1969 My grandfather was drafted in 1969 . He enlisted in the Navy because he wanted to fight the Vietnam War from a distance and he liked the water . He said that his first few days of his service were the worst . They got very little sleep and a lot of yelling at by their sargents . He saw some combat , but his main assignment was an Operations Specialist . During his time in the service , his primary way of keeping in touch with friends and family was through letters and phone calls . For fun , him and some of his shipmates listened to music , played cards , and wrote letters back home to pass the time .