MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A swimming lesson

I was 16 in August 1945 when WWII ended; I had been waiting for my 17th birthday so I could..
2,144 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Surviving day one

It was July 1962 when I enlisted into the Army. A bunch of us left from Philadelphia by train for..
2,347 views
‘Dancing’ til dawn
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Dancing’ til dawn

Boot Camp, Parris Island, S.C, 1942 – We had a guy in the platoon who we all hated. He had..
4,365 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Bald eagles and raw meat

I reported to Fort Dix, N.J., two days after my high school graduation for basic training. On departing the bus..
2,613 views
Determination counts
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Determination counts

I was a country farm boy from Penna, Tenn. I enlisted in the Air Force in October 1964. My first..
2,830 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Tent poles – yes sir!

In April 1959, Fort Benning, Georgia, we were preparing to go on bivouac. Our platoon sergeant had us in formation..
4,082 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A GI bath

This memory dates back to 1944 at Camp Maxey, Texas. There were two platoons in each two-floor barracks, four platoons..
2,829 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

No candy, please!

Ah, Marine Corps Boot Camp, Parris Island, summer 1960. Hot and lots of sand fleas which you were not allowed..
2,085 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Marching like a farm boy

I was raised on a farm in Tennessee. We had mules and horses in the 40s and 50s – no..
2,277 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Dad, did you ride with the sheep?

No, I didn’t ride with the sheep. My daughter enjoys asking that question whenever I tell this story. I enlisted in the..
2,427 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Mail duty

I was drafted in 1964 and sent to the San Diego Naval Training Center. When we arrived we didn’t have..
2,410 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A sad remembrance

I would like to share a bad story I carried with me all these years about my basic training. And..
2,705 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

How (and who?) do you salute?

The TV sitcom MASH hadn't even been produced yet. But in 1966 when I entered the United States Air Force,..
3,160 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Blackstone's mail

In the summer of 1954 I arrived at Lackland Air Base in San Antonio. For basic training, after we..
2,777 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Boot camp mail call

Two months after graduating from high school, I joined the U.S. Marine Corps. In August 1963, I reported to Parris..
2,671 views
Fort Lewis memories
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Fort Lewis memories

A group of us from the upper Midwest entered the Army in the spring of 1969. We looked forward to..
4,165 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

I took the blame

August 1971. Fort Jackson, S.C. We were doing night firing. Just as we were ready to fire, "READY ON THE..
2,524 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Cockroach

My drill instructor was intense, and today he is a survivalist expert. One day I was cleaning the dorm and..
2,624 views
Basic training memories: hometown heroes
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic training memories: hometown heroes

Basic Training MEMORIES April 11, 2017 After graduation from high school in 1966, I worked on my father’s farm until I was..
4,102 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Boot camp

Marine Corps boot camp was like nothing I'd ever seen before. As a new recruit at the ripe old age..
2,627 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Don't volunteer unless you know the outcome

In the summer of 1973 I was at Fort Knox, Ky., for basic training. One Sunday, near the end of..
2,391 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Canteen Kool-Aid

My best memory of basic training at the U.S. Air Force Academy, 1965, came from my mother sending me packets..
2,557 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

The boys who won the war

Jubilation and celebration demanded that on Nov. 11, 1918, the City of Pittsburgh host a Victory Parade. I entered the..
2,717 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Never run away from the fight

There are so many memories of my basic training at Lackland AFB. The hundreds of situps, the thousands of pushups,..
2,721 views
Basic training with the "W"
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic training with the "W"

I started my 23-year career in the 164th Group/Tennessee Air National Guard a few days after my graduation from Germantown..
3,037 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

My Jeep ride

After completing the majority of my infantry basic training at Harmony Church, Fort Benning, Ga., we were allowed to leave..
2,716 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A recruit's escapade

While participating in a GI party during basic training at Ft Dix in the early 50's, as I was cleaning..
2,439 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Double-edge razor blade to the rescue

In August 1963 I was in basic training at Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Gateway to the Air Force. I was..
2,804 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Ropes and training

I was 23 when I became a member of the elite group known as the United States Air Force. After..
2,957 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic at Great Lakes

On Oct. 27, 1971, my 18th birthday, I started my journey to the Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Ill. I..
2,847 views