MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Sweet memory of Christmas Day 1971

I was sitting on my bucket in front of Quonset hut barracks, eating prickly pear fruit and writing a letter..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A time to mow at basic combat training

On Aug. 31, 1965, I was relieved to have survived my very first plane ride from Dallas to Fort Polk,..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic training in Texas

I enlisted in April of 1969 in Des Moines, Iowa. I was sent to Lackland Air Force Base in San..
2,910 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

A kind of religious experience at Fort Jackson, S.C.

My first experience with boot camp will stick with me forever. (Yes, I went through boot camp once as a..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

The only thing Boot Camp can't take away!

Back in 1954, Boot Camp was new experience for me. There were a lot of things going on such as..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Remembering basic training

3 a.m. strolls up and down "Misery and Agony" in September and October 1961 at Fort Knox, Ky.
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Highs and lows of basic training during the Vietnam War era

I was drafted in June 1966 and sent to Fort Dix, N.J., for basic combat training. Training was tough then..
3,705 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

My adventure at boot camp

In 1954, I joined the Naval Reserve Surface Division in Racine, Wisc. I agreed to attend regular meetings there and..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Made 85 hits for happy hour

In May 1967, while serving in Recruit Training Command Company 927 located at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Ill., I..
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Christmas birthday in boot camp
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Christmas birthday in boot camp

I went into the Navy in November 1981, spending Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's at Recruit Training Command Orlando, Fla...
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

When you enlist, you 'will' start shaving

Basic training, 1966, Naval Training Center, San Diego We stood at morning formation while drill instructor walked the line in front..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Implications of a chance meeting en route to basic 30 years later

In October 1984, I left Alabama for Air Force basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. When the plane..
2,870 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Sleep walking through boot camp

At the age of just 17, I joined the Naval Reserve. During that summer between my junior and senior year..
2,861 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Airplane to where?

Mike Simms and I enlisted in the Air Force in 1970. We met on a Greyhound bus on the way..
2,710 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Best and worst

In 1967, I was at the Naval Training Center in San Diego in Company 212. My fondest memory was graduation..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

'Butter man'

In 1966, as a boot in Platoon 1113 at Military Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, I was selected to..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

By whatever means

On Dec. 1, 1954, I departed Milwaukee and arrived by train at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., for Army basic training..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

War waits on no one

I grew up in the 1950s in Indiana. I am an only child and was lucky that my father returned..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Wardrobe malfunction of basic training

It was August and we were inducted into the Army in northern California. The Army was in a hurry to..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

The case of the missing bayonet

In mid-1968, I entered basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., and began my training on my first wedding anniversary. During..
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SFC McMakin
MY TIME IN UNIFORM

SFC McMakin

Richmond, KY
I started out after advanced training being sent to the Philippines, where I was in fixed station communications, working alongside..
3,761 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic unable to wipe the smile off one soldier's face

I entered U.S. Army basic training in August 1962, right out of high school. I had been a Boy Scout..
3,093 views
Air Force training was great start in life
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Air Force training was great start in life

I went into the U.S. Air Force right after graduating from high school in 1960. My objective was to get..
3,480 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Boot camp: the other world

It was in June 1956. We were a group of high school students and Marine Reservists on our way to..
3,171 views
Veterans parade
LEGION RIDERS

Veterans parade

Pioneer, CA
2015 Veterans Parade in Jackson, Calif., with the Riders and 20 hot rods.
3,799 views
Uncommon memories of 'great' drill sergeants
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Uncommon memories of 'great' drill sergeants

I attended Army One Station Unit Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., as a "split option" trainee during the summers..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

The worst cookies at boot camp

After three weeks in boot camp at Great Lakes, Ill., I was turning 18 years old in 1966. We all..
2,954 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

The trials and tribulation of basic training in the U.S. Army

My most enduring memory of basic training is when the bus rolled into Fort Polk, La., and the drill instructors..
3,117 views
MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Basic training in September 1963 at Fort Knox, Ky.

After graduating from high school and not knowing the future, I volunteered for the draft. After a day at Fort..
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MEMORIES OF BASIC TRAINING

Camera fun

I received my draft greeting from Uncle Sam in May 1969 for induction in September that year. Prior to my..
2,891 views