Basic training, 1966, Naval Training Center, San Diego

We stood at morning formation while drill instructor walked the line in front of us all.

He stopped in front of me, literally nose to nose, and looked at my face in a defined and focused stare.

"Sailor, did you shave this morning?" he asked.

As frightened as I was for him just to have stopped in front of me, I said something I could tell he found amusing because he started to laugh.

"No sir, I don't shave yet," I said. He immediately started walking along the line sharing my comments with others.

"He said he doesn't shave yet," he said. "Did you hear that? He said he doesn't shave yet." He went over to his adjutant and said it again. They laughed together.

He then came back to me and called me out of formation, grabbed my M-1 Garand rifle that we trained with, placed it over my head and told me to hold it there. He then ordered to me run around the parade ground yelling as loud as I could, "I am a hog." I did that for 30 minutes.

Obviously, later that day I started to shave for the first time in my life. Cold water and no shaving cream. That was 50 years ago, and I'm still shaving.