World War 2 Draft Question

[Cookiely]

Are there any WW 11 veterans on the board? I just found a notice to appear for physical examination for my great uncle. City Clinic in Tampa on January 29, 1941 at 6:30pm with Dr. Lowry. Were these appointments individual appointments? I always thought they were done at military bases by the hundreds. Appreciate any help you can give me so I can fill in the blanks for my genealogy. What was your draft process? Were you scared? Excited?

[Persepone]

My father was in WWII as was my husband's father. But my understanding was that your local draft board did your preliminay physical examination--so you would have gone to a local doctor (of their choosing). It was "individual" in the sense of your being seen individually and your medical history taken, and getting your examination. It might have been fairly perfunctory. This physical weeded out the obvious 4Fs.

Once you were drafted, you went to the regional intake center and there you got another physical examination--and unless they discovered something that got you sent home, you then got shots, etc. Those are the ones where people were seen in assembly line fashion by the hundreds, so if you were somehow sent into the army by your local draft board's doctor, the chances of your being weeded out here were slim unless you had something obvious or contagious.

[Aslkahuna]

Of course, January 1941 was before our entry into the War so wartime draft procedures weren't in effect then.

Steve

[streetsoldier]

My father volunteered on 08 DEC 1941, but wasn't called up until March '42; his physical was done at the Federal Building in downtown St. Louis. He was an enlisted man in the Air Corps, but after diligent (and difficult) study he was sent to Ellington Field, TX for cadet training/flight school, from which he was graduated as a Second Lieutenant and Pilot in May, 1943.

[Cookiely]

Of course, January 1941 was before our entry into the War so wartime draft procedures weren't in effect then.

Steve

Thank you so much for pointing that out to me. I kept thinking Dec. 7th was close to January when its actually a year away. Thanks to all of you for your info and insight.

[Cookiely]

Something I would like to share with you about my great Uncle Angelo Betancourt.
My great grandmother sent four sons off to war. Al, her oldest was in the merchant marines, Raymond was stationed in California, Robert in Germany and her baby Angelo in France. A miracle occurred in Paris. Angelo and Robert were given leave for two weeks. Can you imagine looking across the street in a foreign country and seeing your brother you hadn't seen in three years? What were the odds for an accidental meeting. The first thing they did was take the photo below and sent it to their mother.

All four sons made it home from the war to find that their mother had passed away from a heart attack. I've always thought my great grandma was a war casualty.