Page 81 - Firehouse Pond

Little did I know that what it really did was label me “untrainable” except for

service in the infantry. I would soon be a scared member of the United States
Army.

Remember that requirement for an extra physical education class? I was
officially a high school dropout because of that one extra physical education
class. I had not completed the requirements to graduate high school. Oh, the
choices we make.

CANADA IS CALLING

I was dithering. I had the necessary contacts to skip to Canada and join the
ranks of the draft dodgers. My stepfather and an uncle persuaded me that
military service was the honorable thing to do and that it would also provide

for my escape from poverty.

BASIC TRAINING

FORT LEWIS, WASHINGTON

11 August 1967 was a dark but exciting day. I was on a bus headed to the
airport for a short but very long flight to Seattle, Washington and a long but

short bus ride to Fort Lewis to start Basic Combat Training (BCT).

The three video productions below are presented by the Office of The Chief

of Information, United States Army. I am thrilled that these are Basic
Training films at Fort Lewis in 1967, the year I went through Basic Training.

Wow! What a walk down memory lane. Grab some popcorn, a soda and

enjoy. The next forty-six minutes and twenty-eight seconds will have you
spellbound!