Having just turned 16, I grew up in boot camp at Green Bay, Wis., during World War II. One part of the training was recognition training at being able to identify German, Japanese and Italian ships and airplanes. 6 of us flunked the test given by a burley chief. He called out our names from the test papers and told us to stay after class. When the rest of the class was gone he ask us to pull up 6 chairs in a circle. Then he said sit and hold hands together. Being a young bunch we started to snicker. He said how does it feel to communicate with the dead, because if we ship you all overseas today and you cannot identify our allies from the enemy you and your shipmates may be dead. This woke us up and we may have matured a lot. I know i did. The chief said we gave you material to study and you better study it tonight as i will be giving you another test in the morning and you better get a passing mark as your Navy days may be over and you are homebound. All i could think of was how will my dad punish me. I stayed up all night studying under my sheet with a flash light. I passed the test. I learned how to study in boot camp, which paid off. Was discharged at 19 and went back to high school to finish the 12th grade. Because of my training i did not have to take finals as i had a 98 average. Boot camp prepared me for adult life and i am grateful that i survived the war.

Bill (Willie) Hilliard, Ocala, Fla.