Fort Jackson SC - January 1951

Basic Training 1951
The first thing we were taught as recruits was to stand at attention,right face, left face about face, then marching, left right. I did very well except when we were standing at attention we were told we could not move for any reason. Well I found a reason, as I was standing at attention a bee started to buzz around me. Without thing I took my hand and tried to brush it away, big mistake. The Sergeant saw me and I spent the rest of the day washing stoves. I learned when at attention that is what it meant.

In the mean time the mess hall offered me some adventures, one for example when I went to breakfast I would eat get out of the Mess hall and get in line again so I would eat breakfast twice, many a meal I ate twice, however that was nothing to what happened to me one day. We sat at tables that would be equivalent to a picnic tables, I was sitting at the first table on the left side of the mess hall up by the serving line. I will not forget. As I ate my noon meal I noticed a bottle of ketchup which had been put in a glass jar, I tried to pry off the top. It was on tight. So I banged it on the table, the top came off. I put the ketchup on my food. Now in those days I ate my food fast. Down went that food but this time as I gulped down my food I felt a pain on the sides of my throat. I was taken to the hospital immediately had swallowed a piece of glass that lodged in the side of my throat just bore it would have gone down,when I hit the bottle to loosen up the top I broke a piece of glass. The Doctor advised me to eat more slowly. I did.

One day I was walking down the company street I was going to go on sick call because my neck hurt me. The officer saw me,he ask me what was wrong, I told him He said move you head left and right, I did, he sent me back to duty.

One does not forget K.P duty or Kitchen Police. It was very early in the morning you would arrive at the Mess hall and the work began. One duty was to go out and fill the bucket with coal for the fire, it was a hard days work. The Mess hall was immaculate clean before we left. When the coal fire was burning out side soot would fall so you had to be careful not to get it on your uniform.

My first pay we went to a place in Fort Jackson called "Tank Hill" . There was PX there and I bought my first cleaning equipment, razor blade a razor, soap, etc and a watch plus had money left over.

Our place for entertainment was the Snack bar and the Service club. In those days I liked listening to Western music, Hank Williams, Gean Autrey, The Sons of The Pioneers. The snack bar floor was wood.

Soon the basic would get find me doing things I thought I could never do..