This Day in Pop Culture for December 20

1957: Elvis Presley is Drafted

On this day in 1957, the hip-moving singing sensation, Elvis Presley, received his draft notice to join the U.S. Army for two years. Naturally, many fans flooded army office with letters requesting that the crooner be spared, but Elvis had no intention of backing out. After boot camp, Presley served for 18 months in Company D, 32nd Tank Battalion in Friedberg, Germany and worked his way up to sergeant. Presley was seen as a role model and after receiving a vaccination shot for polio from a doctor on national TV, vaccine rates shout up from 2 to 85 percent.

Birthdays

Return to December Page >>>