August, 1968, Zero week. Zero week was K.P. detail after detail. 5 days into basic training about 12 boots were taken to a class and we were told that we would be Firemen. This position required every other day 4 hrs on, 4 hrs off, but we would be exempt from K.P. during training. I said to myself, wow, a Fireman rather than K.P. I thought we were going to be putting out fires, but didn't understand why the class had displays of coal burners. Then I realized that our duties were to keep coal burners going in the barracks. We all took 4 hr shifts every other day and were responsible to keep four barracks burners cooking continuous. Anyone who had this duty knows how hard it was to keep them all on at the same time. You no sooner got them all going another one went out. By the end of the first week I was pretty much beat. One night I finally had all the burners going and curled up behind one of them and feel asleep. While in a deep sleep suddenly I got kicked so hard in the butt I felt me head hit the wall. When I looked up it was one angry Spec5 cook screaming at me because there was no hot water. I was immediately taken off fire duty and put on K.P. for the next 12 hours under control of this cook. I was told to hold a greasy pork chop in my hand the whole time while on K.P. I was then permanently relieved of Fireman duty that day and finished the rest of basic training with K.P. every other day. I spent so much time in the mess hall, still to this day every time I have pork chops I think of Basic Training.

Pete Veltri, Ridge, N.Y.