MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Not in my foxhole!

It was the middle of winter in early 1966 when I was grunting through my eighth and last week of..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic adventure!

As I'm sure any veteran will testify, basic training was a unique experience. For me it was a mixture of..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Don't want to cry and puke anymore

I was at Fort Sill, Okla., for basic and was training for a tear gas attack. We were told to..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

San Antonio

It was August and very hot. My best memory was the final PE run. I had injured my ankle about..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Second lieutenants go through a learning curve

Part of the new Army Engineer Officers Basic Course (EOBC) is the Escape and Evasion exercise (E&E). In my case..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic training

Worst memory: I was a couple of years older than the rest of my platoon in basic at MCRD. The..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Happiest 16 weeks

"These are going to be the happiest 16 weeks of your life." Those were the words from the captain who..
1,270 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

In step

I was in San Diego, NRTC, in January 1966, Company 065. We had a guy from Colorado in our company..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

High score

I remember getting off of the bus at 3 a.m. and on yellow footprints on deck by Iron Mike at..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Water wake-up

I was drafted at 19 and was sent to Fort Knox. I was scared to death. The first couple of..
1,298 views
The good, the bad and the ugly
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

The good, the bad and the ugly

In 1966 I graduated from high school in the small town of Walnut, California. My Uncle Dick gave me a..
1,391 views
A proud naval career
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A proud naval career

Aug. 18, 1959 – I shook hands with my Dad “The Duke,” my brother-in-law Chet, and kissed my mother, sister..
2,193 views
Parris Island memories
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Parris Island memories

Do you ever wonder why sailors and Marines call it “boot camp?” Some say the term originated when "old salts"..
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Shots – ouch!
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Shots – ouch!

I graduated from high school in 1963. I started college, but my grade point average was lower than my blood..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Put up your dukes!

It came as a surprise to all who knew me, especially my parents and long-time girlfriend, when I announced that..
1,209 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Not-so-fond memories

I arrived at Sampson Air Force Base in Geneva, New York, June 4, 1955, at 7 p.m. after riding the..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Pugil stick training

October 1969, Fort Bragg, North Carolina – one of my fondest memories was in the pugil stick training pit. This..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Latrines and leadership

Midnight, September 1957, Fort Dix, New Jersey – I am on my hands and knees with a toothbrush in an..
1,108 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Oh, fudge

I was born and raised in southwest Missouri and joined the Marines in December 1943 after graduating high school. Never..
1,006 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Foxtrot’ platoon memories

I was recruited by a civilian co-worker who was serving in the Army Reserves. I enlisted Oct. 29, 1979 at..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Bag ‘sorting’

On Jan. 29, 1955 I was inducted in the Army at Omaha, Nebraska along with a number of other young..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Trophy winners

I was drafted July 6, 1966 into the Army. All my training was in Fort Polk, Louisiana, and I was..
999 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Swim, boy!

I was a naïve farm boy from Minnesota and enlisted in the Navy, winding up in San Diego for Boot..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

'Rainbows' and 'Pings'

In March 1968 I felt I needed a break from classrooms and professors’ lectures of all sorts. A need for..
915 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Ill-fitting uniforms

As I look back to the time I went into Army Basic Training, a myriad of memories come flooding back,..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘General parking’

As a new Navy nurse stationed at the U.S. Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton, California from 1964-1967, I kept learning about..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Taps’

Bainbridge, Maryland, August 4, 1953 – As I lay in my bunk late evening of the second day and reviewed..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Not too tired for a kiss

I didn’t enjoy Navy Boot Camp at Bainbridge, Maryland in the winter of 1956-57. The cold weather, lack of sleep..
867 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Who volunteers for latrine duty?!

After “falling out” and “falling in” and lining up rather awkwardly my first morning at old Camp Rucker in Alabama,..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Best and worst memories

Fort Lewis, Washington, January 1968 -- Our lecturer, in a character-building session, attempted to instill to a roomful..
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