GI BILL

The long way 'round

Boise, ID
In the mid to late 1980s, computers were large, clunky things that took genius-level intelligence to program, operate and just..
3,025 views
Clovis Desaulniers
IN YOUR OWN WORDS

Clovis Desaulniers

Clovis was assigned to the Mexico border for the following year. At the outbreak of the war, he was..
3,072 views
American Legion street fair adds a military presence
SUPPORT FOR POST-9/11 VETERANS

American Legion street fair adds a military presence

Columbiana, OH
Columbiana, Ohio - Since 1920 Benjamin Firestone American Legion Post 290 has been organizing the Columbiana Street Fair. Known as..
3,731 views
American Legion leadership training
OTHER

American Legion leadership training

Hollywood, CA
LUKE C. CHAU, POST 43, CLASS OF JANUARY 2018, FORMER BOYS STATE, MARINE AND ANNAPOLIS NAVAL ACADEMY. “My American Legion Basic..
3,183 views
MY TIME IN UNIFORM

My Vietnam experience

Nashville, TN
The Tennessean accurately described the Vietnam War as occurring in the most tumultuous period in American history. More than the..
2,967 views
VETERANS HELPING VETERANS

The Marines and the Christmas Angels

Coventry, CT
Since I was a young girl, I always believed in miracles, especially at Christmastime. Being raised in a Christian..
2,732 views
The good, the bad and the ugly
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

The good, the bad and the ugly

In 1966 I graduated from high school in the small town of Walnut, California. My Uncle Dick gave me a..
3,513 views
A proud naval career
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A proud naval career

Aug. 18, 1959 – I shook hands with my Dad “The Duke,” my brother-in-law Chet, and kissed my mother, sister..
4,344 views
Parris Island memories
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Parris Island memories

Do you ever wonder why sailors and Marines call it “boot camp?” Some say the term originated when "old salts"..
3,665 views
Shots – ouch!
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Shots – ouch!

I graduated from high school in 1963. I started college, but my grade point average was lower than my blood..
4,552 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Put up your dukes!

It came as a surprise to all who knew me, especially my parents and long-time girlfriend, when I announced that..
2,736 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Not-so-fond memories

I arrived at Sampson Air Force Base in Geneva, New York, June 4, 1955, at 7 p.m. after riding the..
2,509 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Pugil stick training

October 1969, Fort Bragg, North Carolina – one of my fondest memories was in the pugil stick training pit. This..
2,704 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Latrines and leadership

Midnight, September 1957, Fort Dix, New Jersey – I am on my hands and knees with a toothbrush in an..
2,718 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Oh, fudge

I was born and raised in southwest Missouri and joined the Marines in December 1943 after graduating high school. Never..
2,344 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Foxtrot’ platoon memories

I was recruited by a civilian co-worker who was serving in the Army Reserves. I enlisted Oct. 29, 1979 at..
3,693 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Bag ‘sorting’

On Jan. 29, 1955 I was inducted in the Army at Omaha, Nebraska along with a number of other young..
3,844 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Trophy winners

I was drafted July 6, 1966 into the Army. All my training was in Fort Polk, Louisiana, and I was..
2,370 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Swim, boy!

I was a naïve farm boy from Minnesota and enlisted in the Navy, winding up in San Diego for Boot..
2,419 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

'Rainbows' and 'Pings'

In March 1968 I felt I needed a break from classrooms and professors’ lectures of all sorts. A need for..
2,337 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Ill-fitting uniforms

As I look back to the time I went into Army Basic Training, a myriad of memories come flooding back,..
2,230 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘General parking’

As a new Navy nurse stationed at the U.S. Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton, California from 1964-1967, I kept learning about..
3,497 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Taps’

Bainbridge, Maryland, August 4, 1953 – As I lay in my bunk late evening of the second day and reviewed..
3,697 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Not too tired for a kiss

I didn’t enjoy Navy Boot Camp at Bainbridge, Maryland in the winter of 1956-57. The cold weather, lack of sleep..
2,167 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Who volunteers for latrine duty?!

After “falling out” and “falling in” and lining up rather awkwardly my first morning at old Camp Rucker in Alabama,..
2,416 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Best and worst memories

Fort Lewis, Washington, January 1968 -- Our lecturer, in a character-building session, attempted to instill to a roomful..
2,363 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Duck’

My worst memory of boot camp was crawling under barbed wire at the same time 30 and 50-caliber machine guns..
3,657 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

No power – no problem!

I was drafted into the Army and had to report for duty in Detroit. From there I was sent to..
4,252 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A cruel memory

My worst experience in Basic Training happened in May 1951 while we were being trained to fire the grenade launcher..
2,486 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

‘Yes, SIR!’

I was in college in 1968 and grew weary of hearing I should resist the draft, so I joined the..
4,673 views