ABSTRACT
In 1942, I turned 18 and registered for the draft. I was working at the time as a laboratory technician and in the fall of that year, I found out that I had received a deferment of my induction, apparently for vital occupational reasons. I had never requested a deferment nor do I know for certain that it was the hospital position that generated it. Anyway, I took the opportunity to enroll at New York University in anticipation of being drafted, with some thought in mind that this pre-draft registration might make admission after the war easier. I mentioned before that I had taken night courses at City College with rather mediocre results. Why I did not continue at CCNY and instead enrolled at the then academically less challenging NYU, I am not sure. The main reason was probably that everybody I knew seemed to be aimed at NYU, and I had no knowledge or information to consult for a proper sense of educational direction. In keeping with my original intentions—and my father’s implied wishes—I enrolled with an aim toward a chemistry degree—eventually, to go toward the leather factory and the family business.
