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Today we are pleased to salute and congratulate Eric, the son of ohioWfan. As regular readers of the Forum know, Eric entered Basic Training for the U.S. Army shortly after graduating from high school in June. His mother, ohioWfan, has been posting updates on his experiences in Basic Training since that time. Eric recently graduated from Basic Training and here is ohioWfan's account of that important event. It is our plan to follow the military career of young Eric and we hope to have future accounts as events occur.
As we sat on the bleachers at Victory Field in Ft. Knox, Kentucky, waiting for the graduation ceremony to start, it was difficult to remain calm. It had been 10 weeks since Eric had left for Basic Training, and we could hardly contain our excitement that we would soon see him again......but there was an air of apprehension as well.
We knew he would be changed, but how much, and in what ways? Moments before he left, I had hugged him and whispered, "Don't change too much. I like you the way you are." He laughed, and said he would try not to. Now it would only be a matter of time before we knew how much he had.
The morning of August 21 was cooler than normal for Kentucky, but the sun shone brightly as we waited. The security at the Fort was tight, and everyone had their cars searched, so that some friends and family members who came to watch the graduation, were unable to get into the bleachers before it began.
As the time of the ceremony approached, from the far right, there appeared a column of soldiers, and parents around us said excitedly, "THERE THEY ARE." We all strained our eyes to see if we could spot our respective sons, but suddenly, the column turned around and left. The whole crowd sighed a collective sigh of disappointment.
A small military band marched onto the field, and began to play military and patriotic songs, and finally, the formation of troops appeared again to our right, and marched in crisp formation by platoon onto the field in front of us. We all had the same problem, however, and it was a BIG one. There was no possible way to identify an individual soldier in a sea of light green shirts, brown pants and shaven heads. We had no idea where Eric was.....and it was pure torture.
This was the graduation ceremony for D and I Companies, in the Army's 2nd Battalion, 46th Infantry-The Professionals, an Infantry constituted in May of 1917 as part of the general mobilization for World War I, and reconstituted in 1943 as part of the 5th Armored Division, participating in the Normandy Invasion, and having the distinction of being the first American unit to reach German soil. Eric was now a part of this proud tradition.
The graduation began with an Invocation, and consisted of presentation of the troops, the National Anthem, the presentation of awards to those achieving at the highest levels in each company, some strong, and inspiring remarks by one of the Command Sergeant Majors, and a reaffirmation by the troops of their Oath to defend the Constitution against enemies, foreign and domestic, and to obey the orders of the President, and their officers.
 When the Oath was finished, the troops then passed in review in columns before us, sharply turning their heads toward the stands as they passed by. We still didn't know where Eric was, but knowing he was in the 1st Platoon of I company, at least had it narrowed down. The first groups passed in front of us, and we began to look hard to see where he might be-and then my husband called out, "THERE HE IS". He looked different. He was wearing his glasses, since contacts are not permitted in basic, his hair was gone, and he was standing so tall and straight, and looking so very serious and well.....like a soldier. If you have read my comments about Eric, you may know that we called him our laughing boy and he almost always has a smile on his face. His younger sister (his older brother and sister were already at their respective colleges, and couldn't come) looked at me after he had gone by and said, "I hardly recognized him".
From there we were to go to the Armor Inn to have lunch with him, but we could see that the Companies were loading up on busses nearby, and went over to them, to hopefully actually see our son. As they marched along the road, each platoon sang a cadence that sent chills down my spine. We caught up to Eric's group (he was in the second row, because they had lined up by height with the tallest in front), and they stopped in front of the buses. His Dad stood in the front and shot some video, and I walked to the side of his row to take still shots. It was really funny, because he was working so hard to keep from smiling, knowing that we were standing right there, and the moment they were at ease, he looked over at me, and flashed the biggest, brightest grin I could imagine, and I melted. I knew at that moment, that whatever changes had taken place in him, he was still our laughing boy.
 We went from there over to the Inn and waited for the troops to arrive. They got off the bus, and had to reform, being given some instructions by their Drill Sergeant before they were actually free to come and see us. By this time, I was going nuts, waiting to give him a huge hug. Finally they were dismissed and he came running over to us, and we hugged and cried, and then his Dad hugged him and cried, and then his sister hugged him and cried. What a joyous reunion we had that fine morning.
His first "Battle Buddy"- a big guy, 27 years old, came over to us to meet us. He teasingly said that he and some others had been trying to get Eric to crack and use a cuss word since Basic began, but that they had never succeeded. In one short moment, the love in that man's eyes and the arm he placed around my son, revealed the testimony that Eric had had for Christ among the men he had witnessed to there.
We ate lunch together, watching a video of their training, and hearing story after story from Eric of all the things he had not had time to tell us in our brief phone calls about his training experiences. The only time we saw him specifically in the video was when he came running out of the gas chamber flapping his arms, coughing, and trying to yell "Warriors never die" as he threw up all over the pavement. What a great thing to see, as we tried to eat our beef and mashed potatoes.
From there we went to the wonderful Patton museum with its display of tanks, which is on base, and then took a short auto tour of all of the places that were not off limits to us, where Eric had trained. He proudly showed us obstacle courses and firing ranges, excitedly telling us every detail of every experience he had had. In the car he feasted on homemade cookies, pumpkin bread, drank several cans of Vanilla Coke, and ate, of all things, one of his favorite treats-fruit snacks.
We went back to the hotel, where he relaxed in civilian clothes (and comfortable undies) then went to Red Lobster for dinner. We spent a quiet evening in the hotel, and the next day got up late, ate a huge brunch at Cracker Barrel, went to a local Louisville mall where he bought a few CD's and listened to them, went downtown to a coffee specialty store, then out to dinner at a Texas Roadhouse, where he downed a "Cowboy sized" steak, and then we reluctantly brought him back to the base by 21:00 hours, so that he could leave for Ft. Lee, Virginia at 3:00 am.
It was awful to leave him there. We all felt that the 36 hours had just teased us. What is coming ahead for him is much easier, and the time at AIT will fly, as did the time in Basic Training, but parting was very painful.
Eric has matured, and looks different (10 pounds heavier, and buff (according to his sister), but in the important ways, he is still the same delightful, dedicated young man who left us in June. He told us one story about his boot camp experience that illustrated it. When they were out on FTX (Field Training Experience), they had to dig a small, body sized trench around the perimeter, build up the dirt in front of it, and lie in a prone position with their M-16s ready to fire. They had to stay there for hours, and not fall asleep. In all the time they had been in Basic, it had not rained, but out there on maneuvers, it rained. So there was Eric, lying in the mud, gun in hand, rain falling, and what should come to him, but the song "Singing in the Rain". (That's my boy.) He said he kept singing it to himself "Do, do, do dooo, do, do, do" to keep his mind occupied, and then told us cheerfully that it reinforced to him that he was a DORK through and through.
This is an experience that, no matter what Eric does with his life afterward, will have changed and molded him forever. The US Army is based on moral principles and ideas, and it reinforced the ideas of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage, that we had taught him at home. He is considering what several men suggested to him that he become a Chaplain in the Army, but for now he is training in Petroleum supply, learning to fuel tanks and helicopters, and put out fires, and when he is done, will go to College to discern what the Lord wants him to do with his life, and to await the abundant blessings in store for him.
Thanks, once again, for your prayers, my FRiends.
...ohioWfan...
CONGRATULATIONS ERIC
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!
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A Few of FR's Finest.....
