Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Aug 8, 2017 16:43:56 GMT -5
Well, the Vietnam War ended, and Saigon fell. The video of the helicopters at the American Embassy plucking off loyalist Vietnamese was a shocker. I guess that was probably the biggest deal in the world. But it was also the age of disco. That was the biggest catastrophe to hit the United States in my lifetime. I remember those scenes from the American Embassy and the helicopters, once unloaded of passengers, being pushed over the side of the ships so the next helicopter could land. But your post also reminded me of the first flight of Operation Babylift. The first flight of the operation, a C-5A cargo plane, crashed after takeoff killing 78 orphaned children and 50 adults. fortunately, there were 173 survivors including some of the orphaned children who did eventually make it to the U.S. Tragic event.
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buystoys
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Post by buystoys on Aug 8, 2017 16:51:12 GMT -5
Man, I was really oblivious to current events as a teen. <snip> We got points for discussing a current event in at least one class I was in every year, so I listened to the news every day to get those points. Otherwise, I was oblivious. A lot of things flew right out of my head as soon as I got my little hash mark in the grade book.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Aug 8, 2017 23:30:42 GMT -5
Murdered Israelis in Munich
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Aug 9, 2017 13:21:46 GMT -5
Challenger blew up. I recall not caring very much. I didn't see how it related to me. I was a total selfish aashole until....oh, I don't know, I will let you know if that changes. But at least now, I'm self aware. I remember hearing about it too and not being affected but then the following weekend I was watching TV and there was a report about it. They showed all the crew, including the teacher that was on board, walking and waving before they boarded the aircraft. Then they showed it exploding. I found it really alarming and upsetting, especially when they showed the horrible faces of the people in the crowd who had watched it launch. I remember the gulf war being talked about when I was in high school. I didn't pay it much attention. It was over in a few months anyway. It didn't seem like a big deal at the time... In general, I was pretty unaware of most everything that was happening in the world. I was wrapped up in hanging with my friends, boys, parties, etc. Sometimes I miss that...not high school but the unawareness of how freaking crazy the world is...now it is news 24/7...we get to hear about every kidnapping, every death, every single terrible thing that happens locally, nationally and internationally. Not only do we get to hear about it, but we get to hear about it countless times.
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Peace Of Mind
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[font color="#8f2520"]~ Drinks Well With Others ~[/font]
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Post by Peace Of Mind on Aug 9, 2017 13:32:52 GMT -5
Well, the Vietnam War ended, and Saigon fell. The video of the helicopters at the American Embassy plucking off loyalist Vietnamese was a shocker. I guess that was probably the biggest deal in the world. But it was also the age of disco. That was the biggest catastrophe to hit the United States in my lifetime. We must be close to or the same age. I will add drugs, sex, and rock n' roll were big events when I was in high school!
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Aug 10, 2017 10:04:01 GMT -5
The Vietnam draft lottery was a big deal when I was young. It ended while I was in high school. Having 2 college age sons now, I think about all those young boys whose futures were decided by a lottery number.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Aug 10, 2017 12:15:21 GMT -5
The Vietnam draft lottery was a big deal when I was young. It ended while I was in high school. Having 2 college age sons now, I think about all those young boys whose futures were decided by a lottery number. I remember watching it on tv. The lottery numbers.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Aug 11, 2017 10:01:23 GMT -5
The Vietnam draft lottery was a big deal when I was young. It ended while I was in high school. Having 2 college age sons now, I think about all those young boys whose futures were decided by a lottery number. I was in college when this happened. Turned out the two men who I had long term relationships with in my life both got high draft numbers. Both were over 300 and one was 360. They both knew it was unlikely they would get drafted and they didn't. Graduated high school in 1969, sex, drugs and rock roll were definitely part of it.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Aug 11, 2017 10:07:42 GMT -5
Wasn't it a requirement that boys enlisted in the military when they turned 18 back then? I thought I heard something like that. How did that work? I assume there is no such requirement now?
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ohmomto2boys
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Post by ohmomto2boys on Aug 11, 2017 10:07:45 GMT -5
Challenger tragedy. I was working in the high school office during one of my study halls. Someone heard about it so me and another student went to the government classroom - one of the few classrooms with a TV. We told the teacher about it and he turned it on the tv for senior students to see. So sad.
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NoNamePerson
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Is There Anybody OUT There?
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Post by NoNamePerson on Aug 11, 2017 10:14:34 GMT -5
Wasn't it a requirement that boys enlisted in the military when they turned 18 back then? I thought I heard something like that. How did that work? I assume there is no such requirement now? My son had to "register" if that is the word and this was in 1984 when he turned 18. I still have the copy of paper. I also wonder if that is still the norm. ETA I don't think enlistment was required but registering was.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Aug 11, 2017 10:18:46 GMT -5
What did the registration mean? What happened if you didnt do it?
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Aug 11, 2017 10:26:58 GMT -5
What did the registration mean? What happened if you didnt do it? I don't know answer to that. I just filled out papers. There was no draft in 1984 so I had no clue why he got the paper. But I wasn't not going to reply. Didn't want my kiddo swooped up and carried off or have to decide to send him to Canada.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Aug 11, 2017 10:32:38 GMT -5
You can't apply for federal college aid if you haven't filled out your registration. Not sure if there are other penalties, since that wouldn't be much of a deterrent for many.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Aug 11, 2017 10:38:16 GMT -5
You can't apply for federal college aid if you haven't filled out your registration. Not sure if there are other penalties, since that wouldn't be much of a deterrent for many. So people still have to register today? Is it just boys like in olden days or girls too? Inquiring minds want to know without going to google. Heck, I'm off to google anyway. My learn something new today!
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Aug 11, 2017 10:42:23 GMT -5
It's the selective service registration and currently is used only for fafsa. But they can call on you for serving if needed.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Aug 11, 2017 11:18:38 GMT -5
The Vietnam draft lottery was a big deal when I was young. It ended while I was in high school. Having 2 college age sons now, I think about all those young boys whose futures were decided by a lottery number. I remember watching it on tv. The lottery numbers. I remember watching it on TV too, especially since it was my birth year they were drawing the numbers. I had a high enough number not to be called up and end up being ground meat.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Aug 11, 2017 18:56:12 GMT -5
My first job with the federal government was at the induction center. I worked there 4 months. I typed up papers for the men getting drafted in to the Army. Worst branch of service to get drafted in to was the Marines. Where I worked, the Marine Sgt. would come in to our room and point to a few of the guys and tell them they were going to the Marines.
It was a temporary job. I don't think I fully understood the gravity of what I was doing until I started seeing names of young men for whom I had typed up their paperwork on the list of men killed in action.
That is when I started looking for a different job in a different agency.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Aug 11, 2017 21:03:31 GMT -5
It's the selective service registration and currently is used only for fafsa. But they can call on you for serving if needed. That's the words that escaped me. Thanks!!
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Ryan
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Post by Ryan on Aug 11, 2017 22:40:32 GMT -5
I think when I was in HS, it was probably the OK bombings. I was so oblivious though, I don't really even remember any details about it. I remember a friend saying something about OK and I said "What happened there?" and he kept saying "Don't you watch the news or anything?".
I'm embarrassed to say that when 9/11 happened, I didn't even know what the WTC was. When they were saying "Towers", I kept thinking like some kind of Eiffel tower type thing on the type of the building.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 13, 2017 23:53:22 GMT -5
You can't apply for federal college aid if you haven't filled out your registration. Not sure if there are other penalties, since that wouldn't be much of a deterrent for many. So people still have to register today? Is it just boys like in olden days or girls too? Inquiring minds want to know without going to google. Heck, I'm off to google anyway. My learn something new today! Yes, they still have to do it, but just boss, not girls.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 13, 2017 23:55:30 GMT -5
It's the selective service registration and currently is used only for fafsa. But they can call on you for serving if needed. You can't get a government job unless you've registered (guys only). Some other jobs also require proof of registration. I believe my son had to show his when he got a job as a security guard.
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