War Baggage In times of crisis and chaos, the United States government must take all necessary measures to preserve peace in its country. One such action is to conscript men into war when volunteer numbers are low. In "The Things They Carried," a memoir by Tim O'Brien, the oppression and stress that soldiers face on a daily basis are depicted through a series of war stories and events during the Vietnam War and the Vietnam War Draft Lottery. In 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act. This law allowed the government to fill vacancies in the military forces when there were not enough volunteers (“History” p. 1). One of the most commonly used methods of selecting young men for war was called drawing lots. The first lottery took place on December 1, 1969. To use this method, 366 capsules containing dates of birth were placed in a large container. Then, men aged 18 to 26 were chosen based on their birthday to become soldiers (“Selective” p. 1). During the Vietnam War, more than half of the soldiers were volunteers. Even though there were plenty of volunteers, more had to be called in to fill the positions they couldn't. Men enlisted in the war were generally from the poor or working classes. The proposed lottery drew criticism from many American protesters, particularly because many of them had not supported the war in the first place (Bia, p. 1). Due to the oppression placed on the unlucky men selected to join the war effort by force, many attempted to escape their duties. Men with physical or mental disabilities were exempt from the draft. If the man or boy is needed at home to help support his family, he may also be excused. ...... middle of paper ...... to find out who someone really is when they are placed in certain stressful situations. Works cited “History of the project”. History of the project. Selective Service, nd Web. May 1, 2014..Kindig, Jessie. “Vietnam War: Resistance to Conscription. » Vietnam: resistance to conscription. Np, and Web. May 1, 2014. .Bia, Ku. “Vietnam War Draft – The Vietnam War.” The Vietnam War. Np, July 25, 2013. Web. May 1, 2014. .O'Brien, Tim. The things they carried. New York: Broadway Books, 1990. Print. “Selective Service System: History and Records.” » Selective Service System: History and Records. ©2012 Selective Service System, June 16, 2009. Web. May 1 2014..