National Health and Manpower Resources

Archive Report

Draft Rejection in Korean Conflict

Draft rejection rates for the war in Korea show a larger proportion of men disqualified for military service than during World War II. If taken at face value, the selective service figures would suggest that the health of the nation's young people has seriously deteriorated in recent years. However, draft rejection statistics are no longer regarded as a sound index to the state of the nation's health and opinion is divided on the seriousness of the situation the figures disclose.

Maj. Gen. Lewis E. Hershey, director of Selective Service, told Congress in June that the country faces a “real youth-health problem” and offered draft rejection figures to support this conclusion.

But U. S. Surgeon General Scheele had said six months earlier that ...

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