Out of the frying pan and into the fire

When I signed up for the Army, they wanted my High School transcript, gave me an aptitude test and a basic physical test and asked me what I wanted to be trained for.

I asked to be trained in electronics. They told me to come back next week and we would talk again. Next week they sat down with me and told me they could get me into electronics school right after basic training. They said basic training is a tough 8 weeks and you don’t want to fail because that record will follow you the rest of your life. If you make it thru that then it’s unto electronics training, are you sure you want to sign up? I said yes.

They said the only thing I could bring with me was the clothes on my back and a shaving kit. They gave a bus ticket for the Detroit induction center leaving that Friday. We arrived early afternoon. They met me at the bus station and took me to the induction center, and there my life as I knew it ended.

Over Friday and Saturday:

I had to remove my clothes and take a shower with about 10 other guys, dry off and get in a line naked. They checked everything, for flat feet, hemorids, lice and hernias. They rans us thru a line of doctors for shots then into the supply room for underwear and uniforms, towels, washcloths and soap and a duffel bag to pack it in and a box to send our civilian clothes home in. Bed time Friday and Saturday was 9:00. Wake-up at 6:00 on Saturday and 4AM on Sunday to board a train for Fort Lenard Wood in Missouri.

The drill Sargents picked us up with a bus from the train station at Waynesville and took us into the Fort. They took us off the bus and lined up for a get to know you session. My whiskers when I was young were black and although I had shaved at 4AM it didn’t look like it at 4PM so I was pulled out of line to take my razor and dry shave. Non of us passed the hair cut inspection so we all went to the barbershop and were peeled.

Then they took us to the supply room and issued us mattresses and bedding then took us to the barracks and taught us how to make a bed the right way, so a quarter would bounce from it. By that time it was chow time and they took us to the mess hall and taught us how to eat. To sit at attention looking straight ahead and to use our fork, lift the food straight up to mouth high and then straight into your mouth then move the fork straight out to the square then straight down to the plate. They told us, any time we were outside a building we had to be running, no walking and if we saw an officer within a block of us we were stop, stand at attention and salute him or her and hold the salute until it was returned.

Up at 5AM for a nice 2 mile run before breakfast. Thru out the next 8 weeks we had physical training in the morning ending with a 5 mile run and lectures in the afternoon.

On about the 3rd week we were issued rifles and taught how to dissemble and clean them and reassemble them. To be able to pass that class we had to practice until we could dissemble and reassemble the rifle blindfolded. Because of fixing things on the farm I was able to do it quite easily but some really had a hard time with it. Our 5 mile runs worked up to 10 mile runs and I finally experienced the 2nd wind, it was really refreshing, when you have run until you think you can’t go any more, all of a sudden you have more energy and breathing is easier.

Three of our guys were a little sloppy and didn’t pass morning inspection so that night they got us up for a night run. They put us in trucks and took us into the woods for a 5 mile run. The Sargent told us I’m going to set the pace and if you can’t keep up you will have to find your own way home. He took off and I worked my way close enough to keep him in site and when he got back to the truck there were only 6 of us out of twenty with him. He made us stand at attention till the last man dragged himself in. We got back to the barracks in time for breakfast.

Week 5 we started at the rifle range. First we shot for the bulls eye and the next week we shot for distance (200yards) at pop up targets and I received my expert rifleman badge to wear on my dress greens.

Week 6 was hand grenades and we played with dummy’s to get the feel and weight and how to throw them, we also learned about gas masks, how to put them on and clear them.

Week 7 we worked on the rifle range and throwing real hand grenades. They took into a closed building with our gas masks and threw live tear gas in and we had to get our gas masks on and clear them and walk to the other end of the building take our gas masks on off recite our name rank and serial number to get out.

Week 8 we went on a camping trip (they called it bivouac) each man had a shelter half (half a tent) you put yours together with one from another man and you have a (small) 2 man tent. Each man had a 40 pound back pack with c rations (they call them MREs meals ready to eat now) eating utensils a canteen and a change of clothes, oh and a poncho. We were out there for 3 days.

on Friday we cleaned our barracks turned in our bedding packed everything into our duffle bags and got to go home for a week, if you had enough money to get you there. We were paid $28 a month.

Oh, there was lots of marching and the last day we passed in review before the Fort Comander. One other thing, the last week a Sargent came to talk with me and said: the electronics schools are full, do you want to be a cook or a clerk? Well, I didn’t want to be either, but I really didn’t want to be a cook so after a week leave I came back to 8 weeks of army clerk school.

To be continued,,,,,,,,,,..