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..
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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.,..
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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..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

How to report to an officer

It was late January 1970 at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. We Airmen were standing in line outside..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Snow watch

I reported to Naval Station Great Lakes in December 1963. Being from Jacksonville, Fla., I had never seen snow in..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

The white glove ‘test’

At Naval Station Great Lakes in December 1963, everyone in my company decided our barracks would be perfect for an..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

It pays to volunteer

Sometimes it IS beneficial to volunteer, even in basic training. While stationed at Lackland Air Force Base (AFB), Texas in 1964,..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Urinal rules

In August 1959 I enlisted in the Army for three years. When I got to Fort Carson, Colo., we were..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Shot’ during class

My days in Boot Camp at Naval Station Great Lakes were long and filled with instruction on everything from firefighting..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

First day = all day

In December 1943 I enlisted as a young, innocent, 17-year-old in the U.S. Army Air Corps. A month later I..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Wash your own dishes!

I was drafted in 1953 at St. Louis, sent to Ft. Custer, Mich., and then to Camp Atterbury, Ind., for..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Phone call to Mom

When I went to basic training in 1970, it was the first time I was on an airplane and woudn't..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic combat training at Fort Leonard Wood

Basic combat training definitely pushed me beyond my comfort zone. It didn't take me long, however to realize that..
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Hollywood encounter
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Hollywood encounter

Drafted in 1971, we were bussed from Detroit to a barracks complex at Fort Knox, Ky., which served as home..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Heavy equipment’ training

In April 1975 I enlisted in the Army. The very nice recruiter suggested after my testing that I pick combat..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

NO basic training!

The Korean outbreak started in June 1950. I was fresh out of high school and, like many young men, was..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

KP duty on Christmas

It was Christmas Eve, 1956. I had joined the Air Force in July and was stationed at Sheppard Air Force..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Good-bye, Lieutenant, a true American hero

My story will, I hope, remind people that there was a war in Korean that cost almost 37,000 American lives,..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Dad was right

Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, summer 1962. Disregarding my father’s advice to never volunteer (he, a WWII Army Air Corps..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Little drummer boy

I joined the Navy in May 1951 and was sent to the Naval Base at Newport, R.I. for 12 weeks..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Weather changes

After reading about the guys who mowed the grass at Great Lakes Naval Base in December 1945, I could not..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Guard duty and KP duty

I was drafted into the Army at 18 in my senior year of high school at Wolf Point, Mont., August,..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Homesick cured

The year was 1962. Ft. Jackson, S.C. in August seemed to be the hottest place on the face of the..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A fast right hook

It was the summer of 1952. I was but 16, so Mom had to sign for me. I was sent..
2,288 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

They don’t miss a thing

In 1966 I quit school and enlisted in the Army. I was 17 years old. I was sent to Ft...
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Big feet and babysitting

My basic training memories were at Sampson Air Force Base, N.Y., February 1954. The one moment I recall is marching..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Undeserving of stripes

I was drafted out of high school in 1949 at 18 years old and sent to Honolulu, Hawaii. We were..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Not a seamstress

If ever there was one not cut out to be a soldier, it was most probably me. Two classmates and..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Remember your password!

During the Korean War my first assignment at Ft. Dix, N.J. (16 weeks of heavy weapons) was guard..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Yes, I’m from the ‘South!’

March 1951 – Due to a heavy backlog of new recruits, Flight 1014, 3703 Training Squadron, Lackland AFB, Texas ..
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