MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Not the smoothest start

Early on a Monday morning in August 1960 I decided to join the military service. I lived about an hour..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Seeking safety in the wrong place

When I was undergoing basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo, in 1964, one of the things we had to..
1,994 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A fancy barracks

In November 1943, the Army Air Corps transported me to Miami Beach for basic training as an aviation cadet. Because..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

KP duty

As I recall, this event happened in mid-December 1951 when I was in basic training at Lackland Air Force Base..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Sarge, I really can’t do this!

We were heading to the range late in the evening. This was the night we were going to crawl under..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

No truck driving experience needed

Ft. Dix, N.J., 1974. After a month of training, we received a day off, a Saturday. In the early afternoon,..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

How NOT to fold a shirt

Naval boot camp, San Diego, 1957. The night before everyone was running around getting ready, I saw some guys stitching..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Clay pigeon ‘traps’

In mid-1961 I was stationed at Ft. Benning, Ga., with the 10th Field Artillery as a field communication wireman. A..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

The helmet fit perfectly

I took basic training at Fort Knox, Ky., February and March 1951. After we got our clothes and shoes squared..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Rabbit’ running?

April 1970, Fort Polk, La. After spending a week getting prepped and shot up with 100 needles and air guns,..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Boot dorm guard

I was in the 3706 BMTS at Lackland AFB, Texas, from Feb '65 to Apr '65. There were dual barracks with..
1,920 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Recruit's basic education

It took a while to recognize and accept non-coms, and officers were lot smarter than me. They were teaching how..
1,924 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic training

All ROTC, college graduates fall out, report to the mess hall. EGE
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Basic training, Fort Ord, February 1972, Company D-2-1
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic training, Fort Ord, February 1972, Company D-2-1

I have many memories of Basic Training at Fort Ord in February 1972, but the one I remember the most..
4,486 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Culture shock

Finding myself standing on yellow footprints with some crazy man yelling worse than my father not to move ... I..
2,287 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Cold feet

I was in basic training from Oct. 1963 through Dec. 1963. Late in training we had to go out on..
2,217 views
Life as a female Marine in WWII
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Life as a female Marine in WWII

During WWII, women Marines were a novelty. I was one of them. Living facilities at Camp Lejeune, N.C. were not..
2,714 views
A visit from Dad, WWI veteran
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A visit from Dad, WWI veteran

The early weeks of Army basic training at Camp Steward, Ga. were spent firing rifles, marching, and writing letters home...
2,757 views
Not movie idols
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Not movie idols

When we were taking basic training, a movie was going to be made there. They picked out 22 guys as..
2,453 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Hopping the border

I took basic training in 1953 at Ft. Bliss, Texas. After about four weeks, they let us go out. I..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Limited basic training

The thing I remember most about my basic training was that I didn’t have much! My story begins in December..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Let 'er rip?

I was in my final weeks of aviation electronics school at Millington, Tenn., just outside of Memphis. We were to..
1,883 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Mating rattlers

Remembering eight weeks of signal corps basic training in the spring of 1953 at Ft. Hood, Texas-- our first..
1,964 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Displaced by flooding

In late June 1951 my trainload of new draftees arrived at Ft. Riley, Kan. to begin Army basic training. The..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Birthday celebration

My 13-week-long basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas started as expected in early September 1948. In Flight..
1,913 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Hail, the conquering heroes!

When I joined the Navy, I was 19. It was peacetime, and boot camp was 14 weeks long at Naval..
1,872 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

No driving test needed

I got such a kick out of an article in your March 2017 Basic Training Memories, “Never raise your..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Get a razor!’

Ft. Dix, N.J. April 1968 – As a 19-year-old draftee, I found myself two weeks into the Army and being..
3,638 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘There’s a bloody road ahead’

After being drafted in 1951, my first stop was Ft. Sheridan, Chicago. We were being issued uniforms, clothing, shots, etc.,..
3,403 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A risky demonstration

On a bright, sunny, spring morning in 1950 at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, 120 of us..
1,847 views