Lloyd Miller was 21 when he received a draft notice in 1951, during the Korean War.
He and his two brothers, Harlan, 25, and Don, 19, decided to enlist in the Air Force because that branch of the military allowed family members to be stationed together.
The Air Force base was too full at the time to take any more men, so they joined the Army instead, he said.
All three still ended up being assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division, though Harlan was sent to Korea immediately. The other two went to Fort Riley in Kansas for basic training, which Harlan had already completed before serving in Germany near the end of World War II.
Since they looked very different and Miller is a common last name, no one realized Lloyd and Don were brothers, and they were allowed to be stationed together.