Evening star., 1942-12-30
DC. Youths, 19,
Face Draft Call
In January
Officials Predict
Induction Soon
For Married Men

The District will fill the bulk of
Its calls for selectees in January
from the ranks Of the l9-year-olds,
a District draft spokesman said
yesterday.
Predicting that the induction of
married men was coming soon in
the District, the draft official dis
closed, however, that local boards
had been instructed not to call
married men in January.
Calls on the local boards to sup
ply men are being arranged 50 that
all the boards will start calling
married men at about the same
time.
Step-Up Need Explained.
The halt order on drafting men
who have reached their 38th birth
day anniversary made it necessary
to step up the calls on the younger
men, it was explained. Most of the
20-year-olds who registered with
the older men last February in the
third registration have already
gone into the service.
The War Department announced
yesterday that soldiers 80 and over
are beginning to trickle back into
civilian life
Although the order to release GER
tain men in that age group from the
armed service is less than a month
old, a department spokesman said
The machinery for their honorable
discharge already is functioning pro-
viding they satisfy, on an individual
basis, the provisions that:
1. THE soldier has voluntarily re-
nuested discharge in writing to his
immediate commanding officer.
2. The soldier is handicapped by
advanced age. 38 years and over. to
such an extent that his usefulness
to the Army is secondary to that of
industry.
3. The soldier has presented sat
tsfactory evidence that he will be
employed in an essential war in
dustry, including agriculture, if he is
discharged from the Army
WMC Sets Rules.
The department said that it
probably would be some time" be-
fore figures were accumulated from
the various camps and posts on the
number released The commanding
ofilcer in the field, the spokesman
said, has the authority to issue the
honorable discharges.
AS a guide to those officers. the
War Manpower Commissions list of
essential industries has been laid
down as the basis for determining
whether soldier now 80 or older
would prove more valuable in civilian
production.
The War Department emphasized.
however. that no soldier would be
discharged unless suitable trained
replacement is present and available,
that any discharges from the Army
under the plan would be granted in
furtherance of the war effort and not
as right of the Individual
Hence the various commanding Of
acers have great deal of discretion
in determining whether a man
should be discharged or not.
New Men Needed.
With the supply of available men
from the third registration virtually
exhausted, the draft official said.
It Will be necessary to fill January
calls with l9-year- and Febru-
ary calls with l8-year-
All available 18 and 10 year olds
who registered on June 80 probably
Will be indicted by the end of Feb
ruary, it was said.
The only remaining group stand
ing between the draft and married
men will then be the youths who
have reached their 18th birthday
anniversary since June 30 and are
now registering for the draft.
Group Makes Slim Buffer.
This group, however, makes a slim
buffer. In the first place. enlist
ments have shrunk this pool of
manpoWer. and in the second place.
boys in this age group have the
privilege of remaining in high
school until the end of their school
year. Nearly half of them are high
school students. and a number of
them are expected to take ad-
vantage of this opportunity to fin
ish out their school term.
The last of the former 1-B men,
those with minor physical handi-
caps, will also be called for Army
service in January. the draft official
said. Most of these men already
have been called
Local draft headquarters also is
sued reminder to the 18-vear-
BIDS who have not yet registered
that they must do so at their local
boards before pm tomorrow or
De considered delinquent.
Draft boards are averaging about
IS registrants each. A draft Official
estimated that this number should
be doubled in each board to reach
The expected total of youths regis
sering before the end of this year.