Basic training - Fort Ord

My basic training memory actually goes back before I enlisted in the Army. You see, I wanted to enlist in the Army before I finished high school. I remember looking at a Life magazine and seeing a photograph of soldiers marching with bloused boots. I like the photograph so much that I decided that I wanted to enlist when I finished high school.
My mother did not like the idea. She said I should go to two years of college and then decide if you want to go into the Army. She did not want to see any more of the military service because my father was a career soldier with 30 years of who saw combat in both WWI and WWII; my older brother was completing a 20 year career in the Army; and my other brother was in the Marines. I told my mother I would delay my enlistment and go to two years of college, but I would enlist after the two years.
I enlisted on June 16, 1958. Before I enlisted, I told the Army recruiter that I wanted to go into construction engineering. He said with two years of college, you should not have any problem getting that training. He said, we will send you for advanced training at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where you will be trained on heavy equipment.
During the summer of 1958, the United States was sending troops to Lebanon. I remember the drill sergeant - you will all be sent to Lebanon after basic training. By the time my advanced training was completed in January 1959, the Lebanese crisis was over.
Other than coming down with a high fever which required confinement to quarters for one day and a bad case of poison oak, basic training was uneventful. I qualified an a marksman with the M1 rifle.
When I completed basic training, I was expecting to see my orders to Fort Belvoir, Virginia as promised by the Army recruiter. My orders read to report to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. I must have been still pretty naive at the time because I remember going to the drill sergeant and saying they made a mistake on my orders. I am suppose to report to Ft. Belvoir, Virginia for advanced training. He looked at my orders and told me I was to report to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. I said what is at Fort Leonard Wood. He said you will find out. I finished my advanced training at Fort Leonard Wood. I became a combat engineer...MOS 121.10...eventually serving with the 299th Engineer Battalion (Combat) in Germany for 25 months.

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