THE ARMY YEARS 6

The last big event in Basic was a thing called "Bivouac".  That translates to mean an army sponsored camping trip in the December snow after a 15 mile hike in Kentucky.  At least we weren't bothered by mosquitoes and ticks.

We each had a shelter half tent that you buddy up with another guy and button the half's together to have a pup tent that will hold two guys.  I know we had it soft compared to many guys but it made our barracks look good.

By the time you finish basic you automatically dive for the ditch when you hear any gunshots.  We were walking along this dirt road in the snow at night when a machine gun started firing.  Everyone dove for the ditch and we heard someone scream and water splashing.  One poor guy had dove over the side of a bridge into a large creek.  We stopped and they got him out and wrapped him in blankets from an ambulance that followed us on long hikes.  He stripped down and got in the ambulance and was taken back to post.  He may have gotten cold for a short while but he slept warm that night back in the barracks. 

We finished basic, had our parade, packed up and headed out to our new station.  I was going to Fort Gordon and got to fly for my first time.  We had a DC-3 from Dutch Overseas Airways.  Never heard of them before or since but the flight was a great experience.

We landed at the Augusta, GA airport, Bush Field.  President Eisenhower's plane, The Columbine, was parked by where we got off while he played golf at Augusta National.  I guess it was a government area of the airport and you could see the civilian terminal from where we were.  They now call any plane the president fly's in "Air force One".

One guy from the Midwest was amazed to see that we had paved roads, telephones, and electric power in the south.  All he knew about the south was from some old movies.  We went to the "Receiving Company" for processing and then to our student companies.  I have already been over the schools before.  

Dave Rogers out of uniform.

I met Dave Rogers in Basic and we were both from Atlanta. He and a guy named Rudolph Thomas kept us entertained with their music and our barracks was usually full of guys from other platoons listening to the free concerts.  Dave was a good guitar player and singer and he thought he had it all planned.  Dave had volunteered for the draft and everything was supposed to be arranged for him to go to Special Services at Fort Mac in Atlanta.  Special Services was the unit that had the Band and other non soldier type stuff.  Dave was sent to Fort Gordon and Signal School with me.  He kept checking with the Special Services unit and they kept telling him that to be patient and they would get him in their unit.  Didn't happen.  Dave kept requesting a transfer and, I guess, the brass got tired of it and transferred him to Fort Bragg as a Link Trainer operator.  (A Link Trainer was the simulator used to practice instrument flying back then.)  Nancy and I spent an evening at an American Legion Post as Dave's guest and sat at the table with Dave, his wife Barbra, and Joe South when they were the entertainment.  Joe made it big and Dave did get a recording contract and made many albums.  He moved to Nashville after the army and was in music until his death a few years ago.

One of Dave's record albums.

Dave and I would go home to Atlanta any weekend that we could and we were both in the Instructor Company at the time.  Neither one of had any students the last hour of the day on a Friday and we decided to "Bug Out" and go home early.  The barracks were on one side of a huge parade field and the schools were on the other.  Anyone walking across could be spotted from a long way off.  I always carried a clipboard when we called it an early day.  We saw Colonel Rose, The Training Center Commander, ride up and tell his driver to stop.  He got out of the car and waited for us.  We didn't change our direction as some others who had gotten caught had done.  We walked right by him, saluted him, and said "Good afternoon Sir".  He returned the salute and said "Carry on men".  Had we changed direction we would have been caught, or maybe it was the clipboard. 

If Dave had been a little more patient, he would have been able to transfer to Fort McPherson when I did at the start of the Avionics platoon. 

"That's not enough, Madam, we need a majority".  Supposed response to a woman who called out to him: Senator, you have the vote of every thinking person."  Adelai Stevenson

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