George Riordan's veterans page

From 1971-74 I served in the U. S. Military Academy Band (West Point, NY) as a special bandsman, thus avoiding the draft through audition and voluntary enlistment.  Not a bad place to be stationed, with opportunities for varied performance opportunities, both inside and outside the band, as well as study in New York City. (No, I wasn't a cadet - we were all enlisted men.)

Memory:  Our Seaholm’67 four-year reunion! - The Surreal Draft Physical, 1971:

At the end of our senior year in college, many of us had to gather from our various schools and report for our draft physical.  It was a surreal experience.  It was like being at a fourth-year Seaholm reunion – so many of our classmates were there!  (Except that there were no women.)   Here we were, padding around in our socks and underwear.  But only about half of the guys needed to show up - the rest had deferments or higher lottery numbers.  Near the beginning of the physical, we were all herded into a big room, where a sergeant asked “who has a letter from their doctor?”  It seemed that almost every hand in the room immediately shot up – except for mine, and one or two other fellows.  Although I passed the physical, despite my bum knee, I wasn’t worried about being sent to Vietnam.  I had an “ace in the hole” – a letter of acceptance to the West Point Band.  And so I spent the remainder of the war honing my craft. 

QUIP:  In basic training, the other guys in my platoon soon started calling me "Professor", and the drill sergeants picked up on my new nickname, as well.  I guess they were all pretty prescient. 

Here's a couple of photos taken by my mom, during a pass in review at West Point.  I should be in there, somewhere.

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