In Appreciation Of All Military Careers | Seasons, Stories & Sundays
Held annually at Churchill Downs horse racing track in Louisville, KY on the first Saturday in May, the Kentucky Derby is one of the oldest and most prestigious sporting events in the United States. Later in May, the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” at Indiana’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the iconic 500-mile IndyCar Series race is held yearly on Memorial Day weekend, featuring 33 cars competing on a 2.5-mile oval track.
As a newly enlisted member of the United States Army Reserve in Fort Wayne, I embarked on February 2, 1965, to Fort Knox, KY for six months of basic training and looked forward to attending both of the above prestigious sporting events in May 1965 while on leave from training.
But that didn’t happen! Following my four months and 26 days of basic training I was surprised at being transferred to Fort Dix, NJ for advanced infantry training!
Unbeknownst to me, the U. S. had begun significant, direct military involvement in the Vietnam War in March 1965 with the deployment of combat troops to Da Nang, following the August 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident.
Had I followed this news more closely I might not have been surprised when at Fort Knox I was called to meet with Army personnel to review my intended Military Occupational Specialty known as a MOS. It was explained to me that my choices for training as a company clerk or in photography were both well and good, but my third choice of Advanced Infantry Training (AIT) needed a few more weeks to complete than what my Reserve Unit had signed-up for me. I was told not to worry because (unbeknownst to me) it was my third choice. Most likely I would be assigned training in one of my first two choices. But, if not, and I was assigned AIT, I would be returned to my Reserve Unit with an incomplete MOS and would be subject to the draft.
That, of course, was a scary proposition at that time so I gladly agreed and signed-up to accept additional training in my MOS if, and that reportedly was a big IF, the other two choices were full and I was assigned to undergo AIT. I was assured, of course, that the odds were in my favor and most likely I would receive one of my first two choices.
Wrong! Fort Dix was not too bad at first glance but it was nothing like Fort Knox. We trainees remarked that it was all sand and pine trees. At the time it served as a disembarking military post for troops being sent overseas; mainly to Viet Nam, of course.
I’m not complaining. That advanced infantry training probably helped me become a man more than the instructions for company clerk or photography would have. The primary difficulty I encountered later involved serving as the company clerk for my Reserve Unit the remaining five-and-one-half years of my enlistment with absolutely no training in clerking skills! Talk about winging it! I was, however, also able to serve as an instructor using my combat training skills.
As I wrote last May in the Waynedale News, my wife and I did attend an Indianapolis 500-mile race in 1973 even though we only saw one lap before an accident postponed the race for three days due to persistent rain. We’ve never been to the Kentucky Derby but we had relatives who attended for several years and we enjoyed listening to their descriptions of the event.
So, as the saying goes: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” What kind of lemonade did I make at Fort Dix? Well, I was able to leave a car in Newark, NJ that enabled me on leave to visit close friends in New York City with whom I had attended graduate classes the previous year at Northwestern University. And, I overcame fears of driving in “The Big City” without losing my mind. Along with five other recruits I was chosen to play military calls on a herald trumpet before thousands of military personnel and others in attendance at an impressive Fort Dix Armed Forces Day ceremony.
May officially is recognized as Military Appreciation Month in the U.S. It’s dedicated to honoring and recognizing the service, sacrifice and contributions of active-duty members, veterans and their families across all branches of military service. While I was fortunate to be stationed in Fort Wayne serving for six years as the “untrained” company clerk for my Reserve Unit, I often recall some really brave young men I served with at Fort Dix, many of them minorities from Brooklyn, NY and the Bronx. Most I fear were sent to Vietnam after undergoing jungle training in Hawaii. I try to often remember to thank them in prayer for their service and for possibly giving their lives for our country!
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