The military draft ended 50 years ago, dividing a generation
On Jan. 27, 1973, with the Paris Peace Accords signed and U.S. involvement in Vietnam over, Defense Secretary Melvin R. Laird announced the end of the military draft, after 25 uninterrupted years of conscription. I wish to inform you, he declared, that the Armed Forces henceforth will depend exclusively on volunteer soldiers, sailors, airmen and