"Give honor to those who deserve to be honored..."
Romans 13:7
Today is officially Veterans Day...
Romans 13:7
Today is officially Veterans Day...
...where citizens of the United States of America give honor to the men and women who once served in our nation's armed forces, or who are presently serving. And I was one of them. I served in the United States Army from June 1971 to June 1974 until I was honorably discharged after completing my three-year period of enlistment.
Enlisting when I did was a wise choice. I was graduating from high school and had no prospects of a good job awaiting me. So on the very day that my class was having its graduation ceremony, I was being sworn in at the Army's induction center in lower Manhattan in New York City. And when the taking of the oath was over, I was off to a basic training unit at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
Then, right after the completion of my two months of basic training, I was sent to Fort Polk, Louisiana, for advanced infantry training. And once I was done being trained as an infantryman, I was allowed to return home for 30 days leave before I had to report to what was then known as the U.S. Army's Overseas Replacement Station at Fort Lewis, Washington.
After about ten days at Fort Lewis, however, I was placed on a plane with several dozen of my fellow soldiers, and off we went to South Korea with two stopovers to refuel. The first one being in Anchorage, Alaska, where we had to stay inside the plane until the refueling process was complete. Then it was off to Japan for the next leg of my journey, and the next refueling stopover.
While after landing in Japan, we were allowed to walk around the airport for several hours before reboarding for the short flight to a military airfield in South Korea. From here we were split up according to our assignments. Mine was to a military post near the infamous Demilitarized Zone which separates North and South Korea, both of whom are sworn enemies of one other. And they still are to this very day.
Once in my new unit, I joined my fellow soldiers as we went out on patrols and on training exercises. As a mechanized unit, we traveled in armored personnel carriers, and sometimes on foot when the carriers could not access rugged areas. I did this for the duration of my tour.
Hikes over mountains and hills, and stomping across rice paddies in all kinds of weather, was the norm for infantrymen. In Army jargon, we were known as "grunts." Why? Because as foot soldiers, we'd often grunt under the weight of heavy loads. In bitterly cold subzero weather and during the soaking rains of the Monsoon season, we humped it. And when my thirteen-month tour was over, I was eager to return to the States.
And so I did. I came back to New York City, where I enjoyed another 30-day leave. I got to see family and friends whom I hadn't seen in over a year. Then, when my leave time was up, I reported to my next duty station, which was Fort Knox, Kentucky. I was retrained as a clerk typist and worked at the Battalion Headquarters of a basic training unit. I stayed at Fort Knox for the remaining eighteen months of military service and was honorably discharged.
D.B.
Enlisting when I did was a wise choice. I was graduating from high school and had no prospects of a good job awaiting me. So on the very day that my class was having its graduation ceremony, I was being sworn in at the Army's induction center in lower Manhattan in New York City. And when the taking of the oath was over, I was off to a basic training unit at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
Then, right after the completion of my two months of basic training, I was sent to Fort Polk, Louisiana, for advanced infantry training. And once I was done being trained as an infantryman, I was allowed to return home for 30 days leave before I had to report to what was then known as the U.S. Army's Overseas Replacement Station at Fort Lewis, Washington.
After about ten days at Fort Lewis, however, I was placed on a plane with several dozen of my fellow soldiers, and off we went to South Korea with two stopovers to refuel. The first one being in Anchorage, Alaska, where we had to stay inside the plane until the refueling process was complete. Then it was off to Japan for the next leg of my journey, and the next refueling stopover.
While after landing in Japan, we were allowed to walk around the airport for several hours before reboarding for the short flight to a military airfield in South Korea. From here we were split up according to our assignments. Mine was to a military post near the infamous Demilitarized Zone which separates North and South Korea, both of whom are sworn enemies of one other. And they still are to this very day.
Once in my new unit, I joined my fellow soldiers as we went out on patrols and on training exercises. As a mechanized unit, we traveled in armored personnel carriers, and sometimes on foot when the carriers could not access rugged areas. I did this for the duration of my tour.
Hikes over mountains and hills, and stomping across rice paddies in all kinds of weather, was the norm for infantrymen. In Army jargon, we were known as "grunts." Why? Because as foot soldiers, we'd often grunt under the weight of heavy loads. In bitterly cold subzero weather and during the soaking rains of the Monsoon season, we humped it. And when my thirteen-month tour was over, I was eager to return to the States.
And so I did. I came back to New York City, where I enjoyed another 30-day leave. I got to see family and friends whom I hadn't seen in over a year. Then, when my leave time was up, I reported to my next duty station, which was Fort Knox, Kentucky. I was retrained as a clerk typist and worked at the Battalion Headquarters of a basic training unit. I stayed at Fort Knox for the remaining eighteen months of military service and was honorably discharged.
D.B.
