Due to the commonality of the situation, I focus on the journey of the drafted infantry replacement. The journey of the voluntary enlistee was essentially the same; just substitute going to your local recruiting station, signing an enlistment contract, being medically and physically examined, and sent to a reception center with the act of being drafted.

The Draftee's Journey

Robert S. Rush’s book GI: The US Infantryman in World War II gives a very nice overview of the US infantryman’s experience in WWII, by using four vignettes, each of a fictional soldier in;

• Pacific Ocean Area (a “Michael O’Brien”, of the 165th Inf. Reg't, 27th Inf. Div.; Michael voluntarily enlisted pre-war into the New York National Guard)

• North Africa and the Mediterranean (a “John Smith”, of the 1st Bn., 133rd Inf. Reg't, 34th Inf. Div.; John voluntarily enlists and is assigned to the 76th Infantry Division, but is later transferred as a replacement to the 34th Infantry Division)

• Europe (a “Joseph Stein”, of the 2nd Bn., 22nd Inf. Reg't., 4th Inf. Div.; Joseph is drafted, and later receives a field commission as an officer)

• Southwest Pacific (a “Gordon Cockrell”, of the 2nd Bn., 382nd Inf. Reg't, 96th Inf. Div.; Gordon is drafted, and initially assigned to the 89th Infantry Division, but is eligible for and attends Officer Candidate School and is later assigned to the 96th Infantry Division)

On December 5, 1942, through signing Executive Order 9279, men from their 18th birthday to the last day of their 37th year old were barred from voluntarily enlisting into the military in order to preserve the nation's war manpower. Men of these ages could now only join the military by being eligible to be drafted. Men who were 17, (birthday, to the last day of their 17th year) and those from their 38th birthday to the last day of their 44th year old who were not engaged in a war-critical industry, deferred, or disqualified from the draft for any other reason could still enlist voluntarily, provided they met the military's qualifications. The order became effective on January 1, 1943 and expired on September 7, 1945.

First, the eight draft registrations and draft classifications:

Draft Registrations:

Registration	Date	Birth dates	Note
1	Oct. 16, 1940	Oct. 17, 1904-Oct. 16, 1919	Men 21-35 years old
2	Jul. 1, 1941	Oct. 17, 1919-Jul. 1, 1920	Men who had turned 21 since the last registration, and men who were of age but had failed to register in the first registration
3	Feb. 16, 1942	Feb. 17, 1897-Oct. 16, 1904 and Jul. 2, 1920-Dec. 31, 1921	Men 20-21 and 37-44 years old
4	Apr. 27, 1942	Apr. 28, 1877-Feb. 16, 1897	Men 45-64 years old (not liable for military service)
5	Jun. 30, 1942	Jan. 1, 1922-Jun. 30, 1924	Applicable 18 year old men
6 (I)	Dec. 11-17, 1942	Jul. 1-Aug. 31, 1924	Applicable 18 year old men
6 (I)	Dec. 18-24, 1942	Sept. 1-Oct. 31, 1924	Applicable 18 year old men
6 (I)	Dec. 26-31, 1942	Nov. 1-Dec. 31, 1924	Applicable 18 year old men
6 (II)	Jan. 1, 1943-Mar. 31, 1947	Jan. 1, 1925-Mar. 31, 1929	Men were to register as they turned 18 years old
Extra	Nov. 16-Dec. 31, 1943	Jan. 1, 1899-Dec. 31, 1925	Men 18-44 years old living abroad. Beginning Jan. 1, 1944, men were to register as they turned 18 years old
Special	Oct. 23-31, 1944	Nov. 1, 1899-Oct. 31, 1926	Men 18-44 years old living in the US Virgin Islands. Beginning Nov. 1, 1944, men were to register as they turned 18 years old

Draft Classifications 1940-1947: (they actually go into slightly more detail than the below chart)

Classification	Info
I	Available for service
I-A	Available; fit for general military service
I-A-O	Conscientious objectors eligible for military service in noncombatant role
I-B	Available; fit only for limited military service
I-B-O	Conscientious objectors available for limited service [not used after Aug. 18, 1942]
I-C	Members of land or naval forces of the United States
I-D	Students fit for general military service; available no later than July 1, 1941
I-E	Students fit for limited military service; available no later than July 1, 1941
I-H	Men deferred by reason of age [not in effect, as deferment of men 28 and older had stopped upon US entry to the war]
II	Deferred because of occupational status
II-A	Men necessary in civilian activity
II-B	Men necessary to national defense
II-C	Men necessary to farm labor
III	Deferred because of dependents
III-A	Men with dependents, not engaged in work essential to national defense [eliminated Oct. 1, 1943]
III-B	Men with dependents, engaged in work essential to national defense
IV	Deferred specifically by law or because unfit for military service
IV-A	Men who had completed service [not considered in war]
IV-B	Officials deferred by law
IV-C	Nondeclarant aliens
IV-D	Ministers of religion or divinity students
IV-E	Conscientious objectors available for civilian work of national importance
IV-E-LS	Conscientious objectors available for limited civilian work of national importance
IV-E-H	Men formerly classified in IV-E or IV-E-LS, deferred due to being 38-45 years old
IV-F	Men physically, mentally or morally unfit

In the first through third registrations, draft order numbers were randomly assigned to registrants' cards, to be pulled from a glass bowl. In the fifth, sixth, and seventh registrations, order numbers were consecutively assigned based on birth date; the last order number of the third registration was advanced by one to give the first order number of the fifth registration, and the last number of the fifth registration was advanced by one for the first number of the sixth registration (the fourth registration, as it was simply a tally, was skipped)

Selective Training and Service Act of 1940:

The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 provided for compulsory military service of selected men aged 21-35 (21st birthday to the last day of their 35th year old) for one year; they could only be deployed in the western hemisphere or on US-held lands. It also stipulated that not more than 900,000 men were to be in training at any one time. To organize the peacetime draft registration, and other registrations after that, the Selective Service set up 6,442 draft boards nationwide. Each board covered a small area, usually a county; large cities such as New York had many boards, one for every 30,000 people (in order to not exceed the maximum of 7,836 registrants) Each board administered an eight-page questionnaire, (DSS Form 40) an occupational survey (DSS Form 311) and a basic physical and mental examination that assisted them in classifying men of appropriate age in their district. Each of the registrants received a notice of classification on the DSS Form 57, and a draft order number (1 through 7,836) on the DSS Form 2, or draft registration card, that also had relevant personal information.

The very first draft call in October 1940 was symbolic; In Washington D.C., the numbers were placed into capsules and then into a large glass bowl. The bowl was stirred by Secretary of War Henry Stimson using a rod made from a beam of Philadelphia's Independence Hall. He then drew a number from the bowl and opened it. President Roosevelt announced the number; 158. Across the country, 6,175 men had that number on their cards. More numbers were drawn (the next three were 192, 8,239, and 6,620) from the bowl until a reasonable number of men were inducted for military service. A full 50 percent of the men called to serve in October 1940 were rejected, 20 percent of these because they were illiterate by Army standards. In order to be preliminarily classified I-A by their local board during the peacetime draft in October 1940, a man needed to;

• Be between five and six and a half feet tall and weigh at least 105 pounds

• Have at least 12 teeth (6 incisors and 6 chewing teeth)

• Not have venereal disease, hernia, or flat feet

• Have vision correctable with glasses

• Be functionally literate and able to write

• Not have been convicted of a crime

Starting on July 1, 1941, men who were 28 and older were released from service and were deferred from being drafted. The term of service of the October draftees was unpopularly extended eighteen more months to a total of 2.5 years on August 18, 1941. With US entry into WWII, the term of service was extended again, for the duration of the war plus six months. The ages of men liable to be inducted into the military was also extended, to apply to men from their 18th birthdays to the last day of their 44th year.

Draft Modifications:

The Selective Service drafted under a quota of 200,000 eligible men per month. After a request was made by the armed forces through Selective Service headquarters, the Selective Service assigned a quota to each state. Based upon the pre-selected draft order numbers for that period, local draft boards notified the registrants who had been selected, and ordered them to report for induction. The basic medical standards listed above held true for the majority of WWII. Beginning in 1943, many minor felons (100,000 eventually were drafted) that were previously classified IV-F were reclassified I-A, making them liable for induction. In October 1943, fathers whose children were born before December 7, 1941 began to be drafted (the term "father" could also be applied to those men who, childless when drafted, conceived children while on leave; by that criteria, many more fathers than just the ones whose children were born before Pearl Harbor actually served) By April 1944, the Army further relaxed the induction criteria as they proved to be disqualifying in some cases. Men could now be completely toothless, be missing one or both external ears, or be missing a thumb or three fingers (but not both) on one hand only. Cases of certain venereal diseases were also acceptable, to be treated with penicillin after induction.