If Garp was born in '44 he would've been 18 in '62. He would have left the army in '63. So, either the army did not call back those who had already served their year with them before the war hit the fan (escalated a few years later) or something doesn't ad up?
shareNot sure. It's never explained in the book either. A Prayer for Owen Meaney is a John Irving book that goes into great detail about the war, so you might want to check that out
shareIf Garp was born in '44 he would've been 18 in '62. He would have left the army in '63. So, either the army did not call back those who had already served their year with them before the war hit the fan (escalated a few years later) or something doesn't ad up?
This is way late in response, but what the heck :)
Not sure about today, but back in the 60's, if a man lost his father in combat, he was automatically excluded from being drafted. My Grandfather was killed in the Malmedy Massacre (Battle of the Bulge) in December 1944. My father had been born in October 1944 and months later, his father was shot and killed, never getting word that his son was born, just knew that his wife was expecting.
My father was of age during the Vietnam draft, but was not called to action because of his father being KIA. It is likely that my Grandfather's death, saved my Dad's life. The son he never even knew he had.