Born Then
1964–1973

Life during the Vietnam War and the American draft

Be born in a place it hit, a few years before it began, and see what it did to five ordinary lives.

What it meant for ordinary people

About 2.2 million American men were drafted during the Vietnam War, with poorer and working-class men less able to obtain deferments. Opposition to the war and the draft divided the country.

Deaths: about 58,000 American service members.

How hard it hits each person in the game (risk of death, of being conscripted, of leaving) comes from scholarly estimates.

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