Sept. 10, 1963 - President Kennedy signed an executive order today, effective immediately, that had the effect of halting the draft of married men into the armed forces. The order affects the draft status of 340,000 men. The Selective Service System has been drafting an average of about 6,000 men for the armed forces each month. About one third have been married men without children. The order Mr. Kennedy signed today places married men, 19 to 26 years old, in the lowest pool of men classified 1-A, or available for the draft. The 1-A pool now contains about 1.7 million men. Lieutenant General Lewis Hershey, the Selective Service Director, estimated that about 20% of that total were now married. Since the remaining unmarried youths are considered numerous enough to fill monthly quotas for the foreseeable future, the effect of the President’s action was to halt the draft of married men. A previous order signed by the President last March halted the induction of fathers.
