1: Leaving America

It is early June 1969. My wife, Jean, and I had slept in my childhood bedroom. This is the last night I would spend in the home I grew up in. After an early breakfast prepared by my mother we got in the Mercury Cougar, to head north to Canada. As we left, my mother and father were standing in the front door waving goodbye. I can still see their sad faces.

When I do not report for induction later that month I will be charged for not reporting; I will not able to return to the United States. The induction notice came in March. I was only a few months away from my 26th birthday, which would mean I could no longer be drafted. When the notice came, Jean and I knew that we would be leaving Kansas City where I was an instructor in the School of Education at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. This was in many ways a dream job as Kansas City was my home. I was also enrolled in the doctoral program and looked forward to a long career there.