I was on the trailing edge of all this madness. I turned 18 in '73 and had to go register at the Post Office. Since I was still in High School, I got a 1-H (? or whatever Student Status was). About a month or so after that, they dropped the draft, and instituted some sort of 'volunteer' system.
I remember, I knew a fella who's birthday was in November... I think. It turned out that he didn't even have to register. He liked to rub it in.
I also knew of a couple of fellas... one named Nathan, went into 'pioneering' really fast (this was during the late 60's or early 70's). He also worked at a job. He was always knackered from trying to keep both 'jobs' going. He somehow succeeded in not getting the 'go to jail' card. He also succeeded in getting himself into Bethel.
The other fella I knew named Robert, worked as an auto mechanic for the local police. He got his draft notice, and would up going to Segoville for a couple of years. Unlike some, he had someone visit him regularly... a nice young gal, who took a shine to him. They later got married. Robert was a really nice fella. I liked him a lot.
I didn't know any of the 'back room' details - as I was never privy to any of that.(The local elders couldn't have cared less about me or my family.)
I do seem to remember my mom freaking out a bit when I had to register for the draft. I think she was thinking 'full time student', since I wasn't 'pioneer' material.
Regards,
Jim TX