Sworn in at Ft. McPherson induction center Atlanta, GA Dec 17,1963. Chose Great Lakes for Boot Camp in Dec. So much is said about my wisdom when all but one other Navy Recruit went San Diego. Flew from Atlanta to O'Hare and was told to wait for a Navy bus to pick me up. The waiting area had a number of people who were smoking, grabassing, bullshitting around. The bus arrived and we had a long cold ride to Camp Barry. We arrived at 0200 and some First Class Petty Officer greeted us with a string of profanity and yelling that would have blistered the paint on the deck. Some poor fool in the front rank had just lit a cigarette and the Petty Officer walked over to him and slapped the cigarette out of his mouth and proceeded to tell all of us what we would never do while in His Navy. Even though I had been a military school cadet, this was an Oh Crap moment for me. Started with CO 463 in 1963 but wound up in Sick Bay with the respiratory crud and was placed in a medical holding company at Camp Barry until new company formed. Eventually wound up in Company 1 of 1964 with EM 1 T.F. Gardner as CC. Was Sixth Squad Leader and Company Gunnersmate, Recruit Petty Officer 2nd Class. Never had great difficulty in Boot and tried to keep myself away from the Crap. I received y orders from Boot Camp to the US Navy Ceremonial Guard in Washington, DC. Being less than informed I asked the CC what is the Ceremonial Guard. Without trying to tell me what kind of dumb@&& I was he asked me if I had seen the Kennedy Funeral and I told him I had so with his South Carolina nasal accent he told me I was going to do what those Sailors were doing. He told me I would make it in the Guard but another recruit who had Guard orders would not. He said that guy is an F-up and he wont make it there or in the Navy. I served with the guy and what EM1 Gardner told me came to be true. Gardner was firm, difficult and suspicious of big city recruits and you did not want to get on his bad side. I suppose he felt some pity on me because I was like many of the Southern Boys who were profoundly ignorant about the world and anything beyond a hundred radius of where we grew up.
Comments
Sworn in at Ft. McPherson induction center Atlanta, GA Dec 17,1963. Chose Great Lakes for Boot Camp in Dec. So much is said about my wisdom when all but one other Navy Recruit went San Diego. Flew from Atlanta to O'Hare and was told to wait for a Navy bus to pick me up. The waiting area had a number of people who were smoking, grabassing, bullshitting around. The bus arrived and we had a long cold ride to Camp Barry. We arrived at 0200 and some First Class Petty Officer greeted us with a string of profanity and yelling that would have blistered the paint on the deck. Some poor fool in the front rank had just lit a cigarette and the Petty Officer walked over to him and slapped the cigarette out of his mouth and proceeded to tell all of us what we would never do while in His Navy. Even though I had been a military school cadet, this was an Oh Crap moment for me. Started with CO 463 in 1963 but wound up in Sick Bay with the respiratory crud and was placed in a medical holding company at Camp Barry until new company formed. Eventually wound up in Company 1 of 1964 with EM 1 T.F. Gardner as CC. Was Sixth Squad Leader and Company Gunnersmate, Recruit Petty Officer 2nd Class. Never had great difficulty in Boot and tried to keep myself away from the Crap. I received y orders from Boot Camp to the US Navy Ceremonial Guard in Washington, DC. Being less than informed I asked the CC what is the Ceremonial Guard. Without trying to tell me what kind of dumb@&& I was he asked me if I had seen the Kennedy Funeral and I told him I had so with his South Carolina nasal accent he told me I was going to do what those Sailors were doing. He told me I would make it in the Guard but another recruit who had Guard orders would not. He said that guy is an F-up and he wont make it there or in the Navy. I served with the guy and what EM1 Gardner told me came to be true. Gardner was firm, difficult and suspicious of big city recruits and you did not want to get on his bad side. I suppose he felt some pity on me because I was like many of the Southern Boys who were profoundly ignorant about the world and anything beyond a hundred radius of where we grew up.