I was in college in 1968 and grew weary of hearing I should resist the draft, so I joined the Army.
In 1969 I took my first plane ride to South Carolina to Fort Jackson. The first real soldier I met was Sergeant First Class (SFC) Roberts when he reached up into the back of a truck and pulled me out. I guess I was moving too slowly as he was screaming every swear word he knew. He was much shorter than I was, and his hat brim would hit me on the chin whenever he screamed at me. Because I never flinched, he made me squad leader. R. Lee Ermey’s part in “Full Metal Jacket” was close to SFC Robers REAL persona – but he wasn’t an actor.
I will never forget him. He made a dork from Massachusetts into a soldier.