In 1969, one week after turning 17 and two years after dropping out of high school, I went to the Army recruiting office at a shopping center near my home in Suitland, Maryland. Two weeks later I was riding a bus with other new recruits on the way to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The bus arrived at the reception center at 4AM and a drill sergeant came on board and screamed at us to “Get off the bus, now!” “Line up on the marks” “No talking” I was terrified, and immediately began to question my decision to join the Army but it was too late for that, because I had already signed the papers and taken the oath. They fed us and put us to bed for a couple of hours. Later that day, we got buzz cuts and our new uniforms. After a week in the reception area, we were assigned to platoons for basic training. Our days began at 4:30 AM, with the drill sergeant yelling at the top of his lungs for us to get out of bed. I had a hard time adjusting to waking up that early, especially since I wa...
The Ken Padgett Blog
