MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

'Cool under fire'

In April 1961 we were sent to Fort Ord, Calif., to undergo basic training. After a month or so of..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Boardwalk marching

I remember the many marches along Atlantic City's boardwalk and the assemblies in what is now Boardwalk Hall. Most unpleasant..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

My 'Dear John' letters

I was 19 when I got drafted into the Army. Mail call was one of the best times of the day...
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Sweet memory of Christmas Day 1971

I was sitting on my bucket in front of Quonset hut barracks, eating prickly pear fruit and writing a letter..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A time to mow at basic combat training

On Aug. 31, 1965, I was relieved to have survived my very first plane ride from Dallas to Fort Polk,..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic training in Texas

I enlisted in April of 1969 in Des Moines, Iowa. I was sent to Lackland Air Force Base in San..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A kind of religious experience at Fort Jackson, S.C.

My first experience with boot camp will stick with me forever. (Yes, I went through boot camp once as a..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

The only thing Boot Camp can't take away!

Back in 1954, Boot Camp was new experience for me. There were a lot of things going on such as..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Remembering basic training

3 a.m. strolls up and down "Misery and Agony" in September and October 1961 at Fort Knox, Ky.
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Highs and lows of basic training during the Vietnam War era

I was drafted in June 1966 and sent to Fort Dix, N.J., for basic combat training. Training was tough then..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

My adventure at boot camp

In 1954, I joined the Naval Reserve Surface Division in Racine, Wisc. I agreed to attend regular meetings there and..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Made 85 hits for happy hour

In May 1967, while serving in Recruit Training Command Company 927 located at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Ill., I..
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Christmas birthday in boot camp
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Christmas birthday in boot camp

I went into the Navy in November 1981, spending Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's at Recruit Training Command Orlando, Fla...
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

When you enlist, you 'will' start shaving

Basic training, 1966, Naval Training Center, San Diego We stood at morning formation while drill instructor walked the line in front..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Implications of a chance meeting en route to basic 30 years later

In October 1984, I left Alabama for Air Force basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. When the plane..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Sleep walking through boot camp

At the age of just 17, I joined the Naval Reserve. During that summer between my junior and senior year..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Airplane to where?

Mike Simms and I enlisted in the Air Force in 1970. We met on a Greyhound bus on the way..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Best and worst

In 1967, I was at the Naval Training Center in San Diego in Company 212. My fondest memory was graduation..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

'Butter man'

In 1966, as a boot in Platoon 1113 at Military Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, I was selected to..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

By whatever means

On Dec. 1, 1954, I departed Milwaukee and arrived by train at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., for Army basic training..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

War waits on no one

I grew up in the 1950s in Indiana. I am an only child and was lucky that my father returned..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Wardrobe malfunction of basic training

It was August and we were inducted into the Army in northern California. The Army was in a hurry to..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

The case of the missing bayonet

In mid-1968, I entered basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., and began my training on my first wedding anniversary. During..
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SFC McMakin
MY TIME IN UNIFORM

SFC McMakin

Richmond, KY
I started out after advanced training being sent to the Philippines, where I was in fixed station communications, working alongside..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic unable to wipe the smile off one soldier's face

I entered U.S. Army basic training in August 1962, right out of high school. I had been a Boy Scout..
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Air Force training was great start in life
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Air Force training was great start in life

I went into the U.S. Air Force right after graduating from high school in 1960. My objective was to get..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Boot camp: the other world

It was in June 1956. We were a group of high school students and Marine Reservists on our way to..
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Veterans parade
LEGION RIDERS

Veterans parade

Pioneer, CA
2015 Veterans Parade in Jackson, Calif., with the Riders and 20 hot rods.
3,104 views
Uncommon memories of 'great' drill sergeants
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Uncommon memories of 'great' drill sergeants

I attended Army One Station Unit Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., as a "split option" trainee during the summers..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

The worst cookies at boot camp

After three weeks in boot camp at Great Lakes, Ill., I was turning 18 years old in 1966. We all..
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