My 13-week-long basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas started as expected in early September 1948. In Flight 3578, we made it through the daily requirements with no known misconduct marks; that is, until Nov. 9.
It was my 20th birthday, and another recruit from California had his 19th birthday that same date. A bunch of guys far from home confined to base with little or no entertainment could do no less than create a way to recognize their fellow airmen's birthdays with loud and happy music and some things from the PX, so they said.
After “lights out,” the loud and boisterous noises continued and overflowed briefly into other nearby areas. Our Flight was very unhappy for a long, long time. Two guys, one from California and one from Indiana, sweated out as to how long it would be before we abruptly became ex-Air Force trainees. Nov. 9, 1948 almost ended our Air Force days.