I entered Basic the Spring of '65. My unit was 3rd Plt B Co. 16th Bn 4th Tng. Brigade, Fort Knox.

Our Drill Sgt was a guy from the swamps of Florida, SSG Herbert Young and he had a unique sense of humor. The one incident that sticks with me was during an inspection of our area. He came in and put his Drill Sgt hat on my rack. He proceeded to do the inspection down one side of the center aisle, then returned via the window aisle. During that time, my bunk mate moved his hat to one of the metal lockers. When he returned and saw the hat was missing, he scared the living hell out of me. He stood nose to nose and sang "I HAD A HAT WHEN I CAME IN AND LAID IT ON THAT RACK. I'LL HAVE A HAT WHEN I GO OUT, OR I'LL BREAK SOMEBODY'S BACK" Then with a big wide grin he continued the rest of the inspection. Needless to say, the HAT was on the rack when he came back. He got the hat and I got a poke in the chest. From then on, until graduation, every time there was an inspection, in formation and he came to me, he would hum that little song.