First peacetime draft in U.S. history signed into law September 16, 1940
The first national draft lottery was held on October 29, 1940.
Two days after the draft became law the Stanley Sun made it personal and put names with numbers…all 1302 men in the county who had registered for the draft.
Registration Begins: Following the signing of the Act on September 16, 1940, the process of registering men for the draft commenced. All males between the ages of 21 and 36 were required to register.
Mass Registration: Within a short period, over 16 million men registered for the draft.
First Draft Lottery: The first national draft lottery was held on October 29, 1940, in Washington D.C. Numbers representing eligible men were drawn to determine the order in which they would be called for potential military service.
Induction Begins: Shortly after the lottery, the first draftees began to be inducted into the armed forces. By the end of 1940 and into early 1941, almost a million men had been drafted.
This is a partial list of the men from Stanley. Out of the first 256 men 41 were from Stanley.
The first 256 names are found on a spreadsheet at this link. Since there are 1302 published names, I’m not sure I want to take the time to extract all the names, proofread them and enter in this spreadsheet. My father’s name must be in there someplace but I haven’t taken the time to find it.
Look at #33 - Arnold Eidem. Here is his registration card.
The National Parks Service has a web page detailing reasons a registrant might be rejected for service. Part is below.
The military also tried to exclude groups that officials believed would weaken the military or drain time and resources. These concerns led to the disqualification of many people with a wide range of acquired and congenital conditions. After World War I, the federal government became responsible for over $1 billion in veterans' disability claims. The military hoped to avoid a repeat situation after World War II. To prevent men who were likely to develop disabilities from eventually becoming eligible for veterans’ benefits, the military tried to keep them from ever being inducted.
Follow this link for the whole story.