Why was elvis drafted

Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Vietnam War. Cold War. Latin America. Sign Up. Art, Literature, and Film History. World War II. For those drafted, the length of service was set at 24 months. If and when a man would be drafted depended on where he lived. Each local draft board had an annual quota of men to supply for military service. If volunteers did not meet the quota, the board was required to draft enough men to fill it. Eleven days after his 18th birthday, Presley, then in his last year of high school in Memphis, fulfilled his legal requirement to register for selective service.

In fact, four years would pass before he next heard from the Memphis draft board, and his life would change enormously in the interim. He got his start with Sun Records in , signed with RCA in , and had three number one records nationally in Additionally, he signed a Hollywood contract, made his first movie, and became a sensation on network television.

He was the biggest name in the entertainment business when he was summoned to Kennedy Veterans Hospital in Memphis for a pre-induction physical on January 4, Those who failed to meet draft standards were removed from draft consideration, while those who passed were assigned a draft status that could make them eligible for immediate induction. Seemingly fit men occasionally failed their draft physical.

Ruled unfit for military service, he continued his award-winning career on the baseball field. Elvis Presley had no such luck.

A January 8, , article in the Memphis Press-Scimitar reported the results of his pre-induction exam. Elwyn P. With the draft axe hanging over his head, Elvis continued his career. The year-old Elvis looked fantastic, of course, and his face betrayed no hint of nervousness or regret. Elvis would be granted leave once again in August to attend to his mother on her death bed. Gladys Presley passed away on August 16, , and four weeks later, Elvis shipped out to Germany. He would meet a year-old Priscilla Beaulieu while in Germany, and he would watch while a new crop of teen idols took over the limelight on the U.

In the spring of , Elvis would return to his rightful throne, but his Army years mark a clear line of separation between the Old Elvis and the New.