Soapweed
Well-known member
1 Aug 72 Tue—Up at 4:30 a.m. to get paid, so it was a real short night. Breakfast at 5:00, then about a third of the company got paid. Marched to the south theatre for a class on international war laws—what you can and cannot do in war. (I thought the old saying was that "anything is fair in love and war," but guess it is not.) Loaded on trucks to go to another land navigation course. It was clear up in the mountains, about 13 miles away. Pretty country, but a rough terrain course for navigating. Kind of fun anyway. At the moment, we are sitting here waiting for the "magic pumpkins" (trucks). The reserve drill sergeants made us do PT after we had wandered up and down the rough mountains all afternoon. Right now, one trainee is standing in Statue of Liberty stance after getting caught throwing rocks at his compadres. Something like that is always happening, and about a million pushups per day go into the project of pushing Fort Ord clear off the map—disciplinary action, of course.
2 Aug 72 Wed—The day of basic training you hear a lot of bad stories about—P.O.W. camp—but it wasn't too bad. It was kind of a chilly day on Fort Ord—just guessing, about a 40 degree chill factor. We spent the morning learning about the M-79 40mm Grenade Launcher, and firing it. Had about a 30 minute wait for our chow, but had more than enough, so it was worth waiting for. We ate out on the field. Loaded onto trucks and went to an area where we had another course to negotiate, similar to ITT. Kind of a rough dirty job. Had the usual "police call," then loaded onto trucks and headed for the P.O.W. camp. Had some classes on survival, escape, and evasion. A couple former P.O.W.s showed us how to kill and skin a rabbit and a chicken. Real interesting, but it was colder than the dickens being outside to observe the classes. There was a P.O.W. museum at this site. We were locked up as "real prisoners" for an hour and a half, fed a spoonful of rice, and turned loose to "escape." We had a two-mile course to get to the safe bonfire. Aggressors caught about 20 prisoners and took them to higher headquarters for interrogation. Mayberry, Serotzki, and I were on a team, and we made it to the bonfire at about 1:00 a.m. Got trucked back to the barracks, shaved, shined boots, and got to bed at 2:00 a.m.
3 Aug 72 Thu—Got to sleep until 6:00. Went to a class at South Theater on POWs and different American spy and espionage cases. Had a parade review in the afternoon, so dressed up in our dress greens, bloused in our combat boots (spit shined), with our pistol belt. Looked kind of sharp! The "parade" was lousy though. Mostly just stood in one place for three hours in front of a bunch of big shots. Got turned loose at 4:30, and were told to get haircuts. I bought a duffel bag for four dollars.
4 Aug 72 Fri—Went to the LAW (light anti-tank weapon) range. About froze to death once again. Drill Sergeant Jerviss called me the "shakiest gun in the West" when it came my turn to fire the $30 shot. We cleaned weapons in the afternoon, then had 45 minutes of PT and an hour or so of RGT (review graded test). I had an hour of arms room guard (had an hour during the middle of last night also).
5 Aug 72 Sat—First call at 6:30, so that was nice. I served in the breakfast line, but even that was not a bad job. The new cook Sgt. Baker had a record player going all the time with good country music. There was a big shakedown in the barracks, as it was discovered some of the trainees had been smuggling brass and ammo off the ranges. We spent the morning RGTing, with all the radios, weapons, etc. to work with. Got turned loose at 12:00. I walked two hours of arms room guard for a fellow (Arlington) and made $5.00. Then went to chow, and after that to the Post Locator and found where Bill Rottinghaus lives (Nyla's cousin's husband). Tried calling, but they were not home. Back at the barracks, I started a letter home but fell asleep for a couple hours. Called home at 7:30. Guess all is well there. Dad's been doing a little horse trading. He sold "Hereford" for $200, and traded my old Appaloosa mare for a broke sorrel mare. I ran onto Deon Ettington from Idaho, and Don Vanassdale from Indiana. Went bowling with them. Bowled three games 84, 86, and 96. This was only the second time I've ever bowled. Hit the sack at midnight.
6 Aug 72 Sun—Slept until 7:00. Arose at the cry of "last call to breakfast," and then stood in line for 30 minutes waiting for the mess hall to open. Went to the chapel from 10:00 until 11:00. Had arms room guard from 12:00 to 2:00. Had chow after that, then took a nap for a couple hours. Serotzki, Gallagher, and I ate supper at the main cafeteria. Serotzki and I went to the movie JOE KIDD starring Clint Eastwood. Good typical western show.
7 Aug 72 Mon—Up at 5:00. Marched over to near the confidence course—one and half miles away—and reviewed for the G3 tests. Went through many different situations. Ate chow on site, then marched to the G3 performance test area. Went through 10 final tests that we must pass before we can graduate. I passed 9, all but First Aid. Marched back to the company area, then loaded onto trucks to go to the dispensary for one shot and oral polio vaccine. Trucked back, but had to wait an hour after the polio treatment before we could eat supper.
8 Aug 72 Tue—How well I remember two months ago today. That was when I made my grand entrance into Fort Ord. Arose at 5:00, PT run before breakfast. Then we marched and double timed back to the G# test area (all but 25 men of the company who maxed it yesterday). We just had to retest at the station we failed. Didn't take me long to pass First Aid this time. Good feeling to get G3 out of the way. About 20 guys at a time crawled on one little truck for free rides back to the company. Spent the rest of the morning and first part of the afternoon cleaning weapons. The rest of the day was spent cleaning the barracks. Wrote a letter to Nancy Jean McCallister and a birthday card to "Old" Uncle Joy (his son is also named Joy). He turns 80 on August 12th. Hope I am as alert and spry as he is when I get to be that age. They are having an open house for him.
9 Aug 72 Wed—Got up at 3:45—arms room guard from 4:00 to 5:00. Back to bed until 5:30, then up again with the rest of the platoon. Breakfast, then details the rest of the morning. We dug ditches around the sidewalks of the barracks. Early dinner (excellent chow), and final PT test in the afternoon. I scored 392 out of 500—company average was 411, so I didn't do too well. I got a cramp in my leg during the inverted crawl and lost 12 points. The first PT test five weeks ago, I got 352 (the average then was 350). Marched back to company area about 4:00, more details (insignificant busy work) until supper. Helped put a fence of grenade links around the day room. Serotzki, Bailey, and I went to the movie THE PUBLIC EYE starring Mia Farrow. It was a pretty good show at Doughboy Hall.
10 Aug 72 Thu—Time is kind of going slow now that actual training is over. Spent another day doing details. We marched in another "parade" this morning—most of the time was spent standing at attention or parade rest. One fellow from another company fainted. After dinner, I painted wooden supports in the barracks. Wrote a letter to my cousin, Deb Moreland. Plan to hit the hay early.
11 Aug 72 Fri—Woke to the sound of Charlie Company marching by. Think they might have it rougher than we ever did—they get up at 4:30 every morning. After breakfast, we marched to building 1888 by the Ponderosa. Saw a film on PT, and why physical training is important. Came back to Alpha Company area and did details the rest of the day. Hanson and I painted railing uprights upstairs. Spent most of the afternoon dodging drill sergeants to keep out of work. A bunch of us went to the movie DORIAN GREY and BOXCAR BERTHA (double feature—both rated R). They were not too bad and not too good.
12 Aug 72 Sat—The CQ (Commander of Quarters) woke me up at 4:00 for K.P. Did this job for three hours through breakfast, then was relieved because the N.G.s (National Guardsmen) had to have riot control training. Had a couple classes and practice in using the "riot baton" over at the North Theater. Had two hours for noon break, so came back to the company area. A big company beer party was in progress, so of course most of the N.G.s joined in (I didn't). Some of them were pretty much "under the influence" by the time the truck came for us at 2:00. We went out to the CBR area for some classes on tear gas and other agents used to break up riots. Got back about 5:00 to re-join the party. After supper, Bailey, Cox, and I went to the movie EVIL KNIEVEL starring George Hamilton and Sue Lyon. Good sow. I got some pants in the mail. They fit me perfect at home, but I've darn near gotten too fat to wear them around here. Thought the crotch might split out during the evening, but I lucked out.
14 Aug 72 Sun—Didn't even get to sleep late. Got called for K.P. at 6:00. Spent an unexciting day. Thought we would get turned loose at 4:30, but the cook got orders to make 20 pies at the last minute. It was 5:30 before we got to go. Tried calling home a couple times, had supper at the cafeteria, and finally got hold of the folks about 8:30. They had been at Uncle Joy's birthday party. A lot of friends and relatives were on hand for that and the all-class Merriman school reunion.
15 Aug 72 Mon—Got to sleep until 5:30. Went to breakfast, then the fellow that have to leave for some other post for their AIT had to process. The rest of us turned in field equipment (N.G.s keep theirs until after Thursday). Then I got stuck on a detail cleaning the barbeque grill from the party. After dinner, we didn't do anything until 3:00. Had an hour of drill and ceremony for the graduation parade, then filled out morale questionnaires at Doughboy Hall. I was about half sick to my stomach all afternoon, and nearly lost my dinner at one stage of the game. Had to help serve at supper. There were some big cheese inspectors lingering around, and the meal didn't run too smoothly. I kind of felt sorry for the cooks, as they ran out of hamburgers and had all sorts of troubles. Went down to the PX and got a haircut. Wrote a letter home, and then retired for the night.
15 Aug 72 Tue—I got called out at 3:30 a.m. for K.P. Spent a lousy day in the mess hall doing everything from washing dishes to peeling spuds to mopping the floor five different times. Hate that job. Got through at 8:45 p.m.
16 Aug 72 Wed—The day we've long been waiting for—GRADUATION!! Fell out of the barracks at 6:30 in our fatigues. Changed to dress greens and spit shined our shoes after breakfast. Our parade started at 10:30. It lasted only about 30 minutes, but most of us got tired standing during that time. Out of the five companies that graduated, ours won the marching award. This pleased the drill sergeants and left them with a "good taste in their mouth." In the afternoon, some of the guys started shipping out to other posts, for two-week leaves, etc. My orders were to stay put for a couple days (as I would be staying at Fort Ord for A.I.T.). We got the afternoon off. I went with Flaherty (from Boise, Idaho) to Carmel. I checked out a book at the library there entitled TRAILS OF A WILDERNESS WANDERER by Andy Russell.
THE END OF BASIC TRAINING for Steve Moreland, from Merriman, Nebraska
2 Aug 72 Wed—The day of basic training you hear a lot of bad stories about—P.O.W. camp—but it wasn't too bad. It was kind of a chilly day on Fort Ord—just guessing, about a 40 degree chill factor. We spent the morning learning about the M-79 40mm Grenade Launcher, and firing it. Had about a 30 minute wait for our chow, but had more than enough, so it was worth waiting for. We ate out on the field. Loaded onto trucks and went to an area where we had another course to negotiate, similar to ITT. Kind of a rough dirty job. Had the usual "police call," then loaded onto trucks and headed for the P.O.W. camp. Had some classes on survival, escape, and evasion. A couple former P.O.W.s showed us how to kill and skin a rabbit and a chicken. Real interesting, but it was colder than the dickens being outside to observe the classes. There was a P.O.W. museum at this site. We were locked up as "real prisoners" for an hour and a half, fed a spoonful of rice, and turned loose to "escape." We had a two-mile course to get to the safe bonfire. Aggressors caught about 20 prisoners and took them to higher headquarters for interrogation. Mayberry, Serotzki, and I were on a team, and we made it to the bonfire at about 1:00 a.m. Got trucked back to the barracks, shaved, shined boots, and got to bed at 2:00 a.m.
3 Aug 72 Thu—Got to sleep until 6:00. Went to a class at South Theater on POWs and different American spy and espionage cases. Had a parade review in the afternoon, so dressed up in our dress greens, bloused in our combat boots (spit shined), with our pistol belt. Looked kind of sharp! The "parade" was lousy though. Mostly just stood in one place for three hours in front of a bunch of big shots. Got turned loose at 4:30, and were told to get haircuts. I bought a duffel bag for four dollars.
4 Aug 72 Fri—Went to the LAW (light anti-tank weapon) range. About froze to death once again. Drill Sergeant Jerviss called me the "shakiest gun in the West" when it came my turn to fire the $30 shot. We cleaned weapons in the afternoon, then had 45 minutes of PT and an hour or so of RGT (review graded test). I had an hour of arms room guard (had an hour during the middle of last night also).
5 Aug 72 Sat—First call at 6:30, so that was nice. I served in the breakfast line, but even that was not a bad job. The new cook Sgt. Baker had a record player going all the time with good country music. There was a big shakedown in the barracks, as it was discovered some of the trainees had been smuggling brass and ammo off the ranges. We spent the morning RGTing, with all the radios, weapons, etc. to work with. Got turned loose at 12:00. I walked two hours of arms room guard for a fellow (Arlington) and made $5.00. Then went to chow, and after that to the Post Locator and found where Bill Rottinghaus lives (Nyla's cousin's husband). Tried calling, but they were not home. Back at the barracks, I started a letter home but fell asleep for a couple hours. Called home at 7:30. Guess all is well there. Dad's been doing a little horse trading. He sold "Hereford" for $200, and traded my old Appaloosa mare for a broke sorrel mare. I ran onto Deon Ettington from Idaho, and Don Vanassdale from Indiana. Went bowling with them. Bowled three games 84, 86, and 96. This was only the second time I've ever bowled. Hit the sack at midnight.
6 Aug 72 Sun—Slept until 7:00. Arose at the cry of "last call to breakfast," and then stood in line for 30 minutes waiting for the mess hall to open. Went to the chapel from 10:00 until 11:00. Had arms room guard from 12:00 to 2:00. Had chow after that, then took a nap for a couple hours. Serotzki, Gallagher, and I ate supper at the main cafeteria. Serotzki and I went to the movie JOE KIDD starring Clint Eastwood. Good typical western show.
7 Aug 72 Mon—Up at 5:00. Marched over to near the confidence course—one and half miles away—and reviewed for the G3 tests. Went through many different situations. Ate chow on site, then marched to the G3 performance test area. Went through 10 final tests that we must pass before we can graduate. I passed 9, all but First Aid. Marched back to the company area, then loaded onto trucks to go to the dispensary for one shot and oral polio vaccine. Trucked back, but had to wait an hour after the polio treatment before we could eat supper.
8 Aug 72 Tue—How well I remember two months ago today. That was when I made my grand entrance into Fort Ord. Arose at 5:00, PT run before breakfast. Then we marched and double timed back to the G# test area (all but 25 men of the company who maxed it yesterday). We just had to retest at the station we failed. Didn't take me long to pass First Aid this time. Good feeling to get G3 out of the way. About 20 guys at a time crawled on one little truck for free rides back to the company. Spent the rest of the morning and first part of the afternoon cleaning weapons. The rest of the day was spent cleaning the barracks. Wrote a letter to Nancy Jean McCallister and a birthday card to "Old" Uncle Joy (his son is also named Joy). He turns 80 on August 12th. Hope I am as alert and spry as he is when I get to be that age. They are having an open house for him.
9 Aug 72 Wed—Got up at 3:45—arms room guard from 4:00 to 5:00. Back to bed until 5:30, then up again with the rest of the platoon. Breakfast, then details the rest of the morning. We dug ditches around the sidewalks of the barracks. Early dinner (excellent chow), and final PT test in the afternoon. I scored 392 out of 500—company average was 411, so I didn't do too well. I got a cramp in my leg during the inverted crawl and lost 12 points. The first PT test five weeks ago, I got 352 (the average then was 350). Marched back to company area about 4:00, more details (insignificant busy work) until supper. Helped put a fence of grenade links around the day room. Serotzki, Bailey, and I went to the movie THE PUBLIC EYE starring Mia Farrow. It was a pretty good show at Doughboy Hall.
10 Aug 72 Thu—Time is kind of going slow now that actual training is over. Spent another day doing details. We marched in another "parade" this morning—most of the time was spent standing at attention or parade rest. One fellow from another company fainted. After dinner, I painted wooden supports in the barracks. Wrote a letter to my cousin, Deb Moreland. Plan to hit the hay early.
11 Aug 72 Fri—Woke to the sound of Charlie Company marching by. Think they might have it rougher than we ever did—they get up at 4:30 every morning. After breakfast, we marched to building 1888 by the Ponderosa. Saw a film on PT, and why physical training is important. Came back to Alpha Company area and did details the rest of the day. Hanson and I painted railing uprights upstairs. Spent most of the afternoon dodging drill sergeants to keep out of work. A bunch of us went to the movie DORIAN GREY and BOXCAR BERTHA (double feature—both rated R). They were not too bad and not too good.
12 Aug 72 Sat—The CQ (Commander of Quarters) woke me up at 4:00 for K.P. Did this job for three hours through breakfast, then was relieved because the N.G.s (National Guardsmen) had to have riot control training. Had a couple classes and practice in using the "riot baton" over at the North Theater. Had two hours for noon break, so came back to the company area. A big company beer party was in progress, so of course most of the N.G.s joined in (I didn't). Some of them were pretty much "under the influence" by the time the truck came for us at 2:00. We went out to the CBR area for some classes on tear gas and other agents used to break up riots. Got back about 5:00 to re-join the party. After supper, Bailey, Cox, and I went to the movie EVIL KNIEVEL starring George Hamilton and Sue Lyon. Good sow. I got some pants in the mail. They fit me perfect at home, but I've darn near gotten too fat to wear them around here. Thought the crotch might split out during the evening, but I lucked out.
14 Aug 72 Sun—Didn't even get to sleep late. Got called for K.P. at 6:00. Spent an unexciting day. Thought we would get turned loose at 4:30, but the cook got orders to make 20 pies at the last minute. It was 5:30 before we got to go. Tried calling home a couple times, had supper at the cafeteria, and finally got hold of the folks about 8:30. They had been at Uncle Joy's birthday party. A lot of friends and relatives were on hand for that and the all-class Merriman school reunion.
15 Aug 72 Mon—Got to sleep until 5:30. Went to breakfast, then the fellow that have to leave for some other post for their AIT had to process. The rest of us turned in field equipment (N.G.s keep theirs until after Thursday). Then I got stuck on a detail cleaning the barbeque grill from the party. After dinner, we didn't do anything until 3:00. Had an hour of drill and ceremony for the graduation parade, then filled out morale questionnaires at Doughboy Hall. I was about half sick to my stomach all afternoon, and nearly lost my dinner at one stage of the game. Had to help serve at supper. There were some big cheese inspectors lingering around, and the meal didn't run too smoothly. I kind of felt sorry for the cooks, as they ran out of hamburgers and had all sorts of troubles. Went down to the PX and got a haircut. Wrote a letter home, and then retired for the night.
15 Aug 72 Tue—I got called out at 3:30 a.m. for K.P. Spent a lousy day in the mess hall doing everything from washing dishes to peeling spuds to mopping the floor five different times. Hate that job. Got through at 8:45 p.m.
16 Aug 72 Wed—The day we've long been waiting for—GRADUATION!! Fell out of the barracks at 6:30 in our fatigues. Changed to dress greens and spit shined our shoes after breakfast. Our parade started at 10:30. It lasted only about 30 minutes, but most of us got tired standing during that time. Out of the five companies that graduated, ours won the marching award. This pleased the drill sergeants and left them with a "good taste in their mouth." In the afternoon, some of the guys started shipping out to other posts, for two-week leaves, etc. My orders were to stay put for a couple days (as I would be staying at Fort Ord for A.I.T.). We got the afternoon off. I went with Flaherty (from Boise, Idaho) to Carmel. I checked out a book at the library there entitled TRAILS OF A WILDERNESS WANDERER by Andy Russell.
THE END OF BASIC TRAINING for Steve Moreland, from Merriman, Nebraska
