First
Night of Hanukkah
Here
is a short History Channel video on Hanukkah.
To learn more about this Jewish holiday, check out this and the
second half of this other earlier blog post.
Elvis
is drafted into the army!
Have
you ever heard of “the draft”? This is a system by which people
are selected (often randomly) for compulsory service in the armed
forces. When Elvis was in his 20s, young men in good health were
expected to be available to “serve their country” in the armed
forces, if needed.
In
1957, Elvis Presley—who was already rich and famous, having
produced such hits as Hound Dog and Don't Be Cruel—received
his draft notice that stated that he had to serve two years in the
U.S. Army.
Presley
had received a letter ten days before saying that he was up for the
draft, and the Army, Navy and Air Force recruiters called to offer
him special enlistment opportunities if he signed up before being
drafted. Part of the Navy's offer was to create a special “Elvis
Presley Company” that would include soldiers from his home area. He
could be part of Special Services and sing his way through his
service. However, Elvis turned all the offers down, taking a chance
with the draft.
And
then he received the fateful letter: He was told to report to the
Army on the same day he was supposed to start filming a movie!
Elvis
ended up serving, by choice, with no special treatment. He went
through boot camp, carried his own rifle and gear, went on guard
duty—just like anyone else. In the meantime, the record companies
released the various songs he had already recorded, one by one,
keeping Elvis in the limelight despite the fact that he was overseas
in Germany. Many people admired Elvis's grit and patriotism shown by
his military service. So, in the long run, being away for two years
may have actually helped Elvis's career!
By
the way, these days, we have an all-volunteer army and other armed
forces.
To
learn more about Elvis and the draft, go here.
Also
on this date...
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