I had been active in my church youth group when I enlisted in the Army in August 1963. I was assigned to basic training at Fort Ord, Calif., which was 45 miles from my hometown. One afternoon following training, I was summoned to the first sergeant's office (stark fear, worst memory). As it turned out, my old youth group was planning to perform a religious-themed play at a church located near Fort Ord. The youth group leader had gone through channels to allow me to participate in the play during the next Sunday evening service. A drill instructor in another training unit was a member of the church near the post and would take me to the church at the assigned time.

All proceeded as planned. The evening was a pleasant break from the grind of the training regimen. The problem, however, was with the first sergeant. He refused to believe that anyone would go to all the trouble of getting a kid out of basic training just to perform in a church youth group play. Despite my protests, he determined that I must be a minister. Nevermind that I was 18 years old and had just graduated high school the previous June.

When basic training graduation arrived, "Reverend" Pvt. Putnam was asked to say the Invocation and Benediction. I marched in with the notables at the head of the training class and I sat with them on the dais. I was terrified. Somehow I managed to avoid humiliating myself or members of my family who were in the audience. Being a private E-1 and being deferred to by all those officers and senior non-commissioned officers: priceless!