I did my basic training at Fort Lewis, Washington in October of 1967. That worked for me because I was and still am from Eastern Washington. I was close to home and my wife of little over a year could visit.

When we were out on maneuvers or training, it seemed to always rain, like it does in Western Washington. Our Drill Sargent Totten hated the rain. He would make all the trainees from Washington State drop and give him twenty. The best part was our Assistant Drill, Sargent Allerert, was from Walla Walla and Totten always made him join us. It turned into more fun than harassment!

We also had a squad leader who was Canadian and had joined the US Army to obtain citizenship He was a great guy but couldn't break his habit of the British high step when coming to a halt when marching. We all joined in and would end up doing twenty. We all got a kick out of it so the twenty was worth it.

After basic, I did my AIT Vietnam training at North Fort Lewis.

I was proud to served in the 196th.

Don Aubrey, Prosser, WA
US Army 67-69
Infantry Sargent Viet Nam