Two stories from March 1977:
About a dozen new inductees (myself included) were on the train from the Chicago MEPS to Fort Knox, where we would undergo basic training. The group wasn’t rude or impolite to anyone during that 8+ hour trip, but everyone was quite talkative and having a gay old time playing cards and joking around. However, once the train rolled into the station at Louisville and we boarded the bus to Fort Knox, there was no laughter, no gaiety – not a word was spoken on that bus. It was probably 10 or 11 pm and you could hear a pin drop during that entire ride from Louisville to the military post. Once we arrived, though, things changed quickly as the drill sergeant who greeted us at the Reception Station could probably have been heard half a mile away as he "politely instructed" us to disembark from that bus. It was just like in the movies.
I also had the great fortune of being assigned KP duty along with a few of my platoon mates one day during basic training. One task assigned to the group of us was to peel potatoes for that evening’s meal. The tools with which the mess sergeant gave us to use were tablespoons and a couple of dull dinner knives. After we completed the task, the mess sergeant surprised us when he announced that we would need to peel the peelings because we left too much potato on the peelings. We did, however, with substantial low volume complaining out of range of the mess sergeant’s ears. Needless to say, I grew a healthy respect for any soldier assigned to KP duty after that situation.

Gerald W. Smith, Plainfield, IL