next one should be about either some event at boot camp or perhaps your decision to volunteer. it’s good reading
My family wants me to write the whole thing, from when I decided to join until I rejoined as an officer in ‘73 and went back for the end of the war in ‘75.
Lot of stuff happened - some pretty interesting. One funny thing was how I got back in: that leg of mine was still pretty nasty in ‘72 and I had been turned down for a lot of jobs - like the LAPD - because of it.
Of all things, I got a letter from the Marine Corps asking if I was interested in becoming an officer. I definitely was but didn’t think that they’d take me with that leg.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained - so I went to the Marine Corps Officer Selection office in Los Angeles and took all the tests and interviews and aced them. Then I was told to go downstairs for my physical and my heart sank..
When I went downstairs, I found that it was the draft reception center and the doctor was thrilled to meet me, an actual volunteer. He and I had a great conversation for a while - a long while - and it got close to closing time. He asked me what my history was and I told that I got shot. He asked me how I was now and I said “fine”, so he wrote “physically qualified” and didn’t even have to take my clothes off!
The Navy doctor at Quantico wasn’t thrilled but he told me that it was “my funeral” and let me start OCS.
I made it just fine and stretched it out to 1996 and retired as a lieutenant colonel.