In 1971, I was floundering during my second year at Wayne State College in Nebraska. I was madly in love with my high school sweetheart, and staying on task with my studies was nearly impossible. Then came the announcement of numbers assigned for the draft. Mine was No. 76.

I figured with such a low number it was highly likely I would get drafted, and I hadn’t applied for a deferment. The town I grew up in, Papillion, had an Army recruiting station, and I decided I would volunteer for a two-year hitch. I set the date for the day after Thanksgiving 1971, because my dad secured tickets for the highly anticipated Nebraska-Oklahoma football game on Thanksgiving Day.

The game lived up to its billing as top-ranked Nebraska beat the Sooners 35-31. The next day, I walked into the Army recruiting office and said, “Take me. After seeing the Nebraska game in person, I’ve seen it all!”

John Fey, Hugh J. Kearns American Legion Post 56