Vietnam draft pushed Santa Fe residents into service, changing lives for better and worse

May 28—Gary Donato was in college in New England when he received his draft notice in 1972.

He went to the induction center and learned the Army official was gone, leaving a Navy representative to speak with him. He requested a college deferment, but his grades were too low.

Donato, now 70 and living in Santa Fe, would be among the last waves of inductees before the U.S. draft officially ended during the Vietnam War on July 1, 1973.

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