I found these two albums during recent garage sale/pawn shop expeditions, and thought they provided a nice Military point/counterpoint. So I’ve uploaded pictures and about a minute or so of audio from each to let you decide which is more convincing.
POINT
The U.S. Army Recruiting Service Presents – Feel Like A Man – Go Army (1964) – Four tuneful, timely commercials of interest to young Americans
This record was distributed to radio stations in early 1964, and features 8 60-second versions of the Army’s then-popular “Feel Like A Man” jingle. The back of the LP sleeve invited the stations to “help your Country by playing these commercials whenever possible,” and informed them that “the U.S. Army wishes to express its thanks for bringing its message to the attention of your audience.”
Here’s one of the 8 jingoistic clips:
Feel Like A Man – Go Army (Click to Listen)
Ominously, the record label warns: “DO NOT USE AFTER JUNE 1964.”
So congrats! By listening to this clip, you’ve just engaged in a minor act of civil disobedience.
COUNTERPOINT
Declaration Records – The Ins and Outs of the Draft (1970)
By way of contrast, here’s an “informational” hour-long conversation with several “experts” on the various ways that a fellow could get himself disqualified from the Draft. Not that they encouraged that sort of thing… they just wanted you to know your options. Or, as the moderator says in this introductory clip, “This album is intended to suggest some of the procedures available for pointing out a disqualification or a qualification. It is not intended to suggest methods of dodging, or draft avoidance.“:
Ins and Outs of the Draft (Click to Listen)
The record set out in detail the various physical and mental “defects” that would make one unsuitable for the military, and gives the procedure for highlighting those “deficiencies” to the draft board. For further help, the inside of the record sleeve contained state-by-state listings of various “draft counselling centers”:
The copy that I bought is well-used, and I’ve spent a good chunk of time imagining the hands that it passed through over the years.
So those are your options: either be a man, or take advantage of the hippies’ “suggestions.” What’ll it be?
