I'm sure there will continue to be ceremonies, but it won't be the same. The legal minimum age was, and is, seventeen, with a parent's permission. At eighteen, one could enlist on his or her own. My father in law, Homer Kuhl, joined the Navy at eighteen upon his graduation from high school in June, 1944. Less than a year later he fought at the battle Of Okinawa, manning a 40mm AA gun on his LST. There are many instances where boys as young as fifteen lied about their age and got in. Colonel David Hackworth, who became a writer after his Viet Nam service, enlisted in WWII at fifteen, and fought in Europe. Jack Lucas, a Marine MOH winner enlisted at fourteen and won his medal in the Pacific when he was seventeen. See lucas' story at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004459564_weblucasobit06.html No doubt others will have examples. Drummers in the WBTS were as young as twelve. Johnny Clem started as a Drunner and ended up, many years later, as a Major General. Stan