Soapweed
Well-known member
On January 22, 1972, I enlisted in the Army National Guard for a term of six years. My home unit was at Chadron, Nebraska, and I left for Basic Training at Ford Ord, California on June 8, 1972. Here are the events of each of those days, as recorded at the time. I was 20 years old.
1972 MILITARY MEMORIES of Army Basic Training by Steve Moreland, Part One
June 8, 1971, Thursday – Arose at 3:00 a.m. MDT and bade farewell to the Green Valley Hereford Ranch at Merriman, Nebraska. Hugged Mom good-bye, and Dad drove me to Chadron. At 5:45 a.m., I boarded a Trans-Nebraska 10-passenger plane bound for Denver. Made one stop in Alliance to pick up two more passengers, making a total of three besides the pilot and co-pilot.
Arrived at the "Mile High City" at 7:45. I had a 3 hour and 10 minute wait until time to board Flight 161 to San Francisco. Made one stop in Salt Lake City (my first visit to Utah) and arrived in San Francisco at 1:00 p.m. PDT. Left 30 minutes later on a wild jet ride to Monterrey. The pilot was a little slow about getting down, and the runway was short to boot. We really skidded to a stop and were riding on only the nose wheel for a while, I am sure. Arrived at Monterrey at 2:05, then directly boarded a bus for Fort Ord.
There were about 15 of us trainees arriving at the same time. We were greeted by a nice enough gent (I knew not his rank). A brief orientation came next, then chow (not bad), and then we were shown to our Barracks #5. We were joined by other fellows, and soon there were 44 of us residing in the two-story structure. Lights out at 9:00 p.m. [Guess that would be 2100 hours military time].
Fri 9 Jun 72– Up at 5:00, breakfast 30 minutes later. Then we filled out some forms and were finger-printed. Haircuts came next—we paid $1.25 for a GI scalp job. The rest of the morning was spent acquiring many pounds of new clothing. Noon chow, a visit to the chaplain, and more orientation sessions made up the rest of the day. We also had name tags sewed on our shirts and jackets. Much marching practice was also received throughout the day. After supper, we marched for another couple hours.
Sat 10 Jun 72—I pulled night fire guard last night between 11:00 and 12:00, which was worse than getting up at night to check cows. We got to sleep until 5:30. Spent most of the morning drilling. Also mailed our civilian clothes home. Going through the mess hall, we heard on the radio that a dam broke near Rapid City, South Dakota causing bad flooding, so I used a pay phone to call home to find out details. At least 100 people were killed that are known about so far. [Final tabulation was 238 dead, over 3000 injured, and many bodies were never found.] All of the National Guardsmen from South Dakota happened to be in Rapid City for their two-week summer camp, so they were all put to work. I talked to Mom on the phone. The rest of the gang were all elsewhere. Sandra is spending a week in Washington, D.C. on a trip she won in an REA (Rural Electric Association) essay contest.
Back here at Fort Ord, we had mostly free time in the afternoon, except for an hour a half of drill practice. At 6:00, some of us went to the movie THE LAST RUN starring George C. Scott. It wasn't too good.
Forgot to mention some details from yesterday. Bright and early in the morning, one guy from Honolulu decided he would just quit the army. Boy, did the drill sergeants all crawl on his frame. He is still in the army, but just set back one week with another outfit now.
Also, yesterday we had some medical processing in the afternoon. I escaped one blood test because I had my B Negative card with me.
Sun 11 Jun 72—Kind of a quiet day for a change. Rolled out at 5:30, breakfast at 7:00. Our time was our own after that. I wrote a letter home, then attended services at the post chapel from 9:30-10:30. Read a while in TWO IN THE FAR NORTH by Margaret E. Murie. After chow, I wrote a letter to Nyla Whitmore who worked for Frome last fall. Made a trip to the snack bar and polished my boots before supper. Went swimming at 6:00 p.m. Read until 9:00.
Mon 12 Jun 72—Called out at 5:00. Breakfast, then testing all day. This got kind of old after about five hours of doing it. Had dinner, and finished testing at about 2:00 p.m. Went to the dispensary for tuberculosis tests. Four guys fainted out of about 80—I lucked out and didn't. We spent some time in the PX buying necessary supplies. Chow then, and some time for marking duffel bags. I called home—guess all is well there. Will turn in early. Fire guard tonight, KP tomorrow.
Tue 13 Jun 72—Kind of a long hard day. Our whole platoon pulled KP. Six other fellows and I worked in an officers' mess hall. Good food, but hard work. We all woke at 4:00, started at 4:30 a.m. and worked until 7:00 p.m. I also had an hour of fire guard last night, so kind of got short-changed on sleep. Don't have much to look forward to tomorrow either—SHOTS, many shots! Tonight is the last night in these barracks—we move tomorrow.
Wed 14 Jun 72—Today was the day I've been dreading all my life, but it really wasn't too bad. We got four shots this afternoon—my arms hurt just a little. We finished processing at the USARECSTA (United States Army Reception Station) and moved on to official basic training—different barracks located about two blocks from where we were.
Got my first mail today, and almost wished I didn't for a while. My name was the first one called, and I didn't get the proper procedure of singing out, "Here, Drill Sergeant!" down quite right. I got chewed out a little. [Actually it was quite a little. After my name was called, I was supposed to respond, "Here, Drill Sergeant!" and then back out of my place in the line of formation, execute a left face, walk to the side of formation, and then go forward to receive my mail. Being first to be called, and being excited to get some mail, I just walked forward through the ranks. Let me tell you—that is a no, no! I had to drop and do ten push-ups. Not knowing what I had done wrong, I screwed up the second time the same way, and had to do ten more. Besides being flustered and embarrassed, the powers that be made me wait until the very last to have another chance to get my mail. The chocolate chip cookies that Mom sent almost made up for the humiliation involved.]
There seems to be better food at our new location.
Last night after I wrote these few notes, we also had to attend a discipline lecture for an hour and a half—really topped out a bad day, making it all the worse.
Also forgot to mention that we got $60 partial pay on 12 Jun. We have numerous little expenses—boot polish, laundry marking, etc.
Thurs 15 Jun 72—The drill sergeant rolled us out at 5:30. Company formation (184 guys), then breakfast, and then our platoon spent all morning cleaning our barracks and getting "organized." The entire afternoon was spent drilling and marching. After supper, five of us had to clean the headquarters building until 8:30—long day!
We are required to shave and polish our boots every night. Along with showers, there's not much time for anything else.
Fri 16 Jun 72—Started the day with a three-mile march after breakfast. Got our eyes and teeth checked, and everyone's teeth got a fluoride treatment. Had a little spare time over there, so I wrote a letter home but haven't sent it yet. Marched and double-timed back in time for noon chow.
Orientation in the afternoon by SECOND BRIGADE Commander COL Harold H. Lee, FOURTH BATTALION Commander LTC Frank G. Salimbene, and our COMPANY A Commander Kenneth W. Bartlett, also a chaplain and drill sergeants. PT (physical training) exercises later in the day. Also, had individual and platoon pictures taken. Cleaned the barracks until "lights out." Stupid army inefficiency. We have to keep the building so clean that you can hardly live in it.
Sat 17 Jun 72—Arose at 5:30, breakfast, barracks clean-up, and then we were issued M16 rifles. (Don't call it a "gun," or you will be "pushing Fort Ord off your chest.) Spent an hour or more cleaning them, then drilled the rest of the morning by platoons instead of the whole company.
After noon chow, the whole outfit marched about a mile to an area where they give a PT (physical training) test. We didn't have the official test, but made a practice run of all five events. The official test will be Wednesday. Got back to the barracks about 4:00 p.m. and had the rest of the day to ourselves. I waited in line for 2 ½ hours to use the one phone available for the whole company. Talked to the folks for about five minutes. Guess all is well on the home front. I had to help serve on the noon chow line, and about got called for a fight because I put tomatoes on the wrong compartment of a guy's plate! Can you believe that?
Sun 18 Jun 72—Kind of a quiet day. We got to sleep until 6:30, then free time until noon in the barracks. I went to the chapel from 10:00 to 11:00—they hold nice informal services. After noon chow, our time was spent cleaning the barracks—nothing too inspiring. I washed some clothes in the coin-operated machines in our latrine.
Wrote a letter to Dogie Weaver telling him I doubt if I can make it on the big horse drive taking place about the 1st of September between Moran Junction and Dubois, Wyoming. With the heck I could!
Guess the folks entertained the LaCreek REA (Rural Electric Association) directors and their wives at home today. Sounds like there were 40-50 people there for dinner.
As I am writing this, I am on guard duty or more specifically "running" and doing errands for the CQ (Charge of Quarters). Any errands that come up, I do. Not a bad job, but it is two hours long—1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. In spare time, I'm listening to the radio and reading a good book.
19 Jun 72 Mon—First day of basic training officially over! We worked our tails off, too. Started out by running a mile and a half before breakfast. Had an outside class on drill maneuvers, ran some more, and attended a class on our financial possibilities. Ran back to the company area for chow. After dinner, we double-timed for a mile and a half to a class on "human relations." Many had to drop out, and the drill sergeants were quite upset. (I stayed with the bunch, I'm proud to say.) We ran at least five miles all told today. Got two letters from home which helps make time fly a little faster. Our barracks didn't pass the first inspection.
20 Jun 72 Tue—As we rolled out in the 5:00 a.m. darkness to greet another crummy day, one fellow made the remark: "Do you know what happened to us? We all died and went to Hell." Guess almost have to agree.
Formation at 5:30, then 30 minutes of running before breakfast. The company double-timed to Doughboy Hall, and we saw a movie of what to expect for the rest of basic. I don't envy me any. The rest of the morning was spent in drill practice and PT. After dinner, we had a good stiff run of 1 ½ miles. Many dropped out. Had a boring 3 hour class of military justice, also an Airborne recruiter tried to talk fellows into joining. An officer gave an OCS (Officers Candidate School) sales pitch. I didn't sign up for either. Suppertime chow, and then a trip to the "Running Chef" (snack bar on wheels) for coke and a candy bar to get filled up on. No mail from home.
21 Jun 72 Wed—The usual. Up at 5:00, run from 5:30-6:00, then breakfast. Went to kind of a fun class for a change, given by one of the chapel ministers. It was called "Getting Along With Others." PT before noon chow—had a long noon hour for once. Checked out rifles and had a three hour class on taking them apart, proper procedures, etc. Drill and ceremony practice, more PT, later than usual chow. We were allowed to have seconds on food if we wanted.
22 Jun 72 Thu—A good stiff run and 20 pushups in the pre-dawn hours, then breakfast, and a class at Doughboy Hall on Military Customs and Courtesy. Next we did drill and ceremony using our M16 rifles. Then came plenty of PT before dinner. The afternoon was mostly spent practicing the Code of Arms with our rifles. We cleaned them for about an hour. I hit the jackpot with mail call, with three letters and an Outdoor Life magazine. After chow, we were trucked (for a change) over to a dispensary, and we received one shot—I don't know what for, but it didn't hurt before, during, or after. I got stuck on a detail to clean battalion headquarters. By the time I showered, shaved, and shined my boots, it was 10:00. By the way, the last two weeks have been the longest I've ever spent without riding on a horse or in a vehicle—everywhere I traveled was on my own foot power. I did go 12 days last fall without seeing a wheeled vehicle—that is a record in this day and age, too. (This was while working for L.D. Frome, Outfitter on his hunting camps in the Teton Wilderness Area of Wyoming.)
23 Jun 72 Fri—One of the easiest days we've had for a while. Made the routine run before breakfast. Spent most of the morning attending a drug and alcohol abuse class, then practiced drills with our rifles. We had an option to attend a special human relations program at Fort Ord's Main Theater—53 of us went. Returned at 1:00 to eat dinner. Marching and PT filled in the afternoon. Locker inspection tomorrow morning. I'd better get busy.
24 Jun 72 Sat—Arose at 5:00 and performed our running ritual. I don't mind the running, but one pair of my combat boots rubs my foot wrong so it is somewhat painful. Did a couple hours of marching (without rifles), then had some sidewalk class work out of some typed manuals (what we have to know at the end of basic training). After dinner, the entire company had haircuts (3 barbers, 184 heads to clip). Got to go to the PX after supper.
25 Jun 72 Sun—A good quiet type Sunday. We didn't have to get up until 6:30, but I arose at 5:00 and called home (6:00 their time). Then had breakfast and went to sleep for another hour. Went to the chapel from 10:00 to 11:00. Wrote letter to Uncle Stan's, Grandma Grace, and Johnny Smith today. Dinner at 1:00, supper at 3:30. We had an unexpected company formation at 6:00—guys standing around in their BVDs, no shoes, and everything else. Have to clean latrine tonight.
26 Jun 72 Mon—Made our pre-breakfast run. Spent all day on Commo (communications). We had practical work using telephones, radios, secret codes, etc. Also learned how to splice wire. Came back to the company area for dinner—we were only about half a mile away. Not even any PT today, but we did have to review what we learned in Commo after supper, in charge of Drill Sergeant Reid. Darcus is our usual main one. I had fire guard with Private Morris from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
27 Jun 72 Tue—The hardest day so far. Breakfast at 5:30, then 3 mile trek (ran two of the three miles) to CBR (Chemical Biological Radiological) testing area. Learned how to use gas mask, etc. Went through gas chamber—living Hell while it lasted. Came back for dinner. Drill and ceremony, morale questionnaire, and PT in the afternoon. Cleaned rifles at 5:30, then chow. Got our individual pictures back. I only bought eight wallet sized ones for $2.90. My nametag is wrong in the picture.
28 Jun 72 Wed—No pre-breakfast run, but we did plenty this morning. Double-timed about 2 out of 3 miles over to the First-Aid area. Classes all morning and dinner on the field. It was a nice day for our "picnic." More First Aid classes in the afternoon. I flunked one test because I put the dressing on upside down—it was even marked in red letters! Pulled a goofy mistake yesterday and failed one, too. Wrote a letter home this evening. Received a letter from home tonight.
29 Jun 72 Thu—Ran before breakfast—had drill and ceremony most of the morning. Turned our weapons back in about 10:30. We supposedly "studied" the rest of the morning on First Aid, but many took the opportunity to catch up on sleep. I read in the book TWO IN THE FAR NORTH by Margaret E. Murie. After dinner, we had our official PT test. 500 possible points—needed 175 or we would be sent to a special PT camp. I got 352—300 was passing. Events were horizontal ladder (I got 92 points); run, dodge, and jump (75); inverted crawl (85); bent leg sit-ups (68); and mile run 8:58 (42 points). My feet hurt tonight. Had a short class before supper on guard duty. We had a little more free time than usual this evening.
30 Jun 72 Fri—Run before breakfast. Drill and ceremony with rifles, also PT with rifles. Pay day today, so we stood in line a couple hours before dinner. I got $138.00. By the time I paid for pictures, donated to the Army Relief, bought a ticket a rodeo in Salinas (to be July 20th), I came out the door with $129.00. Sent a mail money order home with $130, and still have $75 left, so feel pretty good. I had to knock off 10 pushups in the pay line because I failed to call one big-gutted sucker "Sir." In the afternoon, we were trucked about five miles to the land mine area. Had classes there until 5:30. Came back to supper. I have to help clean the day room tonight. Still have to polish shoes, shower, and shave so I will be late getting to bed.
1 Jul 72 Sat—Our whole platoon got up about an hour before we would have needed to. About 9:00, Alpha Company marched about half a mile east to the G.E.P.T. test ground. We went through all five physical tests. The mile race about killed me, as I have one real sore foot. The afternoon was ours, and we got post privileges (the first freedom for three weeks). Went to the PX for a while, had dinner, went to bowling alley and the main PX. Alvarez and I had supper at the main cafeteria. Called home. Hoatsons and Uncle Stan's were at our place for picnic supper. Uncle Al's and Grandma Signe arrived at the Green Valley Hereford Ranch last Thursday. Haying in progress at home—ten stacks up. I got a letter from Dave Roth today. [Dave is five years older than me. He is a Viet Nam veteran, and graduated from Merriman High School in 1965. He was back home ranching again during the time I was going through basic training.]
2 Jul 72 Sun—Slept in until 7:00, went to breakfast at 8:00. Felt kind of sick and my foot hurt, so I stayed in the barracks most of the morning. Went to the chapel with Alvarez at 10:00. Had formation at noon, and we were told to report for security guard at 3:00. Killed the afternoon until 6:30 on this project. Had supper off the Running Chef. Had to report for guard duty again at 9:30. Both times I guarded with Reynolds (1st Platoon guide of B 4 2), a Mormon from Salt Lake City. Nice guy—he'd been to Bolivia for 2 years on a Mormon mission. Got to bed at 1:00 a.m. Supposed to guard again from 4:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m., but never got called. About froze to death riding around in the back of a truck during all hours of the night.
3 Jul 72 Mon—Drill Sgt. Reid called us out at 4:30. I escaped the PT run, as my foot hurt. Went to sick call, killed all morning, accomplished nothing except got a week profile. My foot is badly swollen. They x-rayed but found nothing wrong. Went to a fancy new hospital. Caught up with the company after dinner at the firing range. Got to shoot our M16's. Went to PX for a while after supper. Mom sent me some cookies. Whole platoon approved.
4 Jul 72 Tue—Good holiday. Jose Alvarez and I spent the day together. Breakfast and supper at main cafeteria. Between these times was spent at a service club and library a couple miles east. Taxied to hospital first, but they wouldn't see my foot until another day. Went then to the club. Even got to play a piano for a while. Went on a bus tour to San Juan Bautista Mission (legally I think—they claimed post privileges were enough to go). Seemed good to see new country, not all drab green in color. Got back at 4:00. Went to library, checked out WYOMING SUMMER by Mary O'Hara. Supper at main cafeteria. Jim Smith from Merriman tried to look me up, but I was not around. I wrote home tonight, and also wrote my cousin Ken Moreland. He rode down the Colorado River the 2nd and 3rd on a float trip. I cleaned the day room on a detail. About time for bed.
5 Jul 72 Wed—Arose at the usual 5:00 a.m. I didn't have to make the morning run because of my feet, so cleaned the barracks. After breakfast, the other "profiles" and I waited about 45 minutes for a truck to take us to the rifle range—the main company marched the mile and a half. Then we zeroed in our rifles in the morning. Ate dinner at the site, and shot another 27 rounds for practice in the afternoon. I've had some pretty lucky shots so far. We profiles had to clean up the rifle range site. Truck was one and a half hours late to pick us up, as they forgot. We hurriedly cleaned our weapons, and piled up our laundry and clean sheets before chow. Got a letter from home and one from Nyla Whitmore in Wyoming. Guess Frome is outfitting wagon train trips this summer along with the regular pack trips. Wish I was spending the summer there instead of at Fort Ord. Wrote a letter to Dave Roth tonight.
6 Jul 72 Thu—Kind of a good day. Work detail for the whole company, so we were all split up into small groups. I went on sick call in the morning. Didn't get anything for my foot, but did get some medicine for my cold that has been on the rampage for the last couple of days. In the afternoon, four of us had to clean the #2 Dispensary across from our barracks. Not too hard of work, several breaks, and we got to quit at 4:00. Read awhile before chow. Got an Outdoor Life magazine in the mail. Went over to the service club, played a saxophone and the piano. Also went to the PX for a little while.
7 Jul 72 Fri—I loaned my pen to a fellow from another platoon, so it might be hard to get it back. I'll just use a different one and make a new color scheme. I'm still on profile for my foot, so rode out to the rifle range on the truck with the other "sick, lame, and lazy" guys. Went to a new site today. Shot pop-up targets at 25 yards, 175 yards, and 300 yards. I hit 51 out of 84. Also we had a short course on spotting enemies out on the field, and estimating their distance from us. Ate noon chow outside at this site. Quit about 5:30.
8 Jul 72 Sat—I had fire guard last night from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. I ran the morning run, as my foot was not hurting so bad. After breakfast, we marched and double-timed about 1 ½ mile, and got practice in setting up our pup tents. This makes a heavy pack to carry. Locker inspection at 10:00. A real hassle, as no one was prepared for it. Sorenson, from Idaho, and I went to small PX, got haircuts, and had a big sausage pizza for dinner. Then we went to Doughboy Hall to the movie MILLION DOLLAR DUCK. Not bad for a Walt Disney. We ate at the mess hall at 3:45. Gallagher and I caught a taxi to the Main PX, but it closed about the time we got there. Taxied back to the main cafeteria by way of Monterrey for only 25 cents. Ate a snack there. Then I called home. 34 stacks of hay up there so far. Guess Dad bought 130 registered Hereford cows from Lorentz Raben of Crawford, Nebraska--$750 a round. He traded 125 commercial Hereford cows at $350 and $300 per head. The folks were all ready to go to a rally deal at the Methodist Church in Merriman.
9 Jul 72 Sun—Slept until about 7:00, then got up, shaved, and wrote a letter home. Breakfast wasn't served until 8:30 at the cafeteria. I put on my Army greens (Class A) and met Rollie and Jeannie Walker in front of the barracks at 9:45. Went to their church (about 15 present) and then had a picnic. They drove me around the base and dropped me off at 2:00. Kind of a lazy afternoon. Finished my letter, polished my boots, and played a game of Feudal (like Chess) with Owen, Benfield, Hanson, Jenkins, and Mayberry. Jim Smith looked me up about 8:00. He delivered some cookies that Mom had sent this way with him. Went to a Jack-in-the-Box drive in for cokes, and got back before 9:00. I gave him a Gordon newspaper from a week ago.
10 Jul 72 Mon—I had to get up at 3:00 for arms room guard until 4:00. Then could not get back to sleep. We ran a good part of the way to the rifle range, and speed marched the rest—hard on a guy. About 50 of us didn't shoot in the morning, but had a class on "Target Detection by Sound." Shot 102 rounds in the afternoon. Think I hit about 2/3 of them. A quick trip back to our company area, then we cleaned our weapons, and had mail call. Got a Gordon paper. Chow and "lights out" at 8:30. Qualification at the rifle range tomorrow—they want us at our best.
11 Jul 72 Tue—Did exercises before breakfast. Loaded onto trucks to ride to a new rifle range. I was on a small truck that left early with a 20-man detail, and we were the last to arrive. Our driver got lost, and we drove all over heck for about 30 minutes. Loaded ammo when we arrived. We each shot 40 rounds (for merits today). Had to shoot 19 to qualify, and I only got 21. Think the scorer might have "given" me a few, even at that. (He was from another company.) I thought I could get at least 30, but I got flustered. Ate chow at the range, then we trucked to the Guard Duty Class Area. Practiced four different instances. Filled out morale questionnaire. Made a mile run back to the barracks, cleaned rifles, and had chow. Got a letter from my sister Sandra, and one from Grandma Grace.
12 Jul 72 Wed—Piled out at 5:00, and ran over two miles before breakfast. Spent the morning practicing for G3 tests. After dinner we marched a mile or so to the G3 test area, and measured our performance in CBR (Chemical Biological Radiological warfare), D&C (Drill and Ceremony, including Manual of Arms), First Aid, Commo, and Guard Duty. I didn't do so hot, along with most of the rest of the company.
Our drill sergeants were disgusted, to put it mildly. We did about an hour and a half of PT (including the mile run), and then we double-timed back to the company area. Got a good lecture about how we had failed our cadre (no one passed). Told we will get longer working hours, no Saturdays off, and more PT. Nice to know! Cleaned our weapons, ate chow at 7:30, and had the rest of the evening to polish our boots, shower, shave, and clean the barracks. For some reason, we didn't get our clean laundry back with clean sheets, so morale is kind of low. My cowboy boots came in the mail, so that helped. Also got a letter from Ken. It only took two days for my boots to come, but it cost $4.08 in postage.
13 Jul 72 Thu—Went through sit-ups, run-dodge-and-jump, and running before breakfast. Ran all the way for 2 ½ miles to a rifle range, which was the first time our company ever ran that far with no one falling out). Shot BB guns and our M16's at close range targets. After chow, we fired 36 rounds each doing move-out phase with quick reload. A fast trip back to the company area got us back to the company area by 3:30. Then we cleaned weapons, picked up laundry and sheets, and went to chow. Showers and clean clothes for everybody, and then the whole company went to a soft ball game between battalions. Sgt. Darcus and Sgt. Washington both played for "our side." (We won 13-0.) Got back about 8:30. Got a letter from home—guess they had a lot of rain and hail last Sunday. They sent a picture of my Minnesota mules. (Uncle Al—my mom's brother had seen a nifty pair of pony mules for sale in Minnesota. I sanctioned him to buy them for me, and he had recently delivered them to Nebraska.)
14 Jul 72 Fri—Got trucked to Range 19 for record qualifying. I had 21 points from Wednesday and needed 26 more to qualify. Only got 17, so had to re-fire. Only got 21 that time. I get "shook" and can't concentrate well on the targets. I get another crack at it all sometime, and the threat is that if you can't make it then, you get RECYCLED. But I don't think they'd do that to a guy, especially an NG (National Guardsman) that they want to get rid of as soon as possible.
Got trucked over to the obstacle course after chow. One guy fell off a rope ladder and broke his nose. Came back to the company area early, cleaned weapons, and practiced D&C (Drill and Ceremony). Got a letter from John Fairhead.
15 Jul 72 Sat—Arose at 5:30, breakfast at 6:00. Marched to Doughboy Hall to the beat of drums. Attended a lecture then on traffic safety. Went through the whole PT test after that. Came back to barracks for 30 minute break. Then 2 hours of practice for G3 tests. Free for the rest of the day. Really lucked out in the mail department—got my camera and a whole album full of my Wyoming pictures, and a letter from home; also a letter from Gary Clark at Moose Head; and a Paul Bond boot catalog. Went to the main PX with Serotzki and bought some civilian clothes. Goofed around the post and called home.
16 Jul 72 Sun—Slept in until about 7:00. Went to breakfast at Charlie Company's mess hall. Caldwell (from Illinois) and I left Fort Ord at 10:20 by bus, headed for San Juan Bautista. Had an hour lay-over in Salinas, and arrived at noon. Good parade and fiesta was in progress. Ate hotdogs on the street corner, and the rodeo started at 1:30. Good show, with many pretty horses and lots of silver on the tack. Rodeo had two events in progress at all times, which made things more interesting—main rodeo events in one area, with reining and cutting in another. Rodeo was over at 5:00, so we wandered around the little town until 7:00, when our bus left. Another layover at Salinas, arrived back at Fort Ord at 9:10. Had to hustle right back to the barracks to turn in pass and check in before 9:30. While at Salinas, a hippie girl came up and tried to sell me a "lid"—marijuana—told her "no thanks."
17 Jul 72 Mon—Roll out at 5:00 a.m.; "fall out" at 5:30. PT run and exercise before breakfast. Helped serve at breakfast, and got cussed out for giving a guy one too many pieces of sausage. Sgt. Sims was in a foul mood—he yelled at me for ten minutes. Got trucked to two different firing ranges—shot about 100 rounds of automatic fire. Had dinner at the first range, went to the second in the afternoon. Cleaned our rifles before being trucked back to the company area. Turned them in, then mail call, and chow. Got a letter from my sister Sandra with some photographs of my new mules, the colts, and sisters Sybil and Nancy Jean. Wrote a letter home. Also had battalion headquarters clean-up. It was after 10:00 before I could go to bed.
18 Jul 72 Tue—Had our little series of early morning exercises per usual. Got trucked over to the same firing range we were at yesterday. Fired automatic again, and took a rifle maintenance test. Trucked back to the company area for noon chow. Had a class on "marriage," believe it or not, given by one of the chaplains. Then 30 minutes of PT and chow at 4:00. Left again at 5:00 to go out on night fire. Shot 60 rounds each before the sun went down, and 60 more in the dark. Had to shoot 11 targets both times to qualify. I shot 35 and 21, so made it. I did better on night fire than I did qualifying on day fire last week. Got trucked back to company. Arrived at 11:30, and it was 12:30 before we had our stuff done so we could go to bed. (Had to clean weapons, shine shoes, shower and shave.)
19 Jul 72 Wed— It rained during the night for the first time since I've been here, although it did sprinkle just a little last Saturday. Had our morning exercises and spent an hour or so cleaning weapons. I've cleaned my rifle 3 times in a row and never fired a shot. Then we marched a mile over to the confidence course. That was fun and kind of hairy at times. We climbed towers 60 feet off the ground, and went through many different obstacles testing our agility. Marched by the beat of a drum back to the company area for chow. Billy Scott from Texas and I had to take physicals at 1:00. Somehow our National Guard units goofed up and didn't get our original results sent in. Painted a couple of doors after we got back. The whole company was on guard duty, but we lucked out and didn't have to participate. I did have arms room guard for one hour from 11:00 p.m. until midnight, but for most of the rest it was an all-night project with only about three hours to sleep.
20 Jul 72 Thu—Got to sleep until 6:00. No PT run. Breakfast at 7:00. Formation at 8:00, then we cleaned barracks and had a little free time. The whole company left at 8:30 to go to the rodeo in Salinas. Marched to Doughboy Hall and crawled on the "magic pumpkins" (trucks). I think 75% of Fort Ord personnel went to the rodeo—the communists could have taken over the whole base pretty easily! It was a great show—better than the one at San Juan Bautista and bigger—both in crowd size and with more events. There was wild cow milking, a wild horse race, chariot races, horse races, and one event where two guys roped and tied a ribbon around a yearling steer's tail, all besides the main events. Several trainees got drunk, and there were two fist fights (men from other companies). We got back at 6:30.
My little pocket notebook ran out of paper with this last entry. My new pocket notebook starts out with 22 Jul 72 Thu, so I'm not sure why there is one day missing. It wasn't because I suffered any ill effects from the rodeo. One little sidelight that I recall is that I dropped my camera down between the seats, and it fell underneath the bleachers. When you are attending with a whole company of other similarly dressed soldiers, I can tell you it nearly takes an act of Congress to gain permission to go look for the before-mentioned camera. I did manage to get the camera back finally.
22 Jul 72 Fri—Kind of a long hard day—up at 5:00, finally to bed at thirty minutes past midnight. Plenty of work and training in between. PT before breakfast, then a long hard march to the ITT (Individual Tactical Training) area. Spent the day learning the proper way to negotiate barbed-wire barriers—as if I didn't already know. There is a certain way to do it to pass G3, but I think there are better ways to use in actual situations. Learned to low crawl, high crawl, etc. Had both dinner and supper on the field. Did everything we learned in the daytime again after it got dark. Made it back to the barracks (by truck) at 11:00, then had to clean our weapons and shine our shoes. I was about as dirty as I've ever been (from crawling around in the sand). Everyone took showers before hitting the hay.
23 Jul 72 Sat—Got to sleep until 7:00, so that made everyone happy. I had an easy morning. After breakfast I went to the Main PX on police call (garbage collecting). Somehow I lucked out and didn't get on guard duty like everyone else that didn't have it last Wednesday. When I got back from the PX, most of the company was cleaning weapons. I got put on a detail to make beds for eleven reservists that were coming in—not a bad job. We were turned loose for the day after that. I went to the PX and got a haircut, then came back for dinner. Serotzki and I went to the Post Locator, where I tried to find William Rottinghaus, Nyla Whitmore's cousin's husband, but didn't have any luck. Serotzki did find Gertz's address (he used to be with our company, but his feet went bad), but we didn't find Gertz. We came back to the barracks and took a nap. Called home about 6:00—the Green Valley crew was still out in the hayfield. They got a lot of rain last week, so haying is going slow. I went to the movie PATTON at Doughboy Hall. It was a good show for 50 cents, and it kind of inspires a guy a little more toward Army life. Hanson and I had fire guard from 11:00 to 1:00. Spent some time talking to a fellow who works at the POW camp training. Sounds rough. There are rumors going around that we might graduate early from Basic Training—possibly on August 9th instead of August 16th. That would just be plumb alright.
24 Jul 72 Sun—Got to bed about 1:15 last night, so slept in until 7:30. Dressed in some good broke in civilian western clothes for a change—a package containing the shirts and jeans came yesterday in the mail; also a letter from Johnnny Smith at Moose Head Ranch. Went to breakfast, then wrote a letter home. Went over to the service club at 11:00 and signed up for a bus tour. Left at noon, along with Dillard, Willis, Cox, and Flaherty from the 4th Platoon. Saw some pretty country and interesting sights (even some good-looking two-legged scenery for a change). Went to Monterrey and along the seacoast and by Cannery Row. But Carmel is the place to go—real pretty little town. Had an hour there to goof around and 20 minutes at the Carmel Mission. Had lunch at the Sambo Café, then came back. Went to the Service Club and PX for a while. Even bought some butch wax and combed my hair for the first time in 45 days. Serotzki and I went to the movie "Love Story" at Doughboy Hall. Back at the barracks, I drew with tape F-TROOP on the upstairs floor. Going to also put HARD CORE on the floor, but ran out of time—"Lights out" came too quick.
25 Jul 72 Mon—Made four laps around the parade field before breakfast (one and a half miles). I went on a 20-man detail to the grenade field. Worked for 45 minutes unboxing grenades and shoveling sand off the highway. Then rested for nearly an hour waiting for the rest of the company to arrive. They took morale tests at Doughboy Hall, and had 30 minutes of PT. Glad I was on detail. We were briefed on different types of grenades, and the art of throwing them. Then we got actual practice using "fire-cracker" varieties. We then qualified—guess I am a second-class thrower, as I only got 38 points out of 60—we needed 29 to qualify. After dinner (which consisted of C-rations), we threw live grenades. Kind of an "anxious moment," considering one little slip and a feller is done for. Trucked back to the company area, then spent a little time getting our gear ready for bivouac. Went down to the PX to buy some candy for the occasion—might get sick of C-rations. Went to bed at 10:00.
27 Jul 72 Tue—Got up at 5:00, breakfast at 5:30. Turned in our laundry, as we wouldn't be available to turn it in on Wednesday. I had to be at the hospital by 7:30 to take another chest x-ray. Don't know for sure what the deal is, but the x-ray I took for the physical had pneumonia symptoms??? I had a little cold a couple weeks ago, but feel fit as a fiddle now. Got back to the company area before the platoon left for bivouac, but no one had a key to the arms room so I could check out a rifle. The platoons left at fifteen minute intervals, to be "gassed" and attacked on the way. I waited around the company area for a while, and got on a detail with about fifteen other guys loading bivouac equipment on the trucks to go to the field. Had dinner at the mess hall instead of C-rations. Rode to bivouac on a truck, which beat the five-mile march all to heck. Got there about 4:00. Set up my tent half with Gallagher (from Perry, Oklahoma). Ate our C-rations supper. Left at 9:00 on a short night march. Got gassed and ambushed. To bed at 10:30; fire guard from 4:00 a.m. to 5:00. Got in on helping Sgt. Norwood start the water heater fire. He needed the aid of my flashlight. He about blew us both up, and singed some his hair. I also got "halted by a 2nd Platoon jasper named Ware. I was just trying to make a little conversation during fire guard.
26 Jul 72 Wed—Already told what happened to me during the pre-dawn hours. We had a good mess hall cooked breakfast at 5:30 out in the field. Then got some time to shave, using our steel pot helmets for wash basins. Inspection, then a class on being attacked while in a convoy. We got actual experience riding in a deuce-and-a-half truck and getting attacked. C-rations for dinner and a reasonably long noon hour. Then came two hours of hand-to-hand bayonet fighting. Some chaplains came out at about 3:00, and we had a 30-minute service, believe it or not. The platoons had tugs-of-war to see who ate first, and who got stuck with fire guard. We ate early (before 5:00), and I guess the rest of the day is ours.
27 Jul 72 Thu—Arose from our dusty tent at 5:00. Had 45 minutes of PT around the bivouac area, then loaded onto trucks and went to the M-60 machine gun range. Had classes on the Claymore land mine and practical work in the morning. After our C-ration chow, we learned how to disassemble and assemble the M-60. Then we fired a hundred rounds each through them. Had two unexpected breaks due to fire breaking out in the brush from tracers. We sat around and watched while fire trucks and bulldozers came to the rescue. The "Running Chef"—snack wagon—was at the M-60 range, so everyone appreciated it after a couple days of "roughing it." Trucked back to the tent area for another C-ration supper. Got a letter from my sister Sandra, and one from Nancy Jean McCallister (Dad's first cousin) from Wood Lake, California. Hit the hay early, as we break camp tomorrow.
28 Jul 72 Fri—They called us out at 4:30 to tear down the camp and get ready to move. Ate C-rations for breakfast and moved out a little after 6:00. Marched about a mile to a parade field. Then worked out with pugil sticks to simulate bayonet fighting. Had about an hour of PT, then marched back to the company area for chow. Spent the afternoon cleaning up our equipment, and getting a shower and shave. Went down to the PX in the evening and bought a Western Horseman and a Reader's Digest.
29 Jul 72 Sat—For some reason they let us sleep until 6:30, but they kept us a couple hours longer this afternoon than they usually do on Saturdays, so we really didn't gain anything. Spent the morning cleaning gas masks and weapons. After chow at 1:30, the day was over. Mike Sorensen (from Idaho) and I went to Salinas. We wandered around town, went into some western stores, and enjoyed the afternoon. Came back on the 5:30 bu. Had supper at the Main Cafeteria, and then I called home. Guess Gene Moreland's from Imperial had been up to visit. Gene is Dad's first cousin. There has been a lot of rain at home. They about have all the hay up that they can get, until the meadows dry out some more. Uncle Al's left for Minnesota. (They had been helping put up hay.) I went to the PX for a while, then wrote letters to Ken and Grandma Grace.
30 Jul 72 Sun—Slept until 7:30, then showered before breakfast. Ate at Charlie Company's mess hall. Went to the chapel from 10:00 to 11:00, then went to the service club. Ate dinner at 2:00, then slept for an hour and a half. A dead week-end, mainly because of a lack of finances. Went back over to the service club at 4:00, where a "Hawaiian luau" was in full swing. There were about 20 good looking hula girls on hand. Ate a snack at the main cafeteria. Loaned a dollar each to Willis and Massey. Everyone is broke.
31 Jul 72 Mon—Rolled out at 5:00 a.m., the got some Monday morning PT to get the booze out of a lot of the fellers' systems. We (4th Platoon) ate first for a change. Usually the other platoons all beat us out, as order of chow depends on how good the barracks are cleaned. We didn't win this achievement, but got to eat first anyway. Had more PT, then marched to the Land Navigation area. Had classes on maps and compasses during the morning, and went on a 7-station, two-mile compass course. Perez and I were partners, and didn't have much luck. Only found 3 of the 7 stations. We ate both dinner and supper at the area, then had the same kind of map course after nightfall. Got trucked back to the company area arriving about midnight. To bed at 12:30 a.m.
1972 MILITARY MEMORIES of Army Basic Training by Steve Moreland, Part One
June 8, 1971, Thursday – Arose at 3:00 a.m. MDT and bade farewell to the Green Valley Hereford Ranch at Merriman, Nebraska. Hugged Mom good-bye, and Dad drove me to Chadron. At 5:45 a.m., I boarded a Trans-Nebraska 10-passenger plane bound for Denver. Made one stop in Alliance to pick up two more passengers, making a total of three besides the pilot and co-pilot.
Arrived at the "Mile High City" at 7:45. I had a 3 hour and 10 minute wait until time to board Flight 161 to San Francisco. Made one stop in Salt Lake City (my first visit to Utah) and arrived in San Francisco at 1:00 p.m. PDT. Left 30 minutes later on a wild jet ride to Monterrey. The pilot was a little slow about getting down, and the runway was short to boot. We really skidded to a stop and were riding on only the nose wheel for a while, I am sure. Arrived at Monterrey at 2:05, then directly boarded a bus for Fort Ord.
There were about 15 of us trainees arriving at the same time. We were greeted by a nice enough gent (I knew not his rank). A brief orientation came next, then chow (not bad), and then we were shown to our Barracks #5. We were joined by other fellows, and soon there were 44 of us residing in the two-story structure. Lights out at 9:00 p.m. [Guess that would be 2100 hours military time].
Fri 9 Jun 72– Up at 5:00, breakfast 30 minutes later. Then we filled out some forms and were finger-printed. Haircuts came next—we paid $1.25 for a GI scalp job. The rest of the morning was spent acquiring many pounds of new clothing. Noon chow, a visit to the chaplain, and more orientation sessions made up the rest of the day. We also had name tags sewed on our shirts and jackets. Much marching practice was also received throughout the day. After supper, we marched for another couple hours.
Sat 10 Jun 72—I pulled night fire guard last night between 11:00 and 12:00, which was worse than getting up at night to check cows. We got to sleep until 5:30. Spent most of the morning drilling. Also mailed our civilian clothes home. Going through the mess hall, we heard on the radio that a dam broke near Rapid City, South Dakota causing bad flooding, so I used a pay phone to call home to find out details. At least 100 people were killed that are known about so far. [Final tabulation was 238 dead, over 3000 injured, and many bodies were never found.] All of the National Guardsmen from South Dakota happened to be in Rapid City for their two-week summer camp, so they were all put to work. I talked to Mom on the phone. The rest of the gang were all elsewhere. Sandra is spending a week in Washington, D.C. on a trip she won in an REA (Rural Electric Association) essay contest.
Back here at Fort Ord, we had mostly free time in the afternoon, except for an hour a half of drill practice. At 6:00, some of us went to the movie THE LAST RUN starring George C. Scott. It wasn't too good.
Forgot to mention some details from yesterday. Bright and early in the morning, one guy from Honolulu decided he would just quit the army. Boy, did the drill sergeants all crawl on his frame. He is still in the army, but just set back one week with another outfit now.
Also, yesterday we had some medical processing in the afternoon. I escaped one blood test because I had my B Negative card with me.
Sun 11 Jun 72—Kind of a quiet day for a change. Rolled out at 5:30, breakfast at 7:00. Our time was our own after that. I wrote a letter home, then attended services at the post chapel from 9:30-10:30. Read a while in TWO IN THE FAR NORTH by Margaret E. Murie. After chow, I wrote a letter to Nyla Whitmore who worked for Frome last fall. Made a trip to the snack bar and polished my boots before supper. Went swimming at 6:00 p.m. Read until 9:00.
Mon 12 Jun 72—Called out at 5:00. Breakfast, then testing all day. This got kind of old after about five hours of doing it. Had dinner, and finished testing at about 2:00 p.m. Went to the dispensary for tuberculosis tests. Four guys fainted out of about 80—I lucked out and didn't. We spent some time in the PX buying necessary supplies. Chow then, and some time for marking duffel bags. I called home—guess all is well there. Will turn in early. Fire guard tonight, KP tomorrow.
Tue 13 Jun 72—Kind of a long hard day. Our whole platoon pulled KP. Six other fellows and I worked in an officers' mess hall. Good food, but hard work. We all woke at 4:00, started at 4:30 a.m. and worked until 7:00 p.m. I also had an hour of fire guard last night, so kind of got short-changed on sleep. Don't have much to look forward to tomorrow either—SHOTS, many shots! Tonight is the last night in these barracks—we move tomorrow.
Wed 14 Jun 72—Today was the day I've been dreading all my life, but it really wasn't too bad. We got four shots this afternoon—my arms hurt just a little. We finished processing at the USARECSTA (United States Army Reception Station) and moved on to official basic training—different barracks located about two blocks from where we were.
Got my first mail today, and almost wished I didn't for a while. My name was the first one called, and I didn't get the proper procedure of singing out, "Here, Drill Sergeant!" down quite right. I got chewed out a little. [Actually it was quite a little. After my name was called, I was supposed to respond, "Here, Drill Sergeant!" and then back out of my place in the line of formation, execute a left face, walk to the side of formation, and then go forward to receive my mail. Being first to be called, and being excited to get some mail, I just walked forward through the ranks. Let me tell you—that is a no, no! I had to drop and do ten push-ups. Not knowing what I had done wrong, I screwed up the second time the same way, and had to do ten more. Besides being flustered and embarrassed, the powers that be made me wait until the very last to have another chance to get my mail. The chocolate chip cookies that Mom sent almost made up for the humiliation involved.]
There seems to be better food at our new location.
Last night after I wrote these few notes, we also had to attend a discipline lecture for an hour and a half—really topped out a bad day, making it all the worse.
Also forgot to mention that we got $60 partial pay on 12 Jun. We have numerous little expenses—boot polish, laundry marking, etc.
Thurs 15 Jun 72—The drill sergeant rolled us out at 5:30. Company formation (184 guys), then breakfast, and then our platoon spent all morning cleaning our barracks and getting "organized." The entire afternoon was spent drilling and marching. After supper, five of us had to clean the headquarters building until 8:30—long day!
We are required to shave and polish our boots every night. Along with showers, there's not much time for anything else.
Fri 16 Jun 72—Started the day with a three-mile march after breakfast. Got our eyes and teeth checked, and everyone's teeth got a fluoride treatment. Had a little spare time over there, so I wrote a letter home but haven't sent it yet. Marched and double-timed back in time for noon chow.
Orientation in the afternoon by SECOND BRIGADE Commander COL Harold H. Lee, FOURTH BATTALION Commander LTC Frank G. Salimbene, and our COMPANY A Commander Kenneth W. Bartlett, also a chaplain and drill sergeants. PT (physical training) exercises later in the day. Also, had individual and platoon pictures taken. Cleaned the barracks until "lights out." Stupid army inefficiency. We have to keep the building so clean that you can hardly live in it.
Sat 17 Jun 72—Arose at 5:30, breakfast, barracks clean-up, and then we were issued M16 rifles. (Don't call it a "gun," or you will be "pushing Fort Ord off your chest.) Spent an hour or more cleaning them, then drilled the rest of the morning by platoons instead of the whole company.
After noon chow, the whole outfit marched about a mile to an area where they give a PT (physical training) test. We didn't have the official test, but made a practice run of all five events. The official test will be Wednesday. Got back to the barracks about 4:00 p.m. and had the rest of the day to ourselves. I waited in line for 2 ½ hours to use the one phone available for the whole company. Talked to the folks for about five minutes. Guess all is well on the home front. I had to help serve on the noon chow line, and about got called for a fight because I put tomatoes on the wrong compartment of a guy's plate! Can you believe that?
Sun 18 Jun 72—Kind of a quiet day. We got to sleep until 6:30, then free time until noon in the barracks. I went to the chapel from 10:00 to 11:00—they hold nice informal services. After noon chow, our time was spent cleaning the barracks—nothing too inspiring. I washed some clothes in the coin-operated machines in our latrine.
Wrote a letter to Dogie Weaver telling him I doubt if I can make it on the big horse drive taking place about the 1st of September between Moran Junction and Dubois, Wyoming. With the heck I could!
Guess the folks entertained the LaCreek REA (Rural Electric Association) directors and their wives at home today. Sounds like there were 40-50 people there for dinner.
As I am writing this, I am on guard duty or more specifically "running" and doing errands for the CQ (Charge of Quarters). Any errands that come up, I do. Not a bad job, but it is two hours long—1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. In spare time, I'm listening to the radio and reading a good book.
19 Jun 72 Mon—First day of basic training officially over! We worked our tails off, too. Started out by running a mile and a half before breakfast. Had an outside class on drill maneuvers, ran some more, and attended a class on our financial possibilities. Ran back to the company area for chow. After dinner, we double-timed for a mile and a half to a class on "human relations." Many had to drop out, and the drill sergeants were quite upset. (I stayed with the bunch, I'm proud to say.) We ran at least five miles all told today. Got two letters from home which helps make time fly a little faster. Our barracks didn't pass the first inspection.
20 Jun 72 Tue—As we rolled out in the 5:00 a.m. darkness to greet another crummy day, one fellow made the remark: "Do you know what happened to us? We all died and went to Hell." Guess almost have to agree.
Formation at 5:30, then 30 minutes of running before breakfast. The company double-timed to Doughboy Hall, and we saw a movie of what to expect for the rest of basic. I don't envy me any. The rest of the morning was spent in drill practice and PT. After dinner, we had a good stiff run of 1 ½ miles. Many dropped out. Had a boring 3 hour class of military justice, also an Airborne recruiter tried to talk fellows into joining. An officer gave an OCS (Officers Candidate School) sales pitch. I didn't sign up for either. Suppertime chow, and then a trip to the "Running Chef" (snack bar on wheels) for coke and a candy bar to get filled up on. No mail from home.
21 Jun 72 Wed—The usual. Up at 5:00, run from 5:30-6:00, then breakfast. Went to kind of a fun class for a change, given by one of the chapel ministers. It was called "Getting Along With Others." PT before noon chow—had a long noon hour for once. Checked out rifles and had a three hour class on taking them apart, proper procedures, etc. Drill and ceremony practice, more PT, later than usual chow. We were allowed to have seconds on food if we wanted.
22 Jun 72 Thu—A good stiff run and 20 pushups in the pre-dawn hours, then breakfast, and a class at Doughboy Hall on Military Customs and Courtesy. Next we did drill and ceremony using our M16 rifles. Then came plenty of PT before dinner. The afternoon was mostly spent practicing the Code of Arms with our rifles. We cleaned them for about an hour. I hit the jackpot with mail call, with three letters and an Outdoor Life magazine. After chow, we were trucked (for a change) over to a dispensary, and we received one shot—I don't know what for, but it didn't hurt before, during, or after. I got stuck on a detail to clean battalion headquarters. By the time I showered, shaved, and shined my boots, it was 10:00. By the way, the last two weeks have been the longest I've ever spent without riding on a horse or in a vehicle—everywhere I traveled was on my own foot power. I did go 12 days last fall without seeing a wheeled vehicle—that is a record in this day and age, too. (This was while working for L.D. Frome, Outfitter on his hunting camps in the Teton Wilderness Area of Wyoming.)
23 Jun 72 Fri—One of the easiest days we've had for a while. Made the routine run before breakfast. Spent most of the morning attending a drug and alcohol abuse class, then practiced drills with our rifles. We had an option to attend a special human relations program at Fort Ord's Main Theater—53 of us went. Returned at 1:00 to eat dinner. Marching and PT filled in the afternoon. Locker inspection tomorrow morning. I'd better get busy.
24 Jun 72 Sat—Arose at 5:00 and performed our running ritual. I don't mind the running, but one pair of my combat boots rubs my foot wrong so it is somewhat painful. Did a couple hours of marching (without rifles), then had some sidewalk class work out of some typed manuals (what we have to know at the end of basic training). After dinner, the entire company had haircuts (3 barbers, 184 heads to clip). Got to go to the PX after supper.
25 Jun 72 Sun—A good quiet type Sunday. We didn't have to get up until 6:30, but I arose at 5:00 and called home (6:00 their time). Then had breakfast and went to sleep for another hour. Went to the chapel from 10:00 to 11:00. Wrote letter to Uncle Stan's, Grandma Grace, and Johnny Smith today. Dinner at 1:00, supper at 3:30. We had an unexpected company formation at 6:00—guys standing around in their BVDs, no shoes, and everything else. Have to clean latrine tonight.
26 Jun 72 Mon—Made our pre-breakfast run. Spent all day on Commo (communications). We had practical work using telephones, radios, secret codes, etc. Also learned how to splice wire. Came back to the company area for dinner—we were only about half a mile away. Not even any PT today, but we did have to review what we learned in Commo after supper, in charge of Drill Sergeant Reid. Darcus is our usual main one. I had fire guard with Private Morris from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
27 Jun 72 Tue—The hardest day so far. Breakfast at 5:30, then 3 mile trek (ran two of the three miles) to CBR (Chemical Biological Radiological) testing area. Learned how to use gas mask, etc. Went through gas chamber—living Hell while it lasted. Came back for dinner. Drill and ceremony, morale questionnaire, and PT in the afternoon. Cleaned rifles at 5:30, then chow. Got our individual pictures back. I only bought eight wallet sized ones for $2.90. My nametag is wrong in the picture.
28 Jun 72 Wed—No pre-breakfast run, but we did plenty this morning. Double-timed about 2 out of 3 miles over to the First-Aid area. Classes all morning and dinner on the field. It was a nice day for our "picnic." More First Aid classes in the afternoon. I flunked one test because I put the dressing on upside down—it was even marked in red letters! Pulled a goofy mistake yesterday and failed one, too. Wrote a letter home this evening. Received a letter from home tonight.
29 Jun 72 Thu—Ran before breakfast—had drill and ceremony most of the morning. Turned our weapons back in about 10:30. We supposedly "studied" the rest of the morning on First Aid, but many took the opportunity to catch up on sleep. I read in the book TWO IN THE FAR NORTH by Margaret E. Murie. After dinner, we had our official PT test. 500 possible points—needed 175 or we would be sent to a special PT camp. I got 352—300 was passing. Events were horizontal ladder (I got 92 points); run, dodge, and jump (75); inverted crawl (85); bent leg sit-ups (68); and mile run 8:58 (42 points). My feet hurt tonight. Had a short class before supper on guard duty. We had a little more free time than usual this evening.
30 Jun 72 Fri—Run before breakfast. Drill and ceremony with rifles, also PT with rifles. Pay day today, so we stood in line a couple hours before dinner. I got $138.00. By the time I paid for pictures, donated to the Army Relief, bought a ticket a rodeo in Salinas (to be July 20th), I came out the door with $129.00. Sent a mail money order home with $130, and still have $75 left, so feel pretty good. I had to knock off 10 pushups in the pay line because I failed to call one big-gutted sucker "Sir." In the afternoon, we were trucked about five miles to the land mine area. Had classes there until 5:30. Came back to supper. I have to help clean the day room tonight. Still have to polish shoes, shower, and shave so I will be late getting to bed.
1 Jul 72 Sat—Our whole platoon got up about an hour before we would have needed to. About 9:00, Alpha Company marched about half a mile east to the G.E.P.T. test ground. We went through all five physical tests. The mile race about killed me, as I have one real sore foot. The afternoon was ours, and we got post privileges (the first freedom for three weeks). Went to the PX for a while, had dinner, went to bowling alley and the main PX. Alvarez and I had supper at the main cafeteria. Called home. Hoatsons and Uncle Stan's were at our place for picnic supper. Uncle Al's and Grandma Signe arrived at the Green Valley Hereford Ranch last Thursday. Haying in progress at home—ten stacks up. I got a letter from Dave Roth today. [Dave is five years older than me. He is a Viet Nam veteran, and graduated from Merriman High School in 1965. He was back home ranching again during the time I was going through basic training.]
2 Jul 72 Sun—Slept in until 7:00, went to breakfast at 8:00. Felt kind of sick and my foot hurt, so I stayed in the barracks most of the morning. Went to the chapel with Alvarez at 10:00. Had formation at noon, and we were told to report for security guard at 3:00. Killed the afternoon until 6:30 on this project. Had supper off the Running Chef. Had to report for guard duty again at 9:30. Both times I guarded with Reynolds (1st Platoon guide of B 4 2), a Mormon from Salt Lake City. Nice guy—he'd been to Bolivia for 2 years on a Mormon mission. Got to bed at 1:00 a.m. Supposed to guard again from 4:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m., but never got called. About froze to death riding around in the back of a truck during all hours of the night.
3 Jul 72 Mon—Drill Sgt. Reid called us out at 4:30. I escaped the PT run, as my foot hurt. Went to sick call, killed all morning, accomplished nothing except got a week profile. My foot is badly swollen. They x-rayed but found nothing wrong. Went to a fancy new hospital. Caught up with the company after dinner at the firing range. Got to shoot our M16's. Went to PX for a while after supper. Mom sent me some cookies. Whole platoon approved.
4 Jul 72 Tue—Good holiday. Jose Alvarez and I spent the day together. Breakfast and supper at main cafeteria. Between these times was spent at a service club and library a couple miles east. Taxied to hospital first, but they wouldn't see my foot until another day. Went then to the club. Even got to play a piano for a while. Went on a bus tour to San Juan Bautista Mission (legally I think—they claimed post privileges were enough to go). Seemed good to see new country, not all drab green in color. Got back at 4:00. Went to library, checked out WYOMING SUMMER by Mary O'Hara. Supper at main cafeteria. Jim Smith from Merriman tried to look me up, but I was not around. I wrote home tonight, and also wrote my cousin Ken Moreland. He rode down the Colorado River the 2nd and 3rd on a float trip. I cleaned the day room on a detail. About time for bed.
5 Jul 72 Wed—Arose at the usual 5:00 a.m. I didn't have to make the morning run because of my feet, so cleaned the barracks. After breakfast, the other "profiles" and I waited about 45 minutes for a truck to take us to the rifle range—the main company marched the mile and a half. Then we zeroed in our rifles in the morning. Ate dinner at the site, and shot another 27 rounds for practice in the afternoon. I've had some pretty lucky shots so far. We profiles had to clean up the rifle range site. Truck was one and a half hours late to pick us up, as they forgot. We hurriedly cleaned our weapons, and piled up our laundry and clean sheets before chow. Got a letter from home and one from Nyla Whitmore in Wyoming. Guess Frome is outfitting wagon train trips this summer along with the regular pack trips. Wish I was spending the summer there instead of at Fort Ord. Wrote a letter to Dave Roth tonight.
6 Jul 72 Thu—Kind of a good day. Work detail for the whole company, so we were all split up into small groups. I went on sick call in the morning. Didn't get anything for my foot, but did get some medicine for my cold that has been on the rampage for the last couple of days. In the afternoon, four of us had to clean the #2 Dispensary across from our barracks. Not too hard of work, several breaks, and we got to quit at 4:00. Read awhile before chow. Got an Outdoor Life magazine in the mail. Went over to the service club, played a saxophone and the piano. Also went to the PX for a little while.
7 Jul 72 Fri—I loaned my pen to a fellow from another platoon, so it might be hard to get it back. I'll just use a different one and make a new color scheme. I'm still on profile for my foot, so rode out to the rifle range on the truck with the other "sick, lame, and lazy" guys. Went to a new site today. Shot pop-up targets at 25 yards, 175 yards, and 300 yards. I hit 51 out of 84. Also we had a short course on spotting enemies out on the field, and estimating their distance from us. Ate noon chow outside at this site. Quit about 5:30.
8 Jul 72 Sat—I had fire guard last night from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. I ran the morning run, as my foot was not hurting so bad. After breakfast, we marched and double-timed about 1 ½ mile, and got practice in setting up our pup tents. This makes a heavy pack to carry. Locker inspection at 10:00. A real hassle, as no one was prepared for it. Sorenson, from Idaho, and I went to small PX, got haircuts, and had a big sausage pizza for dinner. Then we went to Doughboy Hall to the movie MILLION DOLLAR DUCK. Not bad for a Walt Disney. We ate at the mess hall at 3:45. Gallagher and I caught a taxi to the Main PX, but it closed about the time we got there. Taxied back to the main cafeteria by way of Monterrey for only 25 cents. Ate a snack there. Then I called home. 34 stacks of hay up there so far. Guess Dad bought 130 registered Hereford cows from Lorentz Raben of Crawford, Nebraska--$750 a round. He traded 125 commercial Hereford cows at $350 and $300 per head. The folks were all ready to go to a rally deal at the Methodist Church in Merriman.
9 Jul 72 Sun—Slept until about 7:00, then got up, shaved, and wrote a letter home. Breakfast wasn't served until 8:30 at the cafeteria. I put on my Army greens (Class A) and met Rollie and Jeannie Walker in front of the barracks at 9:45. Went to their church (about 15 present) and then had a picnic. They drove me around the base and dropped me off at 2:00. Kind of a lazy afternoon. Finished my letter, polished my boots, and played a game of Feudal (like Chess) with Owen, Benfield, Hanson, Jenkins, and Mayberry. Jim Smith looked me up about 8:00. He delivered some cookies that Mom had sent this way with him. Went to a Jack-in-the-Box drive in for cokes, and got back before 9:00. I gave him a Gordon newspaper from a week ago.
10 Jul 72 Mon—I had to get up at 3:00 for arms room guard until 4:00. Then could not get back to sleep. We ran a good part of the way to the rifle range, and speed marched the rest—hard on a guy. About 50 of us didn't shoot in the morning, but had a class on "Target Detection by Sound." Shot 102 rounds in the afternoon. Think I hit about 2/3 of them. A quick trip back to our company area, then we cleaned our weapons, and had mail call. Got a Gordon paper. Chow and "lights out" at 8:30. Qualification at the rifle range tomorrow—they want us at our best.
11 Jul 72 Tue—Did exercises before breakfast. Loaded onto trucks to ride to a new rifle range. I was on a small truck that left early with a 20-man detail, and we were the last to arrive. Our driver got lost, and we drove all over heck for about 30 minutes. Loaded ammo when we arrived. We each shot 40 rounds (for merits today). Had to shoot 19 to qualify, and I only got 21. Think the scorer might have "given" me a few, even at that. (He was from another company.) I thought I could get at least 30, but I got flustered. Ate chow at the range, then we trucked to the Guard Duty Class Area. Practiced four different instances. Filled out morale questionnaire. Made a mile run back to the barracks, cleaned rifles, and had chow. Got a letter from my sister Sandra, and one from Grandma Grace.
12 Jul 72 Wed—Piled out at 5:00, and ran over two miles before breakfast. Spent the morning practicing for G3 tests. After dinner we marched a mile or so to the G3 test area, and measured our performance in CBR (Chemical Biological Radiological warfare), D&C (Drill and Ceremony, including Manual of Arms), First Aid, Commo, and Guard Duty. I didn't do so hot, along with most of the rest of the company.
Our drill sergeants were disgusted, to put it mildly. We did about an hour and a half of PT (including the mile run), and then we double-timed back to the company area. Got a good lecture about how we had failed our cadre (no one passed). Told we will get longer working hours, no Saturdays off, and more PT. Nice to know! Cleaned our weapons, ate chow at 7:30, and had the rest of the evening to polish our boots, shower, shave, and clean the barracks. For some reason, we didn't get our clean laundry back with clean sheets, so morale is kind of low. My cowboy boots came in the mail, so that helped. Also got a letter from Ken. It only took two days for my boots to come, but it cost $4.08 in postage.
13 Jul 72 Thu—Went through sit-ups, run-dodge-and-jump, and running before breakfast. Ran all the way for 2 ½ miles to a rifle range, which was the first time our company ever ran that far with no one falling out). Shot BB guns and our M16's at close range targets. After chow, we fired 36 rounds each doing move-out phase with quick reload. A fast trip back to the company area got us back to the company area by 3:30. Then we cleaned weapons, picked up laundry and sheets, and went to chow. Showers and clean clothes for everybody, and then the whole company went to a soft ball game between battalions. Sgt. Darcus and Sgt. Washington both played for "our side." (We won 13-0.) Got back about 8:30. Got a letter from home—guess they had a lot of rain and hail last Sunday. They sent a picture of my Minnesota mules. (Uncle Al—my mom's brother had seen a nifty pair of pony mules for sale in Minnesota. I sanctioned him to buy them for me, and he had recently delivered them to Nebraska.)
14 Jul 72 Fri—Got trucked to Range 19 for record qualifying. I had 21 points from Wednesday and needed 26 more to qualify. Only got 17, so had to re-fire. Only got 21 that time. I get "shook" and can't concentrate well on the targets. I get another crack at it all sometime, and the threat is that if you can't make it then, you get RECYCLED. But I don't think they'd do that to a guy, especially an NG (National Guardsman) that they want to get rid of as soon as possible.
Got trucked over to the obstacle course after chow. One guy fell off a rope ladder and broke his nose. Came back to the company area early, cleaned weapons, and practiced D&C (Drill and Ceremony). Got a letter from John Fairhead.
15 Jul 72 Sat—Arose at 5:30, breakfast at 6:00. Marched to Doughboy Hall to the beat of drums. Attended a lecture then on traffic safety. Went through the whole PT test after that. Came back to barracks for 30 minute break. Then 2 hours of practice for G3 tests. Free for the rest of the day. Really lucked out in the mail department—got my camera and a whole album full of my Wyoming pictures, and a letter from home; also a letter from Gary Clark at Moose Head; and a Paul Bond boot catalog. Went to the main PX with Serotzki and bought some civilian clothes. Goofed around the post and called home.
16 Jul 72 Sun—Slept in until about 7:00. Went to breakfast at Charlie Company's mess hall. Caldwell (from Illinois) and I left Fort Ord at 10:20 by bus, headed for San Juan Bautista. Had an hour lay-over in Salinas, and arrived at noon. Good parade and fiesta was in progress. Ate hotdogs on the street corner, and the rodeo started at 1:30. Good show, with many pretty horses and lots of silver on the tack. Rodeo had two events in progress at all times, which made things more interesting—main rodeo events in one area, with reining and cutting in another. Rodeo was over at 5:00, so we wandered around the little town until 7:00, when our bus left. Another layover at Salinas, arrived back at Fort Ord at 9:10. Had to hustle right back to the barracks to turn in pass and check in before 9:30. While at Salinas, a hippie girl came up and tried to sell me a "lid"—marijuana—told her "no thanks."
17 Jul 72 Mon—Roll out at 5:00 a.m.; "fall out" at 5:30. PT run and exercise before breakfast. Helped serve at breakfast, and got cussed out for giving a guy one too many pieces of sausage. Sgt. Sims was in a foul mood—he yelled at me for ten minutes. Got trucked to two different firing ranges—shot about 100 rounds of automatic fire. Had dinner at the first range, went to the second in the afternoon. Cleaned our rifles before being trucked back to the company area. Turned them in, then mail call, and chow. Got a letter from my sister Sandra with some photographs of my new mules, the colts, and sisters Sybil and Nancy Jean. Wrote a letter home. Also had battalion headquarters clean-up. It was after 10:00 before I could go to bed.
18 Jul 72 Tue—Had our little series of early morning exercises per usual. Got trucked over to the same firing range we were at yesterday. Fired automatic again, and took a rifle maintenance test. Trucked back to the company area for noon chow. Had a class on "marriage," believe it or not, given by one of the chaplains. Then 30 minutes of PT and chow at 4:00. Left again at 5:00 to go out on night fire. Shot 60 rounds each before the sun went down, and 60 more in the dark. Had to shoot 11 targets both times to qualify. I shot 35 and 21, so made it. I did better on night fire than I did qualifying on day fire last week. Got trucked back to company. Arrived at 11:30, and it was 12:30 before we had our stuff done so we could go to bed. (Had to clean weapons, shine shoes, shower and shave.)
19 Jul 72 Wed— It rained during the night for the first time since I've been here, although it did sprinkle just a little last Saturday. Had our morning exercises and spent an hour or so cleaning weapons. I've cleaned my rifle 3 times in a row and never fired a shot. Then we marched a mile over to the confidence course. That was fun and kind of hairy at times. We climbed towers 60 feet off the ground, and went through many different obstacles testing our agility. Marched by the beat of a drum back to the company area for chow. Billy Scott from Texas and I had to take physicals at 1:00. Somehow our National Guard units goofed up and didn't get our original results sent in. Painted a couple of doors after we got back. The whole company was on guard duty, but we lucked out and didn't have to participate. I did have arms room guard for one hour from 11:00 p.m. until midnight, but for most of the rest it was an all-night project with only about three hours to sleep.
20 Jul 72 Thu—Got to sleep until 6:00. No PT run. Breakfast at 7:00. Formation at 8:00, then we cleaned barracks and had a little free time. The whole company left at 8:30 to go to the rodeo in Salinas. Marched to Doughboy Hall and crawled on the "magic pumpkins" (trucks). I think 75% of Fort Ord personnel went to the rodeo—the communists could have taken over the whole base pretty easily! It was a great show—better than the one at San Juan Bautista and bigger—both in crowd size and with more events. There was wild cow milking, a wild horse race, chariot races, horse races, and one event where two guys roped and tied a ribbon around a yearling steer's tail, all besides the main events. Several trainees got drunk, and there were two fist fights (men from other companies). We got back at 6:30.
My little pocket notebook ran out of paper with this last entry. My new pocket notebook starts out with 22 Jul 72 Thu, so I'm not sure why there is one day missing. It wasn't because I suffered any ill effects from the rodeo. One little sidelight that I recall is that I dropped my camera down between the seats, and it fell underneath the bleachers. When you are attending with a whole company of other similarly dressed soldiers, I can tell you it nearly takes an act of Congress to gain permission to go look for the before-mentioned camera. I did manage to get the camera back finally.
22 Jul 72 Fri—Kind of a long hard day—up at 5:00, finally to bed at thirty minutes past midnight. Plenty of work and training in between. PT before breakfast, then a long hard march to the ITT (Individual Tactical Training) area. Spent the day learning the proper way to negotiate barbed-wire barriers—as if I didn't already know. There is a certain way to do it to pass G3, but I think there are better ways to use in actual situations. Learned to low crawl, high crawl, etc. Had both dinner and supper on the field. Did everything we learned in the daytime again after it got dark. Made it back to the barracks (by truck) at 11:00, then had to clean our weapons and shine our shoes. I was about as dirty as I've ever been (from crawling around in the sand). Everyone took showers before hitting the hay.
23 Jul 72 Sat—Got to sleep until 7:00, so that made everyone happy. I had an easy morning. After breakfast I went to the Main PX on police call (garbage collecting). Somehow I lucked out and didn't get on guard duty like everyone else that didn't have it last Wednesday. When I got back from the PX, most of the company was cleaning weapons. I got put on a detail to make beds for eleven reservists that were coming in—not a bad job. We were turned loose for the day after that. I went to the PX and got a haircut, then came back for dinner. Serotzki and I went to the Post Locator, where I tried to find William Rottinghaus, Nyla Whitmore's cousin's husband, but didn't have any luck. Serotzki did find Gertz's address (he used to be with our company, but his feet went bad), but we didn't find Gertz. We came back to the barracks and took a nap. Called home about 6:00—the Green Valley crew was still out in the hayfield. They got a lot of rain last week, so haying is going slow. I went to the movie PATTON at Doughboy Hall. It was a good show for 50 cents, and it kind of inspires a guy a little more toward Army life. Hanson and I had fire guard from 11:00 to 1:00. Spent some time talking to a fellow who works at the POW camp training. Sounds rough. There are rumors going around that we might graduate early from Basic Training—possibly on August 9th instead of August 16th. That would just be plumb alright.
24 Jul 72 Sun—Got to bed about 1:15 last night, so slept in until 7:30. Dressed in some good broke in civilian western clothes for a change—a package containing the shirts and jeans came yesterday in the mail; also a letter from Johnnny Smith at Moose Head Ranch. Went to breakfast, then wrote a letter home. Went over to the service club at 11:00 and signed up for a bus tour. Left at noon, along with Dillard, Willis, Cox, and Flaherty from the 4th Platoon. Saw some pretty country and interesting sights (even some good-looking two-legged scenery for a change). Went to Monterrey and along the seacoast and by Cannery Row. But Carmel is the place to go—real pretty little town. Had an hour there to goof around and 20 minutes at the Carmel Mission. Had lunch at the Sambo Café, then came back. Went to the Service Club and PX for a while. Even bought some butch wax and combed my hair for the first time in 45 days. Serotzki and I went to the movie "Love Story" at Doughboy Hall. Back at the barracks, I drew with tape F-TROOP on the upstairs floor. Going to also put HARD CORE on the floor, but ran out of time—"Lights out" came too quick.
25 Jul 72 Mon—Made four laps around the parade field before breakfast (one and a half miles). I went on a 20-man detail to the grenade field. Worked for 45 minutes unboxing grenades and shoveling sand off the highway. Then rested for nearly an hour waiting for the rest of the company to arrive. They took morale tests at Doughboy Hall, and had 30 minutes of PT. Glad I was on detail. We were briefed on different types of grenades, and the art of throwing them. Then we got actual practice using "fire-cracker" varieties. We then qualified—guess I am a second-class thrower, as I only got 38 points out of 60—we needed 29 to qualify. After dinner (which consisted of C-rations), we threw live grenades. Kind of an "anxious moment," considering one little slip and a feller is done for. Trucked back to the company area, then spent a little time getting our gear ready for bivouac. Went down to the PX to buy some candy for the occasion—might get sick of C-rations. Went to bed at 10:00.
27 Jul 72 Tue—Got up at 5:00, breakfast at 5:30. Turned in our laundry, as we wouldn't be available to turn it in on Wednesday. I had to be at the hospital by 7:30 to take another chest x-ray. Don't know for sure what the deal is, but the x-ray I took for the physical had pneumonia symptoms??? I had a little cold a couple weeks ago, but feel fit as a fiddle now. Got back to the company area before the platoon left for bivouac, but no one had a key to the arms room so I could check out a rifle. The platoons left at fifteen minute intervals, to be "gassed" and attacked on the way. I waited around the company area for a while, and got on a detail with about fifteen other guys loading bivouac equipment on the trucks to go to the field. Had dinner at the mess hall instead of C-rations. Rode to bivouac on a truck, which beat the five-mile march all to heck. Got there about 4:00. Set up my tent half with Gallagher (from Perry, Oklahoma). Ate our C-rations supper. Left at 9:00 on a short night march. Got gassed and ambushed. To bed at 10:30; fire guard from 4:00 a.m. to 5:00. Got in on helping Sgt. Norwood start the water heater fire. He needed the aid of my flashlight. He about blew us both up, and singed some his hair. I also got "halted by a 2nd Platoon jasper named Ware. I was just trying to make a little conversation during fire guard.
26 Jul 72 Wed—Already told what happened to me during the pre-dawn hours. We had a good mess hall cooked breakfast at 5:30 out in the field. Then got some time to shave, using our steel pot helmets for wash basins. Inspection, then a class on being attacked while in a convoy. We got actual experience riding in a deuce-and-a-half truck and getting attacked. C-rations for dinner and a reasonably long noon hour. Then came two hours of hand-to-hand bayonet fighting. Some chaplains came out at about 3:00, and we had a 30-minute service, believe it or not. The platoons had tugs-of-war to see who ate first, and who got stuck with fire guard. We ate early (before 5:00), and I guess the rest of the day is ours.
27 Jul 72 Thu—Arose from our dusty tent at 5:00. Had 45 minutes of PT around the bivouac area, then loaded onto trucks and went to the M-60 machine gun range. Had classes on the Claymore land mine and practical work in the morning. After our C-ration chow, we learned how to disassemble and assemble the M-60. Then we fired a hundred rounds each through them. Had two unexpected breaks due to fire breaking out in the brush from tracers. We sat around and watched while fire trucks and bulldozers came to the rescue. The "Running Chef"—snack wagon—was at the M-60 range, so everyone appreciated it after a couple days of "roughing it." Trucked back to the tent area for another C-ration supper. Got a letter from my sister Sandra, and one from Nancy Jean McCallister (Dad's first cousin) from Wood Lake, California. Hit the hay early, as we break camp tomorrow.
28 Jul 72 Fri—They called us out at 4:30 to tear down the camp and get ready to move. Ate C-rations for breakfast and moved out a little after 6:00. Marched about a mile to a parade field. Then worked out with pugil sticks to simulate bayonet fighting. Had about an hour of PT, then marched back to the company area for chow. Spent the afternoon cleaning up our equipment, and getting a shower and shave. Went down to the PX in the evening and bought a Western Horseman and a Reader's Digest.
29 Jul 72 Sat—For some reason they let us sleep until 6:30, but they kept us a couple hours longer this afternoon than they usually do on Saturdays, so we really didn't gain anything. Spent the morning cleaning gas masks and weapons. After chow at 1:30, the day was over. Mike Sorensen (from Idaho) and I went to Salinas. We wandered around town, went into some western stores, and enjoyed the afternoon. Came back on the 5:30 bu. Had supper at the Main Cafeteria, and then I called home. Guess Gene Moreland's from Imperial had been up to visit. Gene is Dad's first cousin. There has been a lot of rain at home. They about have all the hay up that they can get, until the meadows dry out some more. Uncle Al's left for Minnesota. (They had been helping put up hay.) I went to the PX for a while, then wrote letters to Ken and Grandma Grace.
30 Jul 72 Sun—Slept until 7:30, then showered before breakfast. Ate at Charlie Company's mess hall. Went to the chapel from 10:00 to 11:00, then went to the service club. Ate dinner at 2:00, then slept for an hour and a half. A dead week-end, mainly because of a lack of finances. Went back over to the service club at 4:00, where a "Hawaiian luau" was in full swing. There were about 20 good looking hula girls on hand. Ate a snack at the main cafeteria. Loaned a dollar each to Willis and Massey. Everyone is broke.
31 Jul 72 Mon—Rolled out at 5:00 a.m., the got some Monday morning PT to get the booze out of a lot of the fellers' systems. We (4th Platoon) ate first for a change. Usually the other platoons all beat us out, as order of chow depends on how good the barracks are cleaned. We didn't win this achievement, but got to eat first anyway. Had more PT, then marched to the Land Navigation area. Had classes on maps and compasses during the morning, and went on a 7-station, two-mile compass course. Perez and I were partners, and didn't have much luck. Only found 3 of the 7 stations. We ate both dinner and supper at the area, then had the same kind of map course after nightfall. Got trucked back to the company area arriving about midnight. To bed at 12:30 a.m.
