After travelling since 8 a.m. by bus, airplane and bus, a second time, we raw enlistees pulled up in front of barracks 609, in Lackland Air Force Base at 1 a.m. the next day.

It was late May, 1963 and I had just graduated from High School in Allentown, Pennsylvania two days before. Now here I am on a darkened Air Force bus in the dead of night.

We were told to "just sit tight" till our Drill Instructor arrived to take head count and get us off the bus and squared away in our new barracks. It was then that I had my first experience with the military's "hurry up and wait" policy.

After sitting on the bus for half an hour our DI finally arrived. He greeted and welcomed us to the USAF by getting on board the bus and screaming a firm welcome to all of us. He clearly said, because I was listening, or so I thought that we were to fall out of the bus, run into the barracks, find a rack (bed) and claim it as our own. Then, take the helmet liner off the shelf behind the rack, and this is important....fall out of the barracks, put the helmet liner on and get in line for our first roll call in the USAF.

Well, I did what I was instructed, ALMOST. I fell off the bus, ran into the barracks and staked out a rack, grabbed a helmet liner off the shelf and started falling out while at the same time putting ON THE HELMIT liner.

OK, I was tired, somewhat apprehensive about what I had gotten myself into and more than a little eager to please this 6ft 2inch Staff Sergeant with how well I could follow orders. BUT APPARENTLY I COULDN'T DO ANY OF THOSE DAMN THINGS!

Before going on I have to first explain about the barracks I was falling out from. They had been built for WWII then closed up when the war ended. They were reopened for the Korean War and closed up when that war ended. Then in 1962 they were reopened for a third time to train the influx of trainees for Vietnam. So these were two story wooden barracks with an open-bay holding 30 guys each, one up and one down.

Now back to my story. The barracks second floor was accessed by going through a door at the top of the stairs, just to the left, after you entered the lower barracks entrance door.

With that in mind, and if you remember I said "I started falling out while at the same time putting ON THE HELMIT liner. Yup! That's what I.

Unfortunately, YOU NEVER PUT ON A HELMIT, HAT OR COVER WHILE IN DOORS. So as I ran through the second floor doorway heading down stairs and out the bottom door for roll call I also had my helmet on INSIDE!

Now to help me remember what he said about falling out AND THEN putting on my helmet my DI, who was standing to the side of the second floor doorway, hit me with his fist, which felt like a damn 16 pound sledge hammer and drove my helmet liner down over my eyes.

I didn't know what the heck fell on me. But I did know that I couldn't see anymore just as I stepped off the top step into space. I proceeded to pitch down the stairs into other guys trying to get down the steps much like a bowling ball heading down the alley into all those pins at the end. Thank the lord some of those guys were smart enough to know something wasn't right with this idiot trying to plow his way through everyone else with his HELMET ON INSIDE the barracks and caught me.

Now, I'm not sure if the DI was mad at me for not listening or at the other guys for catching me and ruining his fine example of what happens to "slugs" who don't follow the DI's directions TO THE LETTER! Because he used me to reemphasize that we had better start listening now or our life for the next eight weeks was going to be pure hell.

After that helmet blackout incident I paid very close attention to every damn thing anyone with rank said to us. And, I can actually say that except for two other small incidents I had no other memorable experiences while in Basic Training. But those incidents are for some other time!