fleet. Learning that the war had ended, Captain Waddell evaded the Union warships to escape back to England.

The community of Homer had only one person represented in the deck of fifty-two. On the Three of Hearts, the terrible "Outlaw, Rebel, or Con" was the Eagle Lady, Jean Keene who passed away at the age of 82 in 2009. I would question the validity of why she is on the list, perhaps we should let the thousands of eagles that she fed each winter vote as to whether she was a "outlaw" or a "saint".

Tom Selleck, being a very popular actor, I had never heard of this particular movie. In my own thoughts, I could not picture Tom Selleck playing the role of General of the Army, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Despite having to shave his head, Tom Selleck did a very good job in his portrayal of Eisenhower and the decisions that he had to make in World War II. The movie was made for television in 2004 and aired on the A&E channel.

Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower, our 34th President of the United States (1953 ~ 1961) and the first President that I can remember in my youth. I can still recall his campaign slogan and the "Ike" buttons. They were red, white and blue and simply read "I Like Ike". Richard Nixon would become his Vice President.

General Eisenhower was sent to Europe as Commander of American Military Forces in World War II. He would become the Allied Supreme Commander for all forces in Europe. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was not thrilled and felt that his own popular General, Field Marshall Montgomery should be the Supreme Commander. French President Charles de Gaulle, preferred his own General to assume the command. The video does a great job of showing the interactions of these three men, finally agreeing that General Eisenhower would be the Allied Supreme Commander.

Under his leadership, the largest invasion force in the history of the world was planned and assembled for the invasion of Europe. It was crucial to keep the invasion at Normandy a secret from the Nazis. The mission was coded Operation Overlord. The invasion was to commence on June 6, 1944. That date was chosen to coincide with the moon and the tides on the beachhead of Normandy. To enhance their secret, they built a fictitious Army around General George Patton including tanks, aircraft, and equipment made out of plywood. The German's respected General Patton and felt that he would lead the invasion force from the south where his "fake" Army was holding.

The weather changed for the worse just prior to the invasion, General Eisenhower had to make the sole decision as to continue the invasion as scheduled or postpone it to July. Because the beaches were strongly fortified, the intent was to send in troops by parachuting and gliders behind the enemy lines to distract them from the invasion. Due to the weather forecasts, Eisenhower's Air Commander estimated that their fatality rate would be 70%. The movie and Tom Selleck does a very good job in portraying the "burden of leadership" and the consequences of their decisions. A small window of opportunity opened between the three storm fronts moving in, General Eisenhower ordered the invasion to commence. The airborne troops that went behind the lines suffered a 20% fatality rate. The movie does a good job of showing the interactions between General Eisenhower, Prime Minister Churchill, President de Gaulle, Field Marshall Montgomery, and even General Patton. If you enjoy history, you will love this movie, it was well done. Not a typical "war" movie, not a single shot is fired as it is the story leading up to the Normandy Invasion and "D" Day.

As a side note, General Dwight D. Eisenhower as Allied Supreme Commander was a five star general. A rank that he would hold after the War by Congressional Approval and titled General of the Army. In this status, he would never retire from military service. Upon his election as President, he had to resign from the military. Following his Presidency, his status as General of the Army was returned to him. Today, when you drive down the Interstate Highway, you can thank his Presidency. He established the Interstate Highway system for the sole purpose of having the ability to move military equipment and supplies faster. President Dwight D. Eisenhower passed away on March 28, 1969.