Rubbing elbows with movie stars

My fondest memory of my Army basic training is seeing actor Steve McQueen in the summer of 1963 at Fort Ord, Calif. McQueen was at the base filming the Blake Edwards black and white military comedy “Soldier in the Rain,” about the antics of a company supply sergeant. Besides McQueen, its main stars were Jackie Gleason and Tuesday Weld. The base scenery was filmed in World War II-style individual company platoon barracks with a building for each platoon. This is what my company was training in. During training, I saw McQueen on a few occasions – and the back of Jackie Gleason’s head! However, the best view of McQueen was when he spoke briefly at our company’s mid-cycle open house wearing his character’s fatigue uniform. Afterward, he shook hands with First Lieutenant Stephen Foster, our Company Commander, and several others in the front rows. There are two pictures of McQueen in the basic training book I bought.
About a year later while stationed at Miesau Ammunition Depot in West Germany, I got to see “Soldier in the Rain.” Afterwards, I told my buddies about seeing McQueen making the movie at Fort Ord. They thought it was pretty neat that I had witnessed its production. To me, it was a good movie.
Later in life, I got a copy of the movie to remind me of how I spent the summer of 1963. I still enjoy it every time I watch.

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