Dennis "The Menace" Mitchell timeline

[nick_crenshaw]

In a world where fictional characters age in real time I want to explore/create (with your help) the life and times of one Dennis Mitchell. Below will be a very basic timeline of Dennis' life based on a few conditions. 1) All month and/or year dates are based on the first appearance of Dennis the Menace (Mar. 12, 1951; Hank Ketchum) and 2) Dennis is 5 1/2 years old in March of '51.

1949 - Preschool
1950 - Kindergarten
1951 - 1st Grade
1952 - 2nd Grade
1953 - 3rd Grade
1954 - 4th Grade
1955 - 5th Grade
1956 - 6th Grade
1957 - 7th Grade
1958 - 8th Grade
1959 - 9th Grade
1960 - 10th Grade
1961 - 11th Grade
1962 - 12th Grade
1963 - Graduates high school

Now at this point in is life we have one of two choices for him:
1) Dennis is draft for military in Vietnam or
2) Dennis get a education deferment

Which one should we choose for him

[Crow]

The draft wasn't held until 1969, so there you go.

[2D8HP]

The draft wasn't held until 1969, so there you go.
1969 was when conscription by lottery was implemented for all 18 year-old males, but there had been a draft (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_the_United_States) continuously since 1948. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Service_System)

[Scarlet Knight]

Dennis would be miserable in the army; send him to college. He can later become a hippie.

[Crow]

1969 was when conscription by lottery was implemented for all 18 year-old males, but there had been a draft (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_the_United_States) continuously since 1948. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Service_System)

My mistake. I never paid much attention to the specifics.

Anyhow, Dennis would probably excel in postings that specialized in asymmetric warfare and small unit operations. He might not do so well in a rank and file unit.

[nick_crenshaw]

Anyhow, Dennis would probably excel in postings that specialized in asymmetric warfare and small unit operations. He might not do so well in a rank and file unit.

So if he volunteers or is drafted he would work best as a Green Beret.

[2D8HP]

If I recall correctly what my older co-workers have told me about "back in the day", since he graduated high school in 1963, if he went directly into the military he would be much more likely to be stationed in Germany or Korea than Vietnam. If he instead deferred his service and went to college first and did not then go to divinity or graduate school, and did not immediately volunteer, then there would have been a fair chance that he would have been drafted and serve as a second lieutenant in Vietnam sometime between 1968 and 1970

[nick_crenshaw]

Bump bump bump