GruntSGT mentioned in the comments that he was going to try to remember the good times abut serving. I, instead, flashed on my most miserable day this 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month this 11th year.
it was at Fort Polk, LA during the winter of 1974-75. I was on the cusp of graduating to AIT from basic training. Being Louisiana, it was raining and it was freezing cold. In the morning, we stood in the rain waiting for an opportunity to familiarize with the M2 50-caliber machine gun, which should have been exciting, but the firing positions were filled with rain water and to fire the guns, we had to sit in the near-freezing water.
Of course, having anticipated the weather, I wore my wool longjohns, which were now soaked and clung to my rosy-pink skin. Ok, time for a 7-mile march to the next range in wet boots and soaked wool drawers.
The next range was a demonstration of the Army’s new TOW missiles. So we climbed into the bleachers which faced right into an icy unremitting wind with no where to hide from the freezing blasts. My tiny 127-pound frame became an icicle. After three hours of that torture, it was time for lunch…finally something to restore my body heat.
We eagerly lined up by the Meramite cans only to discover that our luncheon fare was going to be liver.
There were decades of miserable days ahead for me during my military career, people shooting at me, riding the German autobahns in Winter with my stupid face sticking out of the commander’s hatch, the slide-for-life into an iced-over pond in December, choking down monkey meat at JOTC, but none of them rise to the “perfect storm” of the misery on that day in Fort Polk.
Made my day! I think it was I wore my wool longjohns, which were now soaked and clung to my rosy-pink skin.
I was never at Ft Polk, But one memory of my two years in Vietnam with the 1st Brigade,101st Airborne Div. (1965-67)is the conversation overheard while receiving “new meat” (FNG’s)just prior to another insertion into a HOT LZ.
“how can these new guys be smiling and looking like they’re on holliday? … oh that’s easy, they’ve been through Fort Polk for their training” Happy Veterans Day 11/11/11 and remember:it’s all about your reference points. lol
OMG- We hated Fort Polk. I told my husband if he ever got stationed there again it was going to be a hardship tour.
Our first duty station was Fort Lewis, so naive me thought all bases were like Lewis-then we got stationed at Polk..still gives me the heeby jeebies thinking about it.
Happy Veterans Day and thank you all for your service to this country!
Louisiana is beautiful country, but the area around Polk is nothing but pine trees. I feel sorry for anyone stationed there; the area lacks the atmosphere of South Louisiana and there is little to do without driving for an hour or more. At least they have a brand new PX complex that sells guns.
I earned my first AAM as a newly promoted PFC at Polk. We were in a JRTC rotation that was far from great, though. We had packed only bivy covers and poncho liners for our time in the box; needless to say it was a cold time. I couldn’t even get hit during the actions of the first couple of days–we were down to 28 men (including walking wounded) left in the company to assault Smith Villa and I was one of them. My dumb ass finally got a trip to the “rear” after tripping a booby trap during a PAUSEX. After a few hours of bouncing around in the back of a five-ton I got to get some sleep in a relatively warm tent and eat a hot MRE. Finally, I got to physically breech a wire obstacle at Shugart-Gordon. Once again, I beat the odds and made it to the door of the school with my squad leader and one more squad member. We were fired down upon from the second story and the OC told me to open my casualty card. Fragmentation wound to the foot–conducted self-aid and waited with the rest of the platoon at the CCP.
Sadly, two fellow Rakkasans from a sister battalion were killed by a tank during the brigade’s time there.(http://articles.latimes.com/2002/nov/15/nation/na-training15).
I hated Ft Polk, because I swear the only rotations are in November and February. Cold, wet and tired. Casualty cards meant squat on my last JRTC rotation, because 1SGs aren’t killed off to go sham at the PHA for a couple of days.
Ahhhh, Ft. Puke. I did Infantry AIT there, May-June ’72, iirc. Old WWII two storey wood barracks, no AC, I was Plt guide with too many draftees who did NOT want to be there.
Mosquitoes so big, we had SAM batteries around the AO to keep them from abducting trainees and roaches so big, at night, it sounded like a mechanized unit on maneuvers.
I thought Virginia was muggy in the summer – it didn’t hold a candle to Ft. Puke.