I grew up in the backwoods of Tennessee and was raised by a stepfather who had a bad temper and ruled with a belt and his fist.
My mother knew of my desire to join the military someday. One day in November 1967, after a beating for moving too slow, I ran away from home and spent a number of days in the woods. A friend found me, as he knew of our hiding places, to tell me I can come home as my mother had seen a recruiter for the Army in Paris, Tenn., and signed the papers for me. I was 17 and only in the ninth grade.
Soon I was on the bus to Fort Campbell, Ky., and the Army Training Center for Basic Training. The first week was the easiest to get a free haircut and our nice uniforms. I was 5’3 with my boots on. Before this, I never knew what O.D. Green looked like.
The second week had to be the hardest with the physical training. I did not know I could have so many parts of my body that could hurt all at the same time. And we were told to run, everywhere. We ran short miles and long miles. Then came the marching. I think we marched every mile of Fort Campbell. My platoon sergeant was SFC Charles Collier. Six feet, 6 inches tall, and he would put me in the rear of the march as it was easier for me to keep up. When he would yell at me, he would bend over at the waist and that would make the entire platoon smile. For some reason, he stopped yelling at me then.
Once on the confidence course, he picked me up by the belt to get me over the first log. I never thanked him for that.
My fondest memory had to be on the firing range, shooting targets. Then learning the manual of arms and the dismounted drill because we didn’t have to run all the time. Then came the individual tactical training; that was fun.
I think the worst was the CBN or gas chamber. I tasted gas for a week.
Another good memory was the Mess Hall. At the time, I didn’t know anyone could cook so much at one time. We had many good meals; one meal many complained about was called S.O.S., but I enjoyed that.
Then at last came payday. It was not much, but it was more than this young boy had seen at one time. But at the time I had no place to spend it and I had everything I needed, thanks to the Army. I put all but one dollar in an envelope and mailed it to my mother because she needed it far more than I.
All in all, I must say I enjoyed basic training because at the end I had learned discipline, patience, endurance and respect.