Quoted below is the testimony of an ex-JW (one of the posters here) who faced the draft in the '60s. Notice the form of "alternative service" that he would've been required to do had he been drafted. Not civilian, but as one who would work in a military hospital ... which would be aiding the war effort -- a breach of one's neutrality.
If THAT were the only form of alternative service available a JW should still have nothing to do with it. Anything in the way of civilian service? I suppose, OKAY. Anything to do with military, NO!
I think I remember reading Farkel's complaints about how he has a prison record for having been indoctrinated in the ways of Jehovah's Witnesses regarding their stance on war. The other side of that coin is that if he had been subjected to the ways of the world instead, he might not be alive today. -- Yadirf.
Facing The DraftRegistration for the draft confronted me, during the latter part of 1968. Notwithstanding that this was a time when the absolute worst battles of the war were taking place, the real reason that the draft was an issue was the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses are categorically opposed to war, and to any participation in military service.
I happened to have been assigned to a Selective Service Commissioner who had a long-standing reputation for being merciless toward Jehovah's witnesses. This, I was told, was especially true because of the "police action" in Vietnam. As the custom went, for all JW's, I applied for exemption from service on the grounds that I was an ordained minister.
The exemption was denied.
Instead of being exempted from military service, I was given the dreaded 1-A-O classification. Under Selective Service rules, a classification of 1-A meant the person was eligible for induction into regular service; 1-O meant the person was a conscientious objector, and NOT eligible for induction. The classification 1-A-O meant that the person was s conscientious objector, but could be inducted into the service to do non-combatant duty on a military base or hospital.
Jehovah's Witnesses refused to serve as non-combatants, because they believed such service to be tantamount to supporting the military machine. Unfortunately, such refusal came with the price of a five year sentence to the federal penitentiary. One acquaintance of mine - a member of my home congregation - was sent away in early 1969 because he refused to accept the draft board's assignment. I expected that I would be next; but a strange thing happened.
When I took my pre-induction physical, the doctors reported that they found a minor medical problem - in fact a condition that is usually treated with antibiotics. In any case, not long before my nineteenth birthday I received a new draft card, and noticed that I had been re-classified to 4-F. I was ecstatic! I had been given an exemption!
Now let me point out that 4-F was a general disabilities classification used for anyone with any sort of impediment - physical or mental. It was most frequently used for the mentally ill. The narrator of the popular song "Alice's Restaurant" said 4-F was the classification for ". . . Men with hairy eyeballs, mother killers, and father stabbers"
And, me!
Actually I had kind of secretly hoped that I would be sentenced to a military unit - which had been the case in many of the trials. The idea of the uniform was actually very intriguing to me. The friend I mentioned had, in fact, been sentenced to a military hospital. I, however, had been exempted. http://www.revdrjohnson.com/story.html
Daniel 11:35 ... a KEY prophecy that must be fulfilled before the "time of the end" gets underway.