Keep your head down
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Keep your head down

Basic training, Sampson Air Force Base, Seneca, N.Y. - I was born in Hamilton, N.Y., in 1932. After I graduated..
2,798 views
No goodnight kisses
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

No goodnight kisses

In July 1962 I was in Company A, Second Battalion, First Training Regiment, located on Tank Hill, Fort Jackson, S.C.,..
3,335 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Fort Jackson, S.C.

I arrived at Fort Jackson, S.C. at 9:30 p.m. Sept. 19, 1983. As we got off the bus, I saw..
2,456 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Fort Bliss

Upon enlisting in March 1976, I found myself, along with 50 other young men from all over the U.S., at..
2,570 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Earning those stripes!

Drafted in 1968, I took the oath in Cincinnati, flew to Atlanta, was bused to Fort Jackson, S.C. for a..
2,076 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Not-so-funny sox

It was February 1953, and arriving at Sampson Air Force Base near Geneva, N.Y., my fellow recruits and I stepped..
2,242 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Travel opportunities

I was drafted in the Army in the fall off 1954 and took the oath at Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio...
2,003 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Music to my ears

This 89-year-old vet was sent to Fort Lee, Va. for basic training and Army Bandsman School to follow at the..
1,957 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Sparks flying!

In 1957 I went into the Army after graduating from high school. Three of us went to Syracuse, N.Y. ..
2,055 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Down but not out!

I received my draft notice in Prosser, Wash., in 1965. When I reported in Spokane and went through the physical,..
1,807 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Choir boy

When I was at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., for basic training 60 years ago, I really had it "rough."..
1,902 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Promoted’ to corporal

In March 1955, ending my sixth week of basic training at Fort Dix, N.J., I ended up in the..
3,467 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

College Joe

On March 22, 1957, I departed Hopewell, Va., headed to Richmond and then on a long train ride to Columbia,..
1,810 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Shower needed

I joined the Navy in February 1959 and was sent to Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., for basic training. It..
1,833 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Following orders – precisely!

In the summer of 1972, I took the Army Reserve basic combat training unit I commanded to Fort Jackson, S.C...
3,321 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Potato Becker

My basic training was with Battery C Antiaircraft Artillery Training Center, Fort Bliss, Texas. In February 1954 we had a 30-mile..
1,959 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Listerine’

I did not want to waste or get caught with a quart of whiskey that was given to me in..
3,363 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Out of uniform

While at Parris Island boot camp, March 1954, Platoon #187, we went to dental services late one afternoon. I was..
1,948 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Carrot crunch

It was 1952 at Parris Island. At this point in time we were assigned to wood barracks. Lights were out,..
1,697 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Fort Lewis

I was in basic training at Fort Lewis, Wash., in June 1967. During the six-day war in Israel, the captain..
1,675 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

San Diego memories

In August 1957 I began my tour with the Marine Corps that would last 14 years. My most enduring memories..
1,707 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

BUFF that floor, Private!

October 1962, Ft. Knox, Ky. USATCA C 8-3 At that time I was a dining room orderly on my first kitchen..
1,935 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic training served me well

I arrived at Great Lakes Naval Training Center (NTC) Dec. 14, 1954 as an 18-year-old. I had traveled overnight via..
2,044 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Boot camp, 1965

It all started at 5 a.m. when the recruiter picked me up at my parents’ house for the three-hour drive..
2,260 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Truly a small world

When I received my “greeting” from our local draft board in 1952, I was ready for it since three of..
2,431 views
Fessin' up
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Fessin' up

In 1964 I was a 21-year-old country boy from Hartsville, Ind., near Columbus. I had just graduated from high school..
2,839 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Faithful are the wounds of a friend

I saw the truth of this observation, recorded in Proverbs chapter 27, verse 6 of the Holy Bible, demonstrated in..
2,130 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Ceasefire!

My draft number was approaching, so I decided to volunteer, having just turned 20 and completed two years of college...
2,009 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Private Goat

This will explain the story of how I became known as Private Goat. I was a young man who joined..
1,919 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Water stampede

I completed 13 weeks of basic training at Camp Wallace, Texas, July 4, 1943. The last three days were spent..
1,813 views