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..
1,808 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..
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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..
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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..
1,691 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..
1,864 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..
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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..
1,543 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..
1,676 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..
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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..
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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..
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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..
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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,..
1,851 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..
2,260 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..
2,436 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..
1,872 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..
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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...
1,585 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..
1,691 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...
2,196 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A former POW’s impact

I had never been much farther east of the Twin Cities in Minnesota than the Wisconsin line, and the free..
3,080 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A cold shower

Basic training memories caught my eye. I smiled, then chuckled because so many things happened. It’s an experience that should..
1,640 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Outstanding trainee’

Fifty years ago I was 19 and drafted into the Army. Some dodged the draft and fled to Canada, but..
2,616 views