Lewis B. Hershey, Mr. Selective Service

About this book

Lewis B. Hershey's career presents valuable insights into the operation of both the political system and the national defense policy of the United States. Hershey was the central figure in the American military draft for the three decades spanning our involvement in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. This book is the first scholarly biography of General Hershey (1893-1977) and the first historical study of the draft from 1940 to 1970. Appointed director of the Selective Service in 1941 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Hershey served as draft director under six different presidents. During his tenure in this position, Hershey played an important role in the mobilization of the home front during World War II, the evolution of Cold War policies under Truman and Eisenhower, the decisions concerning the treatment by the military of conscientious objectors, blacks, and women, and the Vietnam protest under Lyndon Johnson. Hershey, a professional soldier, a bureaucrat, and a politician, combined all three roles throughout his career. Focusing on the draft, George Flynn shows that the law allowed for a strong administrator and that Hershey exercised considerable discretion in the management of the draft system. His influence over local board members in American neighborhoods - and over the Congress - was enormous. This book is a full-scale analysis of Hershey's life. Combining interviews of family and colleagues with archival documentation, Flynn reveals the interaction between the private man and the public person. --from inside jacket flap.