During the sixties era of psychedelic drugs and free love, the United States was also waging a bloody war in Vietnam —the longest and most costly war in American history. Some of the young men wandering around hippie neighborhoods and experimenting with drugs were "dodging" the draft—that is, hiding out from authorities who wanted to induct them into the army. Almost all of those in the counterculture opposed the war.

In spite of the protests against the draft and the antiwar sentiment, a full two-thirds of the soldiers who went to Vietnam —2 million men—were volunteers. In addition, eleven thousand women volunteered for military service. Many of these men and women joined the military because they had limited options and wanted to serve their country and see the world. Those who served in Vietnam were also young, with an average age...