MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Tuba vs. sousaphone

A fond memory has to do with my membership in one of the training camp’s regimental bands during boot camp...
3,006 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A former POW’s impact

I had never been much farther east of the Twin Cities in Minnesota than the Wisconsin line, and the free..
4,360 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A cold shower

Basic training memories caught my eye. I smiled, then chuckled because so many things happened. It’s an experience that should..
2,354 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Outstanding trainee’

Fifty years ago I was 19 and drafted into the Army. Some dodged the draft and fled to Canada, but..
3,931 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Join the Air Force, ‘See the World’

Growing up on a small farm in southern Kansas, I was not looking forward to my high school graduation in..
3,975 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

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..
2,146 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Infantry training

As a 20-year-old in 1953, I was inducted into the Army. Sent to Fort Meade for assignment, I stayed there..
2,021 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic training in a ‘luxury’ hotel

I graduated from high school in 1942 at the age of 17. In November I enlisted in the Army Air..
3,681 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A successful, integrated ‘Rebel’ flight

I tried to join the Air Force the first week of November 1954 and was told to come back the..
3,934 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Memories

I quit my last year of high school and at 17 years, 5 months, enlisted in the Army. I was..
1,830 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Yes, SIR!

This is one of the worst memories I had at Fort Jackson, S.C. The year was 1954, and I had..
1,855 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Ready, aim, …. Oh well!

As part of basic training at Fort Knox, Ky., we assembled on the firing range to familiarize ourselves with the..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

What’s up, doc?

It was May 1953 and a fellow trainee was on guard duty at Parris Island. As the sergeant of the..
3,368 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Where’s the fire?!

My twin brother and I both went to Amarillo, Texas, Aug. 24, 1967, for basic training in the Air Force...
3,396 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Move that rock!

In 1970 while taking basic training at Fort Lewis, Wash., my company one day marched up a mountain where the..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Still doing morning ‘exercise’

My first night at Fort Knox, Ky., was a rude awakening. We were marched into a World War II barracks..
3,458 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

No uniforms

A number of us from Syracuse, N.Y., arrived at Fort Dix, N.J., on Jan. 10, 1951. Due to a shortage..
2,031 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Training in the heat

In 1945, just out of high school and a country boy, I was drafted into the Army. I was sent..
2,034 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Lifelong friends

February 1966, basic training in line at the chow hall: I’m from Indiana, and another recruit was from Long..
2,013 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Carrying foot lockers

In January 1954 while in Basic at Fort Knox, Ky., we failed an inspection of foot lockers, etc. So at..
1,929 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Clothing giveaway

I entered the Air Force in January 1957 at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. After riding on a train..
2,065 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A family who served

I signed up in the Air Force back in August 1964 and spent 11 years as a fuel systems mechanic..
2,268 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Cookies for Thanksgiving

In September 1960, I joined the Marines and was sent to San Diego for boot camp. In early November, I..
2,707 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

AWOL

We had two Washingtons in our boot camp platoon back in 1977. One was called Skinny and one was called..
2,517 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Marine Corps Boot Camp, Plt.259 2nd. RTBN, Parris Island S.C.

You only went to two places for Marine boot camp. One was in California and the other was in South..
3,087 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Parris Island pin-up girl

I volunteered for mobilization as a Navy Reservist with the 1st Navy Customs Inspection Battalion during OIF III in 2004-2005...
3,309 views
First haircut
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

First haircut

I was drafted in the Army in September 1944 at the San Francisco Induction Center. The next day I was..
3,501 views
Joining while living abroad
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Joining while living abroad

In late August 1951 fellow “Army brat” Van C. and I decided to join the Air Force in Germany. Both..
3,503 views
Superman?
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Superman?

In August 1970 I attended Navy basic training in Orlando, Fla. Walt Disney World was set to open that year,..
3,269 views
Tough news to hear
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Tough news to hear

It was a Friday in late November 1963, and my Company, B-10-5 was wrapping up our Basic training at Fort..
3,448 views