[ErnBatavia]

Forty years ago today, Dad dropped me off at the Induction Center in downtown Los Angeles...the people there, for some reason, stopped being friendly and solicitous - and in a few hours I was on a Greyhound headed for MCRD San Diego.

I'm sure there are a few Marine Corps FReepers who'd like to share their recruit training experiences...I'll drop a few in here periodically.

[ErnBatavia]

Anniversary Pingie-Dingie!

[Howlin]

Military VANITY ping!

These always turn out to be the BEST threads on FR, IMO.

Happy anniversary and thank you for your service.

[MineralMan]

About the same time, in 1985, I rode a Greyhound bus to the same induction center. I spent the night in a cheap hotel in downtown L.A. and processed through the next morning.

That night, I got my first plane ride, in a 707, directly to Lackland AFB in San Antonio. We got off the plane to find a sergeant screaming at us. And so it began.

[Gay State Conservative]

Hey,I hope that other services can join in!

Ft Knox,October '69.Sgt Donald King...just back from RVN sporting a Combat Infantry Badge.Clearly didn't like recruits,particularly Yankee types (he being a Southern boy).

Northern KY southern IN having the coldest winter in 50 years.Damn! it was cold.

While in BCT,they invited me and a couple of others in my company to go to OCS.I declined,knowing that 2LT's had a life expectancy of about 20 minutes in SE Asia.

Otherwise,pretty run of the mill.Emerged from Ft Knox as a lean,mean killing machine...with an MOS of 71 Hotel (Personnel Specialist) ;-)

[doug from upland]

Thanks for what you did, Ern.

[Tennessee_Bob]

MCRD San Diego

Hollywood Marine!

Had to say that for my father's sake - he was a Parris Island Marine.

Semper Fi!

[NerdDad]

Happy Anniversary Marine.

I'm a few years behind you (1978) and USAF, but my own anniversary is coming up Aug 9. I did, however, immediately recognize those footprints.

Interesting choice of wording: "the people there, for some reason, stopped being friendly and solicitous". I recall the same loss of jovial decorum that was so welcoming in the recruiter's office.

My favorite recruit training experience actually occurred to another recruit in another flight. Probably why it has always been my favorite.

At the midway point of training for each flight, we picked up a "baby flight". New guys who we were supposed to help guide along the new narrow path. We are on the pad to welcome our baby flight and off the bus comes a recruit who NEVER had any other name but "Princess". This dufus hops down from the bus with a waist length pony-tail and wearing a tee-shirt that read "I'm only here for the beer." In retrospect, I have no doubt that this was probably revenge for the hail he put his father thru.

This poor schmuck had screaming T.I.s from every flight within earshot surrounding him as soon as his feet hit the pavement. It usually took about 48 hrs for the noobs to get processed thru the physical/haircut/uniform stuff. The screaming Sgts practically ran him to the barber shop right then.

I remember being the one selected to teach this group how to make their beds. I asked about who that guy was and everybody just laughed and said "Oh Princess!!," then called him over. I asked him what he was thinking and he just shook his head and walked away.

I'll come back later and tell you about having my first experience with PC while I was at Lackland. I might even get brave enough to tell about being a lefty trying to qualify with the M-16 and how I shut the firing line down.

[RebelBanker]

Thank you for your service, Ern!

I was an Army type; went to Basic at Ft. Knox, Kentucky (Delta Company, 13th Training Battalion, 4th Training Brigade) in 1983. The outdoor Basic Training scenes for the movie "Stripes" were filmed at Ft. Knox and my platoon's junior Drill Sergeant liked to amuse himself by pointing out as many of the locations as possible. Not sure exactly what he was implying ;-)

Seriously, both Drills were tough but very fair and taught us a much more than we realized at the time. Many years and many miles later, I wish I could thank then-SFC Johnny Anderson and then-SSG John Covert for all they did.

[sergeantdave]

About that time I was in ITR at Camp Pendleton, and I was no longer a maggot, scuzzy civilian.

[CougarGA7]

On August 15th 1988 I rode a bus to Oakland to go to the MEPS the next day. I was with 2 other recruits.

The United States Air Force had the foresight to put us 3 scrawny white kids on a Greyhound that dropped us off in downtown Oakland at 1 am.

Of course our ride didn't show up till 2:30.

The 3 of us huddled together absolutely convinced that we were going to die.

Then a woman approached us. She was heavy set and had a glass eye. She had on green stockings that were amazingly too big for her and reeked of alcohol. She looked at the guy next to me and said, "Do you want to have a good time before you go in?"

He looked at her with tears welling up in his eyes and said, "No."

[Kate of Spice Island]

On that day, way back then...

I was just a sweet little girl that just had her fourth brithday.

Thank you for making it so I could have so many more in such a free country.

[maica]

No wonder this is a day seared in your memory. Everything became "before" July 27, 1966 or "after" July 27, 1966. I bet on that day your brain never gave a thought to 2006. What a ride we all have taken since the '60s.!

[Coop]

Marines frighten me

[RaceBannon]

LOL!!!!

[RaceBannon]

I was awaiting my 7th birthday about 2 weeks from then....

[EDINVA]

Thank you and all the others who will contribute to this thread for your service. Happy Anniversary!

[Gay State Conservative]

Another memory that just came back to me....drunken recruits in the PX playing "Someday,We'll Be Together" by the Supremes over and over on the jukebox!

I don't think I'll ever be able to hear that song again without seeing that picture in my mind.

[billhilly]

Congrats on your anniversary. Just yesterday I suddenly remembered that it was fifty years ago this month that I arrived at Wheelus Air Base, in Tripoli, Lybia to begin an 18 month assignment. Time really flies.

[Darlin']

Thank you for your service and Happy Anniversary. We're grateful for your sacrifices.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Sept 13 1966
I entered Naval Training Center, Great Lakes
One day before I turned 18 therefore,
per Congressional Law,
I was I got out 1 day before I turned 21

I joined the Navy to see the world
BUT they didn't tell me it would be a "working cruise" LOL