I was a 17-year-old farm boy when I enlisted in the Army in October 1946. I had tried earlier but was turned down because of flat feet and poor eyesight. At Camp Lee, Va. (now Fort Lee), where I was sent for basic training, I was one of the few who didn’t complain about my feet after the 10-mile hikes. Also, I earned the rating of sharp shooter with the M-1 on the rifle range.
I gained a little weight during basic, so I could not do as many push-ups, chin-ups, etc. in the end of basic training as in the beginning. Our platoon sergeant was rather amused about that.