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"..
3,178 views
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..
4,238 views
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..
2,402 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..
2,221 views
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..
2,331 views
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..
2,316 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..
2,076 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..
3,409 views
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..
3,590 views
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..
2,170 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..
2,119 views
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..
2,036 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,..
1,973 views
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..
3,266 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Taps’

Bainbridge, Maryland, August 4, 1953 – As I lay in my bunk late evening of the second day and reviewed..
3,484 views
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..
1,916 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..
2,063 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Duck’

My worst memory of boot camp was crawling under barbed wire at the same time 30 and 50-caliber machine guns..
3,416 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

No power – no problem!

I was drafted into the Army and had to report for duty in Detroit. From there I was sent to..
3,585 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A cruel memory

My worst experience in Basic Training happened in May 1951 while we were being trained to fire the grenade launcher..
2,184 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Yes, SIR!’

I was in college in 1968 and grew weary of hearing I should resist the draft, so I joined the..
3,936 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A fateful day in November

I was in basic training at Fort Knox, Ky., in November 1963. We had been on firing range that day,..
2,311 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Fort Benning, Ga. - How to get a one-day pass

I took my basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., Sand Hill barracks, in the spring of 1966. Our drill instructor offered..
2,967 views
Basic training preparation
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic training preparation

When I signed up for the Army in early 2004, my youngest brother signed up at the same time. We..
2,923 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

KP and the apple pie

During basic training at Fort Campbell, Ky., my turn came up for KP. I always took back-sink and washed pots..
2,273 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Paddle Man’

This was at the end of our Quantico Officers Basic School training I recall that in November 1965 we all went..
3,866 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Laundry and raisins

I sure do remember Basic Training! I was at Great Lakes Naval Training Station from November 1966 to February 1967...
1,978 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Memories

I went to Sampson, N.Y., for boot camp. At 17, I was 5’2” and 100 pounds. The first time we..
2,020 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Tuba vs. sousaphone

A fond memory has to do with my membership in one of the training camp’s regimental bands during boot camp...
2,609 views