One day in the first week in Navy boot camp.

[oneighty]

After leaving the train we were set upon by a large group of sadists. Many of them looked just like us, young new recruits; but they have been awarded special authority to harass the new recruits as they themselves had recently been harassed. They were quite good at it as we would become in the weeks to follow.

A few days passed during which time we learned our place in the scheme of things did not exist. We learned that we had no opinions about any thing. We lay silent as mice at night in the barracks afraid to make the slightest sound. Once a voice cried out in the silent darkness "I think I see the light!"

I stood at attention dressed for the very first time in my strange white uniform. My white hat was prevented from slipping down from my bald head only by my protruding ears. There were a hundred of us standing so.

The full Commander performing the inspection stopped in front of me. "Stand up straight sailor." I made a serious but failed trembling effort to stand straighter. The Commander reaches out places a hand on each shoulder trying to straighten me up. He failed as I always had the right shoulder a little lower than the left. I could no help it.

The Commander abandoned that effort. Looking into my tear filled eyes he says "Sailor did you shave this morning?" In a quaking voice I reply, "I do not have to shave Sir." He says "Yes you do."

So it was on that day in July 1951 I shaved for the very first time in my young life.

180

[madrchsod]

1. did you notice that

during bush`s speech he said that we won the war-ww2 but "lost the peace"? so i guess he meant that truman dropped the ball and that is what caused the korean war and the problem of north korean problem now..when in the hell has that ever been a valid historical fact? i had a brother in law that was in that winter retreat,while my generation were just starting to go to school he and his buddies were eating anything that moved to stay alive. my dad`s hero was truman,i think he read everybook that was written....

[JohnKleeb]

2. My grandfather was in Korea

I am undecided on Truman somewhat because the A-bomb is uneasy however Truman made a very beautiful gesture to a family member of mine and IMO he saved my grandfather's life, my grandfather was drafted in to Korea, his brothers had been in WWII in various fields, one brother was a seabee, the others actual soldiers, so he was the baby and was drafted, well Truman fired McArthur and IMO that saved my grandfather. Truman also had a great domestic policy, his fair deal was great and desegerating the military was good too.

[MidwestMomma]

3. I really enjoy reading your stories

Thanks for posting them.

[NightTrain]

4. Ah, yes. Navy boot camp.

I remember it entirely too well.

[oneighty]

5. Tell us.

About your boot camp!

180

[spt5]

6. thanks

thanks for your story, it was interesting.

[oneighty]

7. Welcome to Democratic Underground

spt5

Thank you.

180

[Feanorcurufinwe]

8. Great Lakes, 1979

I thought it was going to be all about pushups, marching, etc. -- there was some of that, but what really made it difficult was the sleep deprivation, and the fanatical insistence on the extremely precise folding of your underwear and other clothing.

Then there were the smoke breaks, when the entire company was herded into one room so the smokers could get their fix -- ugh, hell for a non-smoker.

I actually smoked pot while I was in boot camp. A buddy had two joints mailed to him that he shared with me.

One day our company commander burst into the room and excitedly announced: "President Carter just froze all Iranian assets in the US!" and left. Since we had no access to news reports, and had no idea that the American embassy in Tehran had been seized and hostages taken, this was puzzling to us to say the least...

Memories...

[puerco-bellies]

10. I was in San Diego Navy Boot-camp (worm island)

When the hostages were taken. We were all convinced that we were going to war. About the same time during chow we had a mild earthquake. You could tell the non-Californians by the panicked reaction, or frozen fear on their faces. I thought it was weird that the guys in my company (224) were more afraid of EQ's then the thought of going to war.

[Palacsinta]

9. Great story, 180

Actually, quite poignant! My husband tells a story 'bout Navy boot camp in Pensacola, FL. The Marine DI caught him scratching his nose while in formation. The DI made my husband climb inside a dumpster, shut the lid, and sing the "Marine Hymn" at the top of his lungs every time the DI would kick the dumpster.

Forgot to add the DI's favorite threat, "I'm gonna rip your arm off and beat your head in with the bloody stump."

[jmowreader]

11. What not to say to a drill sergeant

It was December 1981. We're sitting in a classroom on Fort Dix learning some damn thing that Sergeant First Class Cloud had previously described as "all bullshit so far." Suddenly Sergeant First Class Simental, our senior drill sergeant, strode to the front of the room to announce the terrible news: The Soviet Union has invaded Poland and we are going to war to defend the Polish people. He then went into detail about how he was going to deploy to Germany tomorrow morning to prepare for our arrival; that Saturday we would be boarding a C-141 to fly to Ramstein Air Base because we were going into combat on Monday morning.

Then the floor was opened for questions.

I rose to my feet and struck a solid position of parade rest. "Senior Drill Sergeant, why is the United States going to go to war to defend a Warsaw Pact nation that's had Soviets stationed in it for forty years?"

When I went to Fort Devens in February 1982, there was a letter from my senior drill sergeant taped to the front of my 201 file: "This soldier still owes me 915,000 pushups. Please ensure that he does them."