Frederick Stanley Walton Registers for the Draft.

Fred Walton Circa 1948

Fold3.com, the subscription military genealogy website has recently announced the availability of Korean War era Selective Service Registration records. I immediately signed on and began searching for my Dad, Fred Walton (1930-2021) and wondered what I might discover.

April 6, 1948 dawned cloudy and cool. Rain was expected…April Showers bring May flowers!  Fred Walton opened his eyes and stretched as he woke up to the smell of coffee drifting up from the kitchen and the sounds of his mother making breakfast. Dad once told me that his mother made him bacon and eggs for breakfast every day. But today wasn't an ordinary day. Today was the day Fred Walton turned 18. 

Dad and I never talked about this day or what it might have meant to him. In my generation, in the 1970s, turning 18 meant several things. Although still in high School, I was working part time and felt like I was finally a “grown-up”, whatever that meant. I was also legally allowed to drink alcohol and, maybe, I had a celebratory glass of wine with my birthday dinner. I was still a kid, living at home, and drinking was not really something we did. Up until a few years before, it traditionally meant it was time to register for the draft. In 1976, when I turned 18, the registration for the draft had been suspended, and the Selective Service System entered a "deep standby" status, meaning it was not actively registering individuals for military service. This suspension lasted until 1980 when registration was resumed for men born on or after January 1, 1960.¹ As a young teenager, I  dreaded turning 18 and being sent off to a death sentence in the jungles of Vietnam. And yet I spent many waking hours digging foxholes and playing soldier in with my friends in our neighborhood. It was a time of confusion and turmoil in our society. I must say that when the military draft in the United States officially ended in January 1973, transitioning to an all-volunteer military force, I was relieved. So turning 18 in 1976…no draft to worry about…drinking allowed, but not attempted, homework due and tests to take, looking forward to graduation and getting on with life and,  the biggie that year, …The Bicentennial. I convinced crew cut Fred, my Dad,to let me grow my hair long. I really just wanted to fit in with my long haired friends, but pleaded that it was “patriotic” since I was slated to portray a minuteman for several Bicentennial affairs. Looking back, I’m sure Dad wasn’t dumb enough to buy this, but he was cool enough to let me grow up and make some of my own decisions and in 1976 long hair was a big one!

I wondered what it was like to turn 18 in 1948? Dad was an Eagle scout and proudly carried Old Glory in the memorial day parade. He was also a sea scout. I would say, in general, he was a pretty patriotic guy. Looking at the newspapers of the time, there seemed to be a lot of articles about servicemen. Enlisting, promotions, serving overseas, returning home. Compared to 1976, when the military was only mentioned in a negative way, I would guess the country, returning to prosperity after the sacrifices of WWII was still in a patriotic mood. 

Fred carries "old Glory" during the 1944 Memorial Day Parade

As it turned out, Dad and I shared many things in common on our 18th Birthday, separated by only 13 calendar days… and 28 years. In 1948 The minimum drinking age was 18², there was no draft, it concluded in 1947,  and like me he probably had homework due, had tests still to take, and looked forward to graduation and getting on with life. His yearbook “Last Will and testament” said: “I, Fred Walton, leave “kitten” to no one- not even Edgar”. Edgar was his brother, but the identity of Kitten will remain a mystery. His yearbook motto was very pragmatic: "The present hour is in my power, and so I will enjoy it”³. I’m sure, like all teenagers, he was ready to start the next phase of his adult life.

Fred Walton 1948 Yearbook Photo

Although there was no draft on April 6, 1948, a front page article in the April 5, 1948, predicted a revival of the draft to halt Russia, who was “making moves fast”.⁴

On Friday, June 25, 1948, the day before Fred’s graduation. president Truman signed the peacetime draft bill known as the selective service act of 1948. In short, this bill required all men aged 18 through 25 to register for the selective service. This surely had to be a topic of discussion amongst the graduates. Only men aged 19 through 25 would be inducted, but even so, this could be a big change in the plans of the graduating seniors. It was expected to take 6 weeks or more for the Draft Boards to be set up and the “Selective Service machinery to be meshed into gear”, but it was estimated that the draft pool could impact 3 million eligible men.⁵

The Selective Service Act of 1948, also known as the Elston Act, established the current Selective Service System in the United States, requiring male citizens and certain residents to register for potential military conscription. Initially intended to last two years, it has been extended multiple times and was a response to the need for military personnel during the Cold War era.

On July 20, 1948 President Truman issued a proclamation calling for Draft registration to begin on August 30 for men born on after August 30, 1922, followed by each birth year on subsequent dates. Those born in 1930 would be required to register September 17 and 18, 1948⁶. 

The "Mount Vernon, Argus,” for Friday, September 17, 1948, had a small front page story entitled “Draft centers end registry tomorrow" reminding readers that local board number 10 will close at noon tomorrow, Saturday, September 18, and stating after that all youths, as they become eighteen,  will have five days to travel from their homes to Mount Vernon to register.

Fred reported promptly on Thursday, September 16, 1948 to local board number 10, 308 Lincoln building, 100 Stephens Ave., Mount Vernon, New York. This was one day before he was required to report. Mount Vernon was less than 10 miles south from Ardsley. Was it patriotic duty that caused him to register early or the only time he could get off work? Unlike me, Dad rarely procrastinated, so this might simply be his solid work ethic of getting stuff done.

What can we learn from Fred’s Draft registration⁷? We already  know his name, birth date and place, Frederick Stanley Walton,  Born 6 Apr 1930 in Tarrytown, N. Y., which is confirmed on this form

We learn he is unmarried and lives with parents at 13 Nepperhan Street, Ardsley, N. Y.   

His occupation, just out of high school, is new information. District Manager? At White Plains Reporter Dispatch, a daily newspaper located at Church Street in White Plains, N. Y. I don’t recall Dad ever mentioning that he worked for a paper. His high school credentials make no mention of working for the Student paper or yearbook. Having graduated only a few months before, it is doubtful that he had garnered enough journalism experience to be named a district manager, which would have been titled an editor, anyway, if he was working for the paper as a journalist. My guess is he was  more likely involved with circulation, either with the delivery of papers or possibly an office job in the circulation department. I vaguely recall Dad being a paperboy as a kid and maybe this was the natural career path until he decided what he really wanted to pursue. As an  adult, Dad was always involved in finance and banking, so seeing this occupation was surprising, although short lived, because exactly one year later he listed his occupation as an employee of Scarsdale National Bank⁸. 

His description, on the reverse of the draft card, identified the following features: Color of eyes- brown, Color of hair-brown, Complexion- dark. No surprise here. His Height (approx.) 5 ft.  9 in. and his Weight (approx.) 146 lbs, reminded me that he was not really a big guy and I had probably outgrown him in height and weight by the time I reached 18.

Big Rick and Little Fred

The final line of that section, while not really surprising, was revealing. “Other obvious physical characteristics that will aid in identification:” it asked and the  answer: “Scars on right forearm, wrist and hand.” appears to be written by the registrar. There would not have been a doctor’s physical as part of the registration process. That would come later. But was this description enough to knock him out of the running? Or did he eventually report for a physical and get classified 4F? 

The way the process worked was at some point after registration, men were classified by the local draft boards into one of three categories: 1-A (available for military service), 1-A-O (available for military service, but with an exemption for hardship or other reasons), or 4-F (unavailable for military service due to medical or other reasons)⁹.

When Dad was about eight years old he had an accident that left him with a compound fracture of his right arm that never really healed properly. It was a fairly minor impediment, but he had to learn to primarily use his left arm. His muscles had atrophied and gangrene had set in, causing permanent and visible scaring and damage. By his 18th birthday, Fred would have overcome this weakness to the extent it was barely noticeable.  I am fairly certain that even as well as he managed to downplay this injury, substituting his left hand for eating and writing, he would not have been able to survive in the military where everything is performed from the right hand, which is the most common. Left handed soldiers have to learn to do things with their right hand, thats just the way rifles, drills and equipment work. For Dad, using the weakened right hand was often simply not an option. 

Fred at Beach circa 1964

If you look closely at Fred's right Arm, in the photo above, compared to his left arm, you will see the deformity where the cast was that weakened his arm, deforming forearm and his hand.

Although he was issued a selective Service Number, 30 10 30 365, I have been unable to find any specific military documents that spell out his classification. I do know he did not serve in the military.  

Was Dad willing to serve? We’ll never know. His prompt registration suggests his willingness to step up and do his duty, but his damaged arm would have likely prevented him from being accepted. 

Notes

1. Historical Timeline of the Selective Service System. https://www.sss.gov/history-and-records/timeline/, accessed 11/12/2025
2. U.S. history of alcohol minimum purchase age by state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._history_of_alcohol_minimum_purchase_age_by_state, accessed 11/12/2025
3. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; School Name: Ardsley High School; Year: 1948. accessed 11/12/2025 via Ancestry.com
4. Quick Draft Passage Predicted, Mount Vernon Argus, White Plains, New York, Mon, Apr 5, 1948, Page 1
5. “Speedy Action seen in Draft”. The Journal News, White Plains, New York, Fri, Jun 25, 1948, Page 1
6. “Truman orders Registration for Draft to Begin Aug. 30”, Mount Vernon Argus, White Plains, New York, Tuesday, July 20, 1948, Page 1
7. Fold3.com, US, Korean War Era Draft Registration Cards, 1948-195
8. The Reporter Dispatch, White Plains, New York, Fri, Sep 16, 1949, Page 8, “Olive Broestler To Be Bride of Fred Walton Jr.“, accessed 11/12/2025
9. https://www.civil-war.net/how-did-the-korean-war-draft-work/, accessed 11/12/2025