MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Frustration on the rifle range

My basic training was January 1972 at Fort Knox, Ky. We marched to the range for qualifying in some brutal..
2,651 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

The squirrel of Parris Island, S.C.

In August 1966, I was in Platoon 3082 at Parris Island, S.C. My mother sent me a..
2,630 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

The best shot in the Marine Corps

When I went to Boot Camp at Parris Island, SC in 1969, the Marine Corps had 300,000 members on active..
2,997 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Remember Basic Training

I attended Air Force Basic Training at Amarillo AFB, TX in August 1968. We were one of the last flights to..
3,115 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Jumping off into the deep end at basic

I joined the Navy in 1961 at 17, recently graduated from high school and with no thought at all about..
2,756 views
Different paths, one wrong turn
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Different paths, one wrong turn

We were both young, ambitious 17-year-old kids from New York and New Jersey in basic training at Lackland Air Force..
3,232 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

'We've got us a fat one!'

When I joined the Army in April 1969, I was about 260 pounds and not in great shape. When..
2,947 views
Coast Guard basic training in 1959
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Coast Guard basic training in 1959

I joined the Coast Guard on July 14, 1959 and went to Cape May, N.J. The first morning the staff..
3,533 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

M&M's

During my basic training, there was this one recruit who was older than most of us, and when we would..
2,629 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Central Issue Facility canvas

Attending Army basic training in 1981 at Fort Sill, Okla., as a 17 year old fresh off the Minnesota farm..
2,790 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Marine learns drill instructors can't be outfoxed

Our boot platoon was being punished for some failure on our part by doing countless exercises in the "sand pit."..
2,570 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Thanks to Sgt. Howard Sill

I went through basic training in 1961 at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. My platoon leader was Staff Sgt. Howard Sill...
2,801 views
What I remember most of my basic training
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

What I remember most of my basic training

What I remember most about basic training wasn't the forced night march; it wasn't learning to fire a weapon, nor..
3,556 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

World War II vet's stories from basic training

After my graduation from high school in Royal, Iowa, in May 1943, I joined the Army and was sent to..
2,796 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Airman wins operation entertainment at Lackland AFB

My greatest memory of basic training in 1967 at Lackland Air Force Base (AFB), Texas, was being selected to be..
2,771 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Sun and salad at basic training at Fort Hood during Korean conflict

I was inducted into the Army at Fort Dix, N.J. After three weeks, I was shipped to Fort Hood, Texas,..
2,929 views
Overwhelmed
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Overwhelmed

I was 17 when I reported to the Induction Station in Pittsburgh at 6 a.m. Sworn in at noon and..
3,161 views
Blanket party at Fort Dix, N.J.
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Blanket party at Fort Dix, N.J.

It was 1968, the height of the Vietnam conflict, and having registered for the draft in Milwaukee, I was in..
3,885 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Floor buffer wanted

I was drafted to the U.S. Army in 1959, only two years after I emigrated from Germany. My English was..
2,800 views
Navy boot camp in 1966
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Navy boot camp in 1966

I was enrolled in college in 1966, and the Vietnam War was really getting hot. My father was a 100..
8,469 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Language barrier

I always remember my basic training unit was composed of men from New York, Pittsburgh and Puerto Rico. One young man..
2,955 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Change of Course

Basic Training Unit Echo 18-5; Mid August of 1969 at Fort Knox, KY. I had qualified for Warrant Officer..
2,729 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic Training, US Army, Fort Dix, September of 1969

When our Drill Sergeant first appeared, he said something to us and we replied, "Yes, Sir!" He dropped us..
3,433 views
Basic training with the Air Force, 1954
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic training with the Air Force, 1954

I joined the U.S. Air Force in October 1954 at age 15. (I lied about my age, of course.) We..
3,718 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Inspection gone bad

We were in our third week of basic training at Fort Ord, Calif., when we stood for inspection with a..
2,797 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Do we have guardian angels?

I transferred colleges and found I was three classes short. Selective Services said I had to take seven classes that..
2,654 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A lesson from Dad

Always listen to your father. My dad, a World War II Navy vet, was offering me some advice in 1968,..
2,707 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Misspeaking at footlocker inspections

I was in Air Force boot camp in June 1972. Our training instructor was concerned about airmen getting topless photos..
2,907 views
Boot camp and becoming a Marine
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Boot camp and becoming a Marine

I would like to tell the story of one boy, who in one day started the journey into becoming a..
3,467 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Memories, close shaves of basic training

In March 1969, I was drafted into the Army as one of more than 36,000 drafted nationwide. After having spent..
2,994 views