Anybody want to join us?

Lori had to work today. There was a big anniversary thing at the aquarium and working was mandatory for everyone. She also has to work tomorrow, the poor thing. I felt so bad that I'm making her a special dinner tonight.

• 2 lb lobsters
• Fresh local tomato, cucumber, green pepper & red onion salad
• Fresh local corn on the cob
• Oh, and gin & tonics. Lets not forget them!
  

The swimming pool is up to temp too. Since my son has to work until 7:30, the Nudist Rules are in effect with mandatory skinny dipping until then.

Anyone want to join us? Leave your bathing suits at home. :-D

OMG! A Miracle Happened Tonight!!!!!!

Let me explain.

This evening after work, Lori and her son came to my place so we could get a sofa for her and put it in my garage.

(FYI: Lori is trying to find a place near me, so is looking for furniture.)

We planned on eating Saugies (sp) for dinner (don't ask me what the fuck they are, ask Lori . They look like hot dogs to me, but I ain't from Rhode Island, so what do I know.)

Any way, I got the van from U Haul and we picked up the sofa and moved it to my garage. After we returned the van, we came back to my place for dinner. We cooked the Saugies.

Just so happens my son Brian got off of work and was home before I started cooking. Lori asked him if he wanted any. He said yes, he'd have one. When they were done, she told him they were ready and did he want to eat with us.

Okay, now here comes the miracle part.

He said YES!

HOLY CRAP!!!!!! HE SAID HE'D EAT WITH US? YOU SURE? YES, SHE SAID!

As Barry Manilow said...........................

Cause' its a miracle
A true blue spectacle
A miracle come true....................

HE'S NEVER EATEN WITH US BEFORE! HELL! HE DOESN'T EVEN EAT WITH ME!

I have to explain something. My son was not happy when I started dating after my wife passed away. He thought it was too soon. He like Lori, but just didn't want to accept my dating her. This is the first time he's ever sat down with us in the 15 months Lori and I have been seeing each other. Seriously, this really is the first time!!!!! You have no idea how happy I am.

Lori, her son Adam, my son Brian and me all sat around my dining room table and ate the Saugies (what ever the fuck they are) for dinner. We (mostly Lori and me) told stories and we all laughed and bitched about people for over three hours.

CAN YOU FUCKING BELIEVE IT? THREE FUCKING HOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brian even got up a few times and then came back to the table to chat some more. I was truly shocked. He's never wanted to associate with Lori's kids. Hell, he's never even sat down to dinner with Lori and me.

Do you think he's finally accepted that she is my love and accept that her and her kids will be part of our lives, forever.

Yes, forever!

Lori is my baby and I ain't giving her up no matter what!!!!!!!

What do you think?

The Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy of Root Canal HNT

I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy
Down in tooth 19 (Where?)
Down in tooth 19 (Where?)
Down in tooth 19
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy
Down in tooth 19 (Where?)
Down in tooth 19 to stay, but not for long

And I'm so un-happy
So very un-happy
I've got the love of my endodontist in my heart
And I'm so un-happy
So very un-happy
I've got the love of my endodontist in my heart

I've got the pain that passes understanding down in the depths of tooth 19...

I've got the wonderful love of my endodontist's dipping way down in the depths of tooth 19...

Well, if my regular dentist doesn't like his work, he can sit on a tack...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today was another appointment for root canal. This time it was for one of my favorite teeth, tooth 19. That's the one way, way, way back in your mouth on the bottom right side. As I sat in the waiting room waiting my turn to see the dentist, another man came in, checked in and sat down. The poor guy was a basket case. He never sat still for a second and was as fidgety as a hound dog with fleas. Less than five minutes later, he got up and told the receptionist he'd be back in a minute, then walked quickly out the door. I sat there reading my newspaper for at least 10 minutes and he never came back. I figured he made a break for it.

The assistant came and got me and showed me to the recliner in the torture chamber treatment room. I sat down and she placed the bib around my neck. "The doctor will be here in a few moments. Don't I look happy?

Soon the sadist dentist came in to start torturing treating me and my look immediately changed.

The first part wasn't so bad. Just that little stick with tasty stuff on it that is supposed to numb the gums so the needle doesn't hurt when he stabs give me the shots.

That wasn't so bad, but then I see the needle and my mouth locks shut!!!!! Nothing was going to make me open it, nothing!!!!!!!!!

Well, nothing except when he turned around and asked to open wide. No, wider! WIDER!!!!!!

Okay, lets get this torture over with. I opened wide and he gave me the shots.

I knew I was just being silly, because the last two times I had root canal I never felt a thing until the Novocaine wore off.

Now I just sat there and waited for the lower right half of my face to numb.

The Novocaine did it's job and about ten minutes later the sadist dentist came back in to start the torture work.

I couldn't see what he was doing, but soon the spot light was turned to brighten the view of my mouth. That could only mean one thing! The sadist dentist was going to start the torture work.

Next came that cute little rubber apron he so gently placed over tooth 19.

"Yes Doc! That's it! You pinched the gum ever so slightly. I was hoping you'd remember that part."

Then the real torture work began!

The sadist dentist starts drilling.

So far so good.

He pokes around for a moment.

I felt a slight something. Not really pain, just a little something.

He drills some more and that sent a shark sensation down into my jaw. Like a burning sensation. I winced.

He asks, "Did you feel that?"

I wanted to say, "WTF!!!! Why do you think I jumped you idiot?" But couldn't say anything with my mouth full of rubber, so I just shook my head.

He carefully probed and asked, "Can you feel this?"

I nodded my head in the affirmative.

He probed again and said, "But you don't feel this, do you?"

I nodded my head in the affirmative again.

He pulls out that needle again and starts stabbing in my mouth wildly give me a few more shots. These I didn't feel.

The sadist dentist continues torturing me working and finished up about 15 minutes later. He bids me ado and I run like a scared rabbit walk to the reception's desk to make another appointment to finish the tooth.

So here I sit at my computer as the Novocaine slowly wears off and the pain is just starting. If it's like the last time, tonight it will peak and I won't be able to sleep on my right side. Never knew a pillow could cause so much agony.

UN-HAPPY HNT!

If you enjoy theme park rides........

.... read this before the next time you go. You may decide to stay home instead.


THEME PARK RIDES ARE VERY SAFE, until they're not.
http://www.rideaccidents.com/

I INTERRUPT THIS BLOG FOR IMPORTANT ANNOUANCEMENT #342!

YOUR FACE IMMORTALIZED on STAMPS just like Elvis.

You can now buy real postage that you can really use to mail real letters that have your real picture on them.  This is especially good for mothers, grandmothers and just plain conceited people that want to show the world their pretty face or whatever else it is they want to show the world.

http://tinyurl.com/2yykzx

Credit: I got this link in an email, along with a lot of other cool links, from my boys Linky & Dinky!

Oh Crap!

I just realized I missed my appointment for another root canal this morning. I feel so bad, because I was really looking forward to the three days and nights of pain and agony and eating only soft food.

But that's okay!

I just called and they have an opening tomorrow morning!

Whoopee.............................. NOT!!!!!!!

Chapter 4: Basic Training - Part 1

After our week in the reception center we were bused to our respective basic training areas for 9 weeks of basic training.

Upon completion of a four-day processing period, in the Reception Station, trainees were assigned to Fort Gordon or one of the Basic Combat Training Brigades, either the 1st or 2d Training Brigade, at Jackson.

I was assigned to the 2d Training Brigade at Fort Jackson: Company A, 6th Battalion, 2d Training Brigade to be exact.

The 1st and 2d Training Brigades were responsible for the conduct of 215 hours of company-taught subjects. These subjects included: (1) Drill and Ceremonies, (2) Marches and Bivouacs, (3) Pugil Stick, (4) Bayonet, (5) Hand- to-Hand Combat, and (6) Mechanical Training with the M14 Rifle.

The Committee Group would teach us other lots of cool things.

The Committee Group was responsible for the conduct of 117 hours of instruction in Basic Combat Training subjects. The Committee Group taught two general subjects: (1) Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Training and (2) First Aid. Additionally, the Committee Group conducted training in such Combat Indoctrination subjects as: (1) Infiltration Course; (2) Hand Grenades (3) Night Firing and Vision; and (4) Individual Tactical Training, which included negotiating barbed wire obstacles, individual field emplacements, and individual camouflage. Finally, the Committee Group conducted training in Basic Rifle Marksmanship to include marksmanship fundamentals on the 25 Meter Firing Ranges, Field Target Detection, Field Firing Exercises, and Record or Qualification Firing.

These are just some of the men responsible for turning us into soldiers during basic training.




Our platoon drill instructors were SSG Jerry Temple, SGT Krietz and Corporal Levato.

This is SSG Temple. What a prick! He was a real redneck Rebel from the back woods of Tennessee and hated Yankees. Since most of us were from the northern states, he gave us shit for almost the entire time we were in basic. He was the most despised drill sergeant I ever came in contact with.







This is SGT Krietz and the most liked of all the NCOs commanding us. Just look at him, can you blame us for liking the guy?

Who does he remind you of? You'll know if you ever watched the Andy Griffith Show or Mayberry RFD. Yep, the spitting image of Deputy Barney Fife the bumbling dope of a deputy of Sheriff Taylor. But Sgt Kreitz was far from a bumbling dope. He was an excellent instructor.

Or does he remind you of Opie, Andy's son?


Sorry, no picture available of Corporal Levato. He wasn’t assigned to our company until after these pictures were taken.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as our bus arrived at the basic training company area, the door opened and SSG Temple jumped aboard and the yelling began. OFF THE BUS, OFF THE BUSS! FALL IN! DOUBLE TIME, DOUBLE TIME! FALL IN, FALL IN! LINE UP! DRESS RIGHT DRESS!

Our heads were spinning trying to comprehend what he wanted, because it seemed like no matter what we did, it wasn’t done correctly or fast enough. To test our speed, we were ordered to dump our carefully packed duffel bags out and repack them. Of course we were too slow and repeated this I don’t remember how many times. After a while, the drill sergeant much have gotten bored with this games and dismissed us to the barracks. We fell out of formation and double-timed into the barracks, which would be our new home for the next 9 weeks.

The barracks were built in the 1940s as temporary barracks and looking at these pictures, hadn’t changed a bit. The first picture was taken in the 1940s and the second in the 1960s.

The barracks were two floors high with bunk beds lining both sides of the room and with two wall lockers in between the bunks near the wall and two footlockers at the foot of the bed. The drill sergeant had a room at one end of the first floor. The mess cooks stayed in a room at one end of the second floor. The barracks was spotless and the floors were so shiny you could practically see yourself in it. Of course, everyone walked down the center aisle between the rows of bunks scuffing the highly polished wax as they walked.

Soon the drill sergeant and the drill corporal walked in and started that incessant yelling again. We fell in at attention at the foot of our bunks as the drill sergeant walked down the center aisle chastising us for walking on “HIS” floor and scuffing it up. We were told to never walk on that floor again. That the DI's were the only ones allowed to walk on the center aisle, which they did at least once a day probably to scuff it up and give us more work to do. There was one exception, we could walk on it while we were cleaning and buffing it to that high sign with a buffer.

Swimming Pool Opening 2007 HNT!

Last weekend it was finally time to open my pool. Lori was a tremendous help and I want to publicly thank her. Thank her for that, and for recording it for posterity in photos.

1. We emptied all the water bags that held down the winter cover.





2. Then we started pulling back the winter cover so we could remove it. (Note: We had to pause so Lori could take a picture to show you how clean and clear the water was.)



3. Once we dragged the cover down to the shallow end of the pool, I had to remove the water that was on the cover and the leaves and sludge that had accumulated over the winter.



You know what? That woman has a fixation for my ass. Remember me to hide the camera when I'm doing bending projects!

4. Next we folded it up for removal to the curb for the trash man. The cover had a few holes in it so I had to toss it. Oh joy! I get to spend more money on this fucking pool!



5. Now it was time to get the filter back together...







Oh crap! Another one of THOSE ass pics!



...while Lori used the net to remove the leaves and sticks from the bottom of the pool.



You'd be surprised at the diversity of life that can be found in the bottom of a swimming pool.



6. Time for a fudge pop break. Man woman does not live by gin and tonics alone!



7. Well, there it is, my freshly uncovered swimming pool!



8. Now I just had to fill the pool the rest of the way with watter so I could start the filter and check for leaks. Remember the major leak I had last year!



9. The pool was finally filled and past the leak test! Hooray!!!!! It's finally time for that gin and tonic and a toast to the 2007 skinny dipping season! Anyone want to join us?

HAPPY SWIMMING POOL HNT FROM LORI AND TONY!!!!!!!!

Chapter 3: Reception Station

Our days at the reception station processing in, were very long. So much had to be crammed into the few days given to get us ready for basic training. Each morning we were rudely awakened at the crack of dawn by the banging on a metal garbage pail lid and the yelling of evil beings that obviously enjoyed it. I forget what time lights out was, but it never came soon enough for me.

The mess hall was a place we would all soon grow to love. It didn't matter if we were eating a meal, or doing KP, we still enjoyed the break from the rigors of army life.


Each day held another surprise, like on the first day when we received our haircuts. You could see the glee in the barbers eyes when ever a hippie type with his long hair sat down in his chair.

The haircuts were nothing fancy, they just cut it all off until we were practically bald. My mom always cut my hair growing up and usually cut it just like the army barber did. I always hated the way they made my ears look getting haircuts like that. Just look how much they stood out.

Next we were issued our uniforms to make us look like soldiers. We were outfitted from head to toe with army issue. That left no need for our civilian clothes, so the next morning we had to pack all of our civilian possessions into a box to be shipped home.

Of course there were the usual aptitude test and IQ test too, but I don't get why we were tested to see if we could get the hang trying to decipher Morse code. I'll never get that one.

The days in the reception station were long, but the nights were even longer. The strange sounds of a new place and sometimes even the muffled sounds of someone crying due to home sickness. Night were also the time we spent trying to comprehend what was happening to us. Most of us were just 19 years old and this may have even been the first time some of us had been away from home without our parents or scout masters to take care of us. Just a day or two earlier, we were all as 'snug as a bug' in our beds at home, or out partying until the crack of dawn. Now we were is some God forsaken place and the property of Uncle Sam's US Army. To call it a culture shock is an under statement.

Each night in the reception station a few of us had our sleep interrupted to take our turn on “fire watch” for a couple of hours. Our orders were to walk around outside our barracks and if there was a fire, to sound the alert. Of course there were never any fires, “fire watch” was just one of the senseless things we did while in training at Fort Jackson. After a while, we all learned that what seemed senseless at the time always had a purpose.

WTF?:This Little Girl Will Absolutely Blow Your Mind!

I saw this on http://tob.hollywood.com. I couldn't believe my ears. This girl is fantastic!

It's Official!

Tonight was my swearing in. I am now a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States of America.


Today was also Flag Day. The only day of the year that is allowed to dispose of old, worn out flags. When I arrived for the meeting, the flag burning was in full force. They had 10 large garbage bags full of flags to burn. Around 8:15 the meeting was called to order to swear me in, in addition to a few other issues that had to be settled before the end of the month.

The first order of business was get a beer. The second order of business was to get another beer. Then I was escorted into the kitchen until they were ready to swear me in. Very soon they escorted me out and swore me in. I shook hands with everyone and then had another beer.

I'm going to like this group

Several people wanted to hear about my military background so we talked about that, along with some of theirs, and had another beer. We also ate hot dogs and pizza and had another beer.

I'm really going to like this group

Then we went outside to watch the rest of the flag burning and have more beer.

Who knew the VFW could be so enjoyable?

That lasted until just before 11:00. Then we all left and retired to our abodes until tomorrow evening. Friday at 7:30 PM starts the never ending Happy Hour. I hear it runs from Friday till Friday.

Man! Why didn't I join the VFW a long time ago?

Root Canal HNT

I imagine this is what I'll look like on Friday while I'm getting the root canal on two teeth. Or maybe that's what I'll look like after the Novocain wears off. Either way, I'm not looking forward to the root canals.


The moral to this story is FLOSS, FLOSS, FLOSS..............BRUSH, BRUSH, BRUSH!!!!!!!!!!!

UH OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The pollen was pretty heavy from the tree next to the driveway, so my son asked me if we could swap sides with our cars. His car is a lot newer than in mine and in better shape, so I agreed. He moved them later that evening just before his girl friend arrived. They were leaving the next morning for a vacation in the Dominican Republic and she was leaving her car behind his in my driveway.

The next night we had a bad storm with wind gusts up to 40 MPH. Like usual, I didn't even hear it and slept right through it. The next day I went out to go shopping and saw this.

"Wow, that must have been some storm. It blew over the basket ball hoop. I'm lucky, it just missed my car."

As I got closer to the car I saw the hood. AW CRAP! THE FUCKING BASKETBALL HOOP LANDED ON THE HOOD WHEN IT BLEW OVER!!!!

Looks like the hoop blew over onto the hood and then slid down to the ground scrapping the car all the way and taking out the license plate and frame.


I met the insurance adjuster at the body shop this morning. He recognized me right away. It seems we knew other at the Watch Hill marina on Fire Island. We didn't hang out together, but we did chat from time to time. My late wife and his used to talk a lot during the week when I wasn't there, so his wife knew men quite well.

The owner of the body shop came out to negotiate the repair with the adjuster. They bickered back and forth a little and settled on what the insurance company would pay for.
1. New hood, not a used one nor and after market hood either.
2. New front bumper cover.
3. A little body work.
4. Total labor - 2 1/2 hours.

Out of ear shot of the adjuster, I made arrangements to get the leaky and dinged up windshield replace and compound and wax the entire car. I was going to get the small dents and dings fixed, but he said that would be too expensive as then I would need to get the whole car repainted. I agreed.

We made arrangements for me to drop the car off on Monday to get repaired. It will be about a week. My insurance company will pay for a rental car for me.

I left and went grocery shopping and picked up a slice of pizza with mushrooms for lunch. When I got home I played the message on the answering machine. It was from the body shop. I called back and it seems that the the insurance company thinks $500 for a new hood on a 1998 car is too much. They agreed to pay $300 for the hood, a new after market or used. The body shop recommended after market so that what I'm going with.

A few hours later the insurance company main office. They said the total cost of the repair is $1675. Minus my $500 deductible they are sending me a check for the balance. It will go out tomorrow. I was to let the adjuster know if they find anything else out when they do the repair and they will pay me more.

Not bad service, huh?

Another One of My Army Stories

If you read my last post, you know that I've started to rewrite the stories about the time I army and in Vietnam. The last post was a rewrite covering the time from when I got my draft card and day I was actually inducted. There's a lot more to see and read if your interested.

The following story covers the day I was inducted. I call it; 'Chapter 2: Induction Day'.

Chapter 2: Induction Day

My father and stepmother drove me down to the Selective Service office in Smithtown Monday morning, May 5, 1968 to check in and then get on the bus for the ride to Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn for induction. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my father and stepmother were waiting for me to say goodbye, but I didn't see them and just got on the bus.

I remember mostly just quietly staring out the window for most of the ride, wondering if I would live through this adventure and make it back home again after it was all over. I suppose most of us did.

We arrived in at Fort Hamilton about an hour or so later. There was another short interview to see if anything had changed since our physicals and if nothing had, we were sent into in a different room to wait until everyone had been interviewed.

It wasn't long before a few men came into the room to talk to us. One of them explained that not everyone of us would be inducted into the Army, that a small number of us were needed in the Marine Corp. They asked for volunteers. There was no fucking way I was volunteering and just sat quietly. Believe it or not, a few guys did volunteer and were escorted out of the room.

Next we were directed into another room with lines painted on the floor and a large American flag in front. We were told to line up along the lines and then “asked” to take one step forward to "voluntarily" be sworn in.

At the final phase of the induction process, a military recruiting officer will order the Registrant, and any other Registrants present, to "line up on the line.” (a line, or several lines, is/are painted on the floor). A military recruiting officer will then order all those "joining the army,” (or whatever) to “take one step forward” … THOSE WHO LINE UP AS ORDERED AND TAKE ONE STEP FORWARD JUST "VOLUNTEERED!" BY TAKING ONE STEP FORWARD, YOU CONVERT YOUR "REGISTRANT" STATUS INTO THAT OF AN "INDUCTEE"!!!!

The oath is administered: "I, (state your name) do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America and will defend it against all enemies foreign and domestic, and will obey the orders of the President and the officers appointed over me, so help me God."

Well, that was it and I was now the property of the United States Army. We were then lead out of the room and broken down into smaller groups depending where we were assigned. I was assigned to Fort Jackson in South Carolina, wherever that was. My group boarded a bus for the ride to JFK airport in Queens. When our plane landed in Columbia, South Carolina a few hours later, we were met by someone from the Army and put on another bus for the ride to Fort Jackson where the fun really started.

Fort Jackson covered an area of 52,594 acres extending 18 miles East to West and 10 miles North to South in 1967.

As soon as the bus pulled to a stop in front of the Reception Center, the meanest man I’ve ever come in contact with up to that point in my young life, jumped on the bus and immediately starts yelling and screaming orders. “OFF THE BUS! DOUBLE TIME! LINE UP! and all kind of crap like that. We practically ran off the bus, into what seemed like hell and into the waiting arms of Uncle Sam and the United States Army. As I was standing there trying to line up for the mean man, one of my first thoughts was, “They’ve all been so nice so far, what the fuck happened?”

The reception center at Fort Jackson is the largest Reception Station in the US Army and first stop all new recruits make. Here is a description of the Reception Station the Commanding Officer gave in a briefing in 1967.

“The mission of the Reception Station is to receive and administratively process, within a prescribed time limit of four days, all United States Regular Army, Army Reserve, National Guard, or prior service personnel ordered to active duty, and present the best possible impression of the Army to each new accession. This mission is unique in that the Fort Jackson Reception Station is the only one in the United States Army required on a regular basis to process personnel for two Army Training Centers ; i.e., Fort Gordon, Georgia and Fort Jackson, South Carolina . In addition, we are also charged with orienting and processing qualified applications for Officer Candidate School from In ducted and Regular Army (RA) Personnel being processed at the Reception Station, as well as counseling qualified inducted personnel on the benefits of enlisting in the regular army for a school of their choice of sixteen weeks duration or longer. “To accomplish this mission, the Reception Station is organized with a total authorized strength of 392 personnel, of which 130 are civilians. This staffing permits maximum finished processing of 500 men per day, five days a week. Two sections remain fully operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week; they are the Consolidated Mess and the Initial Receiving Point (IRP). “The majority of receptees arrive by bus or train. Some arrive by air and are shuttled to Fort Jackson by Army bus; all accessions are received at the initial receiving point. They are welcomed into the Army and fed, if they arrive during meal time or missed their last meal. They are given a haircut which marks their initial transition as a soldier. After two hours of in-processing, they are then assigned to their company for issue of bed ding and comfort pak. “Within 24 hours after arriving, each receptee receives his initial issue of clothing. They next attend the Company Commander Orientation and this ends the processing for the first day. “On the morning of their second processing day, all receptees undergo a physical inspection. Approximately 55 out of 10,000 persons are eliminated each month as a result of this inspection. After the inspection, they receive their initial battery of Army tests, which takes six hours to complete. Four hours are given on this day, with remaining tests given the following day. “On the individual’s third day, he is interviewed. It is through this interview that the man’s aptitudes and abilities are determined. The Classification/Assignment Noncommissioned Officer utilizes this information to make a recommendation as to the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) in which he will be trained upon completion of Basic Combat Training. Qualified high school and college graduate inducted personnel are identified at this time. They are interviewed by career counselors for the Officer Candidate School Program, and Army School Program which fills special requirements and hard skill MOS schools with Regular Army personnel. Our program at Fort Jackson has resulted in more than three thousand individuals volunteering for an extra year to obtain a school of their choice and more than seven hundred for Officer Candidate School . “After classification and assignment, each receptee is interviewed by the personal affairs branch; here, his allotments are made, pay vouchers checked, insurance application and family medical care applications are completed, and his records verified for accuracy and completeness. “On the fourth and final processing day, each man is paid; sworn into the Regular Army, if he entered as a US Inductee and elected a school, given his immunization, and prepared for shipment. “Personnel assigned to Fort Gordon depart by commercial carrier at 1330 hours and those assigned to Fort Jackson are picked up by their Basic Combat Training unit. Personnel destined for other installations are normally held overnight at the Reception Station and shipped early the next morning.”

Here's an interesting fact.

In Fiscal Year 1967, Fort Jackson processed over 103,000 receptees through the Reception Station.

More About My Army Life

I got the bug to expand on the stories about my time in the army after finding my Basic Training Yearbook and making this post. Here's the rewrite of Chapter 1: Drafted

Chapter 1: Drafted

I was very excited when I turned 18 in 1966, because now I could go into bars and drink legally, not that I hadn’t been doing it for awhile anyway. My parents also gave me permission to smoke at 18, so now I didn’t have to sneak around and hide either one anymore. On my 18th birthday, I went down to the draft board in Smithtown, registered for the draft and got my draft card. That same day I made it a point to go into the couple of bars in town where I been drinking for the last 6 months. The bartenders all thought I was already 18 and never asked me for proof. I sat down at the bar and ordered my usual beer, a “shorty” for 25 cents. The bartenders all gave me the beer like usual, but I made sure before I drank it, I asked them why they weren’t checking my proof and then tossed my draft card on the bar and waited for their response. They all made a couple of fake angry comments, but didn’t really get mad.

For the next 1½ years, everything was great, but draft day was getting very close so a decision had to made what I was going to do. I, like many other young people during that time in our history, tried to think of a way of how to get out of serving in Vietnam. We all knew that if we were drafted, there was a 99% chance we would be sent to Vietnam as an infantryman. That would mean we had a very good chance of being wounded or worse, being killed. No one wanted that.

We had very few options for not going. For example, there was getting a deferment by going to college or one having medical problems. I couldn’t afford college and I was physically fit, so those were out of the question. Then as a last resort, one could move to Canada. Canada let in anyone that chose that route and refused extradition back to the United States. I never even considered that option. To me, that seemed like the coward’s way out and I wasn’t a coward. Besides, my father had served in World War II in the Navy and my older brother was serving in the reserves in the Navy and by God, so would I if called upon to serve.

The other route some took was to enlist in one of the other branches of the military so the risk for going to Vietnam would be decreased. I tried that in early January of 1968. I called the recruiters for all the branches of the service, but the only ones that were accepting anyone was the Army and the Marines. I discounted the Marines because, come on, they had a reputation for being extremely tough on recruits, so no way. That left the Army.

I went down the see the Army recruiter and tentatively signed up to enlist for four years and be trained to repair Teletype machines. (Look it up if you don’t know what a Teletype machine is.) I even took my pre-enlistment physical shortly thereafter. I passed the physical, but reconsidered enlisting because I really didn’t want to commit to four years active duty. So I called the recruiter and told him I would take my chances with the draft.

Then during the first week of March in 1968, I heard the door bell ring and answered the door. I saw the postman standing there holding an envelope in one hand. The letter came special delivery, so I signed for it. It was the letter every young man of draft age dreaded receiving, the letter from the Selective Service.


I opened the envelope and read the heading. It read "ORDER TO REPORT FOR ARMED FORCES PHYSICAL EXAMINATION”.


I read further..................


"MARCH 8TH! That's just a few days away!" I broke the news to my parents and brothers. MY brothers all cracked a few jokes, but I knew they were just teasing me like they always did. We all knew that I'd eventually get this letter, but deep down inside we all hoped that I never would.

I drove down to the draft board that morning and stood in line to check in just like a lot of other young men from the area, many I knew from school. Soon we all boarded the bus for the ride into Brooklyn. The physicals were given at Fort Hamilton. On the way in, we talked and I mentioned that I was going to enlist in January and had I had already been through this. Of course everyone wanted to know what it was like and asked me lots of questions. I told them everything I'd been through as if I was an “Old Pro” at it. “Old Pro” my ass, I was just as scared as everyone else because we all knew just how close we were getting to being draft and sent to Vietnam.

We arrived at Fort Hamilton about an hour or so later where we were interviewed and given a brief physical examination. They asked us many questions all to try and find out if we were medically fit, gay or mentally challenged. Not surprisingly, some were turned down for all of those reasons, but just my luck, I was 'as fit as a fiddle' as they say. After we were done, we all got back on the bus for the ride home to wait for the inevitable, the “STATEMENT OF ACCEPTABILITY”. This was the letter that officially let you know if you were acceptable for induction. I already knew the answer because in January I was accepted and nothing had changed since then.

The last week of March I got another letter from the Selective Service. I knew immediately what it was, my Statement of Acceptability. Now the only question let, was would it say I was accepted or rejected.


I opened the envelope............................


I read the form.............................


Yep, I was “FOUND FULLY ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUCTION INTO THE ARMED FORCES”. Now all there was left was to do was wait for my draft notice.


I don’t remember exactly what day my draft notice came, but probably just a couple weeks later. Here's a copy of one I found on the internet. I couldn't find mine.


It said I was to report to the draft board in Smithtown on the morning of May 6, 1968 for induction into the military at the ripe old age of 19 years, 6 months and 2 days. US Government policy at the time was to draft all men into the military at 19 ½ years of age if they hadn’t already joined, or had a deferment of some kind.

Although draftees were a small minority (16%) in the U.S. armed forces, they comprised the bulk of infantry riflemen in Vietnam (88% in 1969). They accounted for more than half the army's battle deaths. Because of student and other deferments, the draft and the casualties fell disproportionately upon working-class youths, black and white.