I BEGAN WORK AT McCALL'S CORP. ON JUNE 5 th , 1964 , JUST A FEW DAYS AFTER OUR COMMENCEMENT. SOMETIME IN JANUARY 1968 (THE EXACT DATE ESCAPES ME NOW) I RECEIVED AN INVITATION FROM UNCLE SAM, TO BE HIS VALENTINE. I WAS DRAFTED INTO THE ARMY FEB. 14, 1968.
WHEN WE GOT DOWN TO THE CINCINNATI INDUCTION CENTER , WE WERE TOLD TO "LINE UP & COUNT OFF BY FOURS". I WAS A NUMBER THREE. THEN THEY TOLD ALL NUMBER FOURS TO "TAKE ONE STEP FORWARD" & SAID, "CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE NOW UNITED STATES MARINES" !! WHEW !!! IMAGINE I WAS ONE NUMBER FROM BEING A ‘JARHEAD'. HA ! HA! (A LITTLE INTER-SERVICE HUMOR THERE !)
WE WERE SENT TO FORT BENNING , GA. FOR BASIC TRAINING AT THE SAND HILL TRAINING CAMP. THE SAND HILL COMPLEX HAD NOT AT THAT TIME, BEEN USED SINCE THE KOREAN WAR. THE PLATOON STYLE BARRACKS WERE COAL HEATED. IMAGINE HAVING TO FACE WHITE GLOVE INSPECTIONS WITH ALL THAT COAL DUST ALL OVER EVERYTHING. I TURNED 22 IN BASIC & WAS LITTERALY THE ‘OLD MAN' OF THE COMPANY. EVEN THOUGH I LOST 5-DAYS OF BASIC WHILE HOSPITALIZED WITH PNUEMONIA, I MANAGED TO GRADUATE WITH MY CYCLE & WE BY VIRTUE OF OUR P.T.SCORES AND I.Q.TESTING WERE HONOR COMPANY AND LED THE BATTALION ON THE GRADUATON PARADE DAY.
AFTER BASIC I AND SOME OF MY OTHER CYCLE MATES WERE SENT DIRECTLY TO FORT ORD , CA. FOR ADVANCED TRAINING. (IN OUR CASE INFANTRY TRAINING.) BY NOW, I WAS PRETTY MUCH CONVINCED I WAS VIET NAM BOUND UNLESS; I COULD SCORE HIGH ENOUGH ON TESTING TO CREATE ANOTHER OUTCOME. A LOT OF COLONEL WHITE TEACHERS WOULD BE PROUD TO KNOW, THAT EVEN THOUGH MY GRADES DIDN'T REFLECT IT, WHAT THEY TAUGHT SUNK IN! MY PLATOON AND WHOLE COMPANY WAS HONOR COMPANY OF OUR GRADUATING TRANINING BRIGADE & WE MARCHED IN THE FRONT OF THE GRADUATION PARADE AGAIN AT FORT ORD.
MY SCORES WERE HIGH ENOUGH THAT THEY KEPT PUSHING ME TO GO TO O.C.S. ( OFFICERS CANDIDATE SCHOOL ). I SAID "OK AS LONG AS I STILL GET OUT IN 2- YEARS". THERE WAS EVEN TALK ABOUT GETTING TONY HALL (I BELIEVE HE WAS OUR CONGRESSMAN AT THAT TIME) TO NOMINATE ME FOR WEST POINT, BUT I NIXED THAT TOO, BECAUSE IT MEANT STAYING IN FOR 4 YEARS ACTIVE DUTY ALSO.
SO….. THEY DID THE NEXT BEST THING THEY COULD DO FOR ME AND SENT ME TO FT. MYER , VA. HOME OF "THE OLD GUARD" 3rd INFANTRY 1st BATTALION. IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF IT (I HADN'T), IT SURROUNDS ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY (NORTH POST ON ONE SIDE – SOUTH POST ON THE OTHER). "THE OLD GUARD" IS THE PRESIDENTIAL GUARD FOR OUR NATIONS CAPITOL. WHILE IN "THE OLD GUARD" I PERFORMED AS PART OF THE ‘WORLD WAR ONE DRILL TEAM' EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT THE JEFFERSON (MY OLD GRADE SCHOOL 7-th & 8-th GRADES) MEMORIAL. OTHER MEMORABLE EVENTS I WAS INVOLVED IN WERE ‘TORCHLIGHT TATTOO' AT THE FT. MYER GYM, EISENHOWERS FUNERAL (CORDON), GENERAL WESTMORELANDS RETIREMENT PARADE, NIXONS INAUGURATION (REAR GUARD), AND MANY LESSER PARADES AND EVENTS AT ARLINGTON CEMETERY TOO NUMEROUS TO MENTION.
DURING THE WAR & RACE RIOTS OF 1969 I WAS ONE OF ONLY 3 MACHINE GUN TEAMS SENT TO BE EMBEDDED AROUND THE WHITE HOUSE FOR INTERNAL PROTECTION. WE WERE TRAINED SPECIFICALLY FOR FIRING THE M-60 MCHINE GUN UNDER THE ARM ON THE RUN ALA 'RAMBO' STYLE. THE WHOLE WHITE HOUSE WAS SURROUNDED BY D.C. CITY BUSES PARKED BUMPER TO BUMPER WITH D.C. RIOT POLICE INSIDE OF THAT. ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE BUSES WERE MARINES FROM QUANTICO , VA. AND LINE TROOPS FROM "THE OLD GUARD" IN FULL RIOT GEAR. NEEDLESS TO SAY THOSE WERE SOME OF THE HARDEST DAYS OUR NATION FACED, UNTIL' 9-11'.
WHEN IT CAME TIME FOR ME TO BE RELEASED FROM ACTIVE DUTY IN FEB.1970, TO CLEAR POST, YOU HAD TO HAVE YOUR PAPERS SIGNED BY NUMEROUS PEOPLE AND ARMY DEPTS. SO…….. WHEN IT CAME TIME FOR ME TO SEE THE RE-ENLISTMENT NCO, HE SAID "BOB I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS MAN'S ARMY BUT, I HAVE TO ASK YOU AS A FORMALITY. HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT RE-ENLISTMENT?" AND SO I SAID "YEAH SARGE, I THOUGHT ABOUT IT, LAUGHED ABOUT IT, & FORGOT ABOUT IT !! " (TRUE STORY)! BACK THEN AS AN E-4 I WAS ONLY GROSSING $220 A MONTH & COULD BRING HOME THAT MUCH ON MY JOB BACK HOME PER WEEK. BUT…..WITH HINDSIGHT BEING 20-20 I CAN SEE HOW FOOLISH I WAS TO PASS UP OPPORTUNITY KNOCKING ON MY DOOR. IF I HAD STAYED IN I COULD HAVE RETIRED IN 1988 WITH 20 YEARS OR WITH FULL BENEFITS IN 1998 WITH 30 YEARS.

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