Chits and MPC

If you ran low on money during the month you could buy "Chits" at the EM clund  If you were a PFC  you could buy unto 30 dollars in Chits.  They looked like the old food stamps.  A small booklet with tickets you tore off and cashed. They only came in 5 dollar books.  Cigarettes were 90 cents a carton for Camels, Lucky Strikes,  Filters and Pall Malls were 1.00 a carton.  I think the Em club charged 15 cents a pack.  You could buy whiskey and mixed drinks for 25 cents a drink.  Happy hour drinks were 10 cents.  Once a month they nickle night where every thing was 5 cents.  Drinking and smoking was not taboo.  You could not go to work drunk but if you had been drinking it was no big deal.  We smoked at work.  I did not smoke so I may not be up to speed on all the smoking rules.  But I can not think of any other than No smoking in bed and that was a very serious offense.   MPC  stands for Military pay certificate.   You could not have "Green Backs" or "Real Money.  We were paid and  used something that looked a lot like Monopoly Money.  It was changed every year or so as to help curb blacking marketing.  So when you went off base you had to change your money into Yen.  It was 360 yen to a dollar.  That was pretty good and it made you money go a little further.  A Large Beer was 100 yen when I first arrived when I left 2 years later they were 300 yen.  Ramin was 100 yen a bowl. It was the  real deal and it was very very good.  Each of us had our favorite place to go.  To sum up the money thing, On post was MPC and down town was Yen.  There was no bank, at least I never found it, and most money matter could be handled at the EM club or the Office.  You could not buy a bottle of whiskey unless you were E5 or above.  Of course a soon as you got off post you could buy all you want for 2 or 3 dollars a jug. 

Chitose(My new Home)

The old prop plane lands a little rough and taxis to a small Quonset hut with a small white sign saying" Chitose".  Not a whole lot to see just a few people standing around a 3/4 ton Army truck. No dancing girls, No band, No nothing.  IJust the way we were sitting I was the first off the plane.  I will explain how this will prove to be inportant later on.  I can remember much but I dont think there was any other Army guys on the plane .  The Chitose airport was not where we were going.  We were going to Kuma(Bear) station, the 508th, and it was a few miles away.  Carts, bicycles, mud and a light haze was all I remembered on the ride to post.  Everyone was pretty nice as we checked in.  Some hazing but nothing like at other places I had been.  I went down the to office to sign in.  I handed my orders and such to the company clerk and he started to process me in.  The he looks up and says" Hey How did you get here?, we need a 059s and a 058s not a damn 980. "  OH no.  This is the moment of truth.  "Oh Well He says " Damn Army is always messing something up. Welcome to Chitose"  I DID IT. YES.  From the Silver Dollar in Temple Texas to Chitose Japan.   I was home free.  Only one slight problem, I was here for 2 years  I think at this time I had about 32 to 34 months left in the Army.  I was assigned to a 4 man room.  BY Army standers it was very good.  A big Bonus was that we had Japanese Nationals that were employed by us.  They took so much out of your pay each month  to pay fro their services.  It was not too much around 20 dollars or so, I never really thought much about it.  I just paid it. There were used as" House Boys" and to work in the Kitchen and on the post to do general labor.  Being "House Boy" was not  a demeaning term or a bad job.  Basically  Each house boy had 2 room or so and their job was to keep our rooms clean, take care of our Uniforms, shoes shined and keep our locker ready for inspection.  They were good guys and we used to buy them things from the PX to help them out.  They knew everything.  Their friends worked over at the Officers Quarters so they knew when any type of surprise inspections or Bull s,it was coming down. Very very neat not having to fool with you uniform and such.  Get up in the AM or when ever you had to go to work and there was all your gear laid out and ready to go.  Very Very Good.  A word on how how the pay thing worked.  Back in the 60s you had Pay call.  Everyone fell out in the street and lined up by squads.  The XO and the First Sargent was the pay masters.  I guess the XO was paymaster and the First the Sarge was his helper .  Pay day was usually in the day room.   As the Sarge called your name, you came to attention walked in front of the XO and saluted.  " PFC McGoo reporting for pay, Sir!"  You signed  your pay voucher and the XO counted out your money.  In Cash!!  yep  No checks no bank drafts, good old cash.  After you were paid you had to pass some card tables set up.  House boy table  Laundry table.  EM club table. If you had bought chits from them.  Looking back I guess it was some kind of racket going on but no one cared.  Hell not having KP and having someone to clean your room , shine your shoe, etc was a very good deal.  I never saw anything out of order but I never looked either.  Different story when I went to Korea.  More on that later.

Army rack laid out for a field gear inspection

Yee Haw Off to japan

When you hear of  Japan what do you think of?  I thought I knew, but my global geography knowledge was about to expand.    In 1965 the War had only been over for 20 years.  I know that sounds like a long time .  But if you had 2 Atomic bombs on your ass you might develop enhanced memory. Any ways I have not even left Pensacola yet.  Remember the headquarter clerk that sent me a large envelope with a lot of papers in it?  Now was the time to open it.  Well along with another copy of my orders was  a note.  It said" Hi  Hope you are doing well.  I am getting a hardship discharge so I will gone very soon.  The enclosed orders are ok, sort of.  Do not let anyone see them until you are called for your flight.  Here is all you will need."  Hmmmm  WTF?  I can do it.  Just have to be cool.  My father got me a miltary flight to San Francisco, Travis AFB.  So far so good.  I get off the plane and there are a few more military guys going overseas.  So I wander in to see what is happening.  I find my flight number.  It was posed on a big plastic type board in grease pencil.  Damn It has been rescheduled  for a later date, 2  days  hence.  I did not want to hang out there so I jumped a bus and went into San Fransisco.   I got a room at the YMCA and went to see the town.  First Back in 65 YMCAs were not like they are today.  Many guys used them for a cheap place to stay.  I am not going to explain that anymore.  So for the next couple of days I wandered all over San Fransisco.  I had very little money so I just walked and walked and looked.  I did not have any civilian clothes so I wore my class A uniform.  People would cut you some slack if you wore your uniform.  Everyone knew how little money you made.I saw fishermans wharf, china town, rode the cable cars and had a pretty good time.  Little bit scary, San Fran is big damn place.  Time came and I caught a bus back to Travis.  My plane was going take off around 4pm or so.  I played it cool and showed my orders to the proper guys and they told me to line up.  Loading was going to be soon.  I was pretty excited.   So we all start walking out on the the tarmac headed right for a big jet, maybe a 727.  Oh Yea  Jet to Japan. Sweet.  But wait.  Damn it, we go right under the tail of the jet to a old 4 engine prop plane.  Oh well at least I am on my way.  We load up.  It is just  a cargo plane with seats bolted into it.  The are a couple of woman and children dependents on board also.  They tell us it will take 27 hours flying time to get to Japan.  Wow Long ways I guess.  Off we go,  this is one noisy SOB.  rattling, jumping this is going to be a long ride.  I really felt bad for the little kids.  It was hard on them  Only  1 other Army guy on board and he was a E6 Sargent.  He was drunk!!!  When we got to Japan the MPs nabbed his ass.  No more Sarge.  He was bouncing all over the plane when he got up.  They gave us a box lunch to eat after a couple of hours. I think it was a couple sandwichs and stuff.  At last we make to Hawaii.  It is morning and we get off for a few hours  maybe 4 hours or so.  I walked around some But I was tired and really did not have time to do anything. Load up!! Lets go.  Next stop?  Wake island.  More rattling, bouncing,  baby crying, people bitching  9 hours of flying.  We land at Wake island and it is still morning.  Wake island is a little place.  Not much there so we look around real quick and get back on the plane.  The plane runs down the runway and and and slams on the  brakes  and stops just before the end.  WTH?  Pilot says " No big deal  Just a oil leak"  So we Taxi back to the hanger area and a guy with a tall ladder comes out.  Looks about like me.   He has on some coveralls.  He opens up the engine cover and climbs back down.  He comes back in a little bit with a oil line.  He climbs up and puts it on.  He gives a thumbs up to the pilot and the engine fires up, he looks then closes the hatch.  I start to worry a bit.  9 more hours over the ocean, hope that damn thing does not leak. At Last we land in Japan.
We land at Tachikawa.    I went up the ADAC, which  stands for something,but I forgot, and showed him orders to go to Chitose.  "Oh Hell Chitose  that is way up north. We only go up there once a week, we just went yesterday".  Well Damn  I have a week to kill on a Air Force Base.  I was to stay in the transit quarters.  Not bad Much better than anything the Army had.  But I was dead broke and there was not much to do.  The next day I met another ASAer headed to Chitose . His name was Malseckee. He was a very good guy and we wasted the next week watching bowling, shooting pool and reading. The week went by very slowly but the day came when the plane to Chitose was ready.  Hokkaido  is the long way from Tokyo.  i would guess close to 400 miles. Very rural and not very populated.   Nothing like southern Japan.  Not even close.

Leaving da Hood(fort)

Almost everyone with any time left want to get away from fort Hood.  It was not all bad but it was not very good either.  To get a transfer you had to use a form for change of duty station.  They were almost never  approved.  If they did approve it, you had to have been at your present duty station for over a year.  Again my duty as the training clerk came into play.  I was able to compile all the necessary forms and get them processed with the minimum of hassle.  "Here Sarge sign these forms for me.  It will not do any good but I can try" was my usual spiel.  First one.  Rejected!!  Second one.. Same  Rejected.  Well time to get tough with the bugs.  Being a clerk you might accidentally hit the wrong keys when you are doing paper work.  Not too much more to say about that..Side story but it affects my departure from Fort Hood.  Killeen  Texas back then was dry.  No beer no nothing.  You had to run to the county line that was about 20 miles away to buy beer and such.  The closest beer joints were in Temple Texas.    The ASA had a special bar.  The Silver Dollar!!  What a place.  It was just a ragged old bar with a Juke box and pool table.   They liked us and told all the red necks to leave us alone.  Back then people really did not like to rag on soldiers  unless we really got out of hand.   One day I was hanging out just killing time when a old friend from Fort Devens came in.  Damn  Great to see a old friend.  He also failed/kicked out of his school and he was at Fort Walters.  He was the company clerk for headquarters 303rd ASA.  I told him how jammed I was and really had to get out of Fort Hood.  I can help you , he said.  Really  How?   Just dont ask but it can be done.  The price is 50 dollars.  Not for me but I have to lube some wheels with  it,  he said.  OK good  deal. .  See you here the first Weekend after Payday.  Oh,  He said, put in another Change of duty forum.  Do it when you get back to post.  They will have to accept it.  I will see your forum  when it comes across my desk.  Soon you will receive a large envelope, do what it says, everything will be in it.  Good luck  See you soon for the 50 dollars.  WTF?  So  met him in a week or so and give him the money. Everything is set, package coming soon.  In about 2 weeks we have our morning formation and the CO is there.  He says I have some news  "PFC Gillette is being transferred to Japan."  The formation broke up and every mobbed me.  It was sur real.  People shaking my hand, the Carolina guys doing some kind of mountain yelling..  It was Great I was was going to JAPAN  OH  YES  Sliding doors and Slant Eyed W,.ores .  Color me perfect.   Time to talk about ladies of the evening or business ladys as they are sometimes called.     For many different reasons I never indulged in their services.  One was the fear of STD that could leave you unable to have children and I wanted to have a family one day.  Besides I was always too broke so take your choice.   I really had a close call with all that one time in Temple.  When I went back to pay the guy the 50 dollars I met some guys from the company that .we shared the building with.   1/2 of Temple was off limits to Army people.  I think it was anything west of 8th street, maybe 4th st.  Of course that is were these guys wanted to go.  Oh yea I forgot to say that they were all Black guys.  So we go down to this big bar and get a table and order some whiskey.  While we are drinking this Pimp comes up and says "Hey white boy You looking for a little action?"  Ahhhh  No thank you I am just drinking with my friends. "Oh you just too damn good to mess with us Black folks" he says Very loud.  Damn I am really on the spot.  So I say " No man that aint it I am just tired been drinking all day"  Not good enough.  One of the guys I am with jumps up and hits the guy in the head with , I guess, a small black jack.  The damn guy goes down.   Now all hell breaks lose, one of the guys  grabs me by the arm and yells  Run Run The S OB Has got a gun.  Pow, Pow, the shots ring out.  We run out the door down the street and into my  friends car.  We take off ,tires a squealing when BOOM the back glass explodes from a gun shot.   Nobody chased us and soon we were on the right side of town.  They let me off at the Silver Dollar and I got my car and went back to Fort Hood.  Lesson learned?  Sometimes there is a damn good reason why a area is off limits.  Now back to leaving fort Hood.  Everyone was really glad for me.  I have went home and bought a 57 chevy.  I did not have a spare tire and most everyone knew it.  It took me a couple of days to clear post.  Then they had a evening formation.  My last one at Fort hood.  We did all the nickle and dime stuff then the CO Came up  to talk.  He said " PFC Gillette has been quite a character here but he is a hard worker and has help all of us at one time or another.  Step Up PFC G. I was shocked. Everything went into a blur. I was touched beyond belief.  "Here is a going away present for you". and he rolled out a Brand damn new spare time mounted on a matching rim.  Then they gave me a box of food and stuff for my trip back to Florida.  Then they all yelled GOOD LUCK!!!  I said good bye and drove away as my car was already packed.  Those of you who know me know that I very seldom cry, That day was the exception.

Jumpin in da Hood.

The PX and a small EM club was about a mile away from the barracks.  I had not been  home for awhile so I did not have a car.  Therefore we walked down the PX quite a bit.   My friend and I noticed there was  The fort Hood Parachute club on the way.   One day we dropped in just see what was happening.  Everyone was pretty cool and offered to let us join.  It was very cheap even for a Pfc.  We agreed and for the next week or so they instructed  us  about PLF(parachute Landing Falls), packing chutes, and good general knowledge.  The club President was a one(1) star general and he was a old airborne guy and really liked to jump.  Most of the time he wore civilian cloths and looked like most anybody.  So I had new place to hang out.  What was even better was that they had a beer cooler full of real beer(not the px 3.2 junk).  One day we were sitting around and the General drives up and says I think I would like to jump today.  Someone said that would be great but the plane is still in out at the jump zone .  The Jump zone was about 20 miles away .  Hell with that  Let me call a chopper.  So he makes the calls and in about 30 minutes Whoop whoop whoop, here come a chopper.  It could only hold a couple of people maybe 3 or 4.  The general and his crew  get in, they go straight up and they all bail out.  They land right on the small practice field in back of the club.  The chopper goes on and every one goes inside to repack their chutes.  Way cool. You had to make 5 static line jumps before you could do a 5 second delay. We used old army T-10(I think)chutes that had been modified.  People cut out panels to make them move maneuverable.  Common modification were  a straight I, or a T, or a U.  The more you cut out the move maneuverable they were.  the problem was that it also increased the rate of descent.   I bought a chute from a guy, well really my friend and I went 1/2s on it,  for 45 dollars.  It has a small double T so it was a pretty fast descender.  We pack and repack the the chute.  the first couple of times the older members watched us, then we were on our own.  Packing a chute is not very  hard and after a few times you are sure it is right(you hope)  so we play with chute and wait to go jump.  The weather in Parachute jumping can raise hell with your plans.  So we lost a couple of weeks waiting for weather to be ok when we had time off. One Saturday everything lined up.  JUMP DAY  Oh yea let me at it I aint scared of nothing!!!!  We all go out to the jump area and load up in little 4 place Cessna.  3 people can  jump, the jump master gets in first and into the seat behind the pilot. next dummy #2  then dummy#1   Yes I am dummy #1.  Of course the door is off and you seem to be half way falling out of the plane and you are still on the ground.  Once you get to this state and the plane takes off there is no turning back.. Because if you do not jump then the other 2 behind you can not get to the door to get out.  New jumpers are a real pain in the ass and I am sure I was no exception.  So the engine fires up and away we go.  I think my first jump was at 3500 not positive but I think I am close.   Damn the wind is really whipping in the plane.  I notice the altimeter says 5 Looks pretty high too me.  OH no the thing has to go around 3 more times then to the 5.  This is really going to be high.  A Cessna with 4 people and a missing door does not climb very fast so you have some time to think how stupid this is and all the stuff that can go wrong.   Soon the pilot cuts back the throttle a bit and the Jump Master taps me on he shoulder and motions me too get out on the step.  Jumping from a small plane is not like the stuff you see in the Movies where every one lines up and just jumps out the open door.  Nope.  Much more that that.  Remember the plane is still going 70 or 80 mph I would guess, seemed like 300.  Ever stick you hand out the car window doing 70 MPH? Then try sticking you foot out and placing it one a small pad on top of the aircrafts wheel.  Not quite as easy as it was back at the club in the little mock up practice area.  So you get your foot on the pad then you have to bend way out and grab the wing strut to pull you self out of the plane.  This a dangerous spot for every one.  Your body is causing a large drag on the plane so you have to get off quick.  There have been stories up people freezing on the strut and causing the plane to crash.   I get out  on the strut and glance back at the plane and everyone is waving like hell,  JUMP JUMP Get the hell off the wing.   I did ok I got off pretty quick.  Later no one was mad so I took that as a good sign.  You are supposed to jump back, spread your arms and legs , count to 5 the glace and see if you chute is opening.  Easier said than done.  I cleared the plane and I saw it moving away.. My count was  like 1 ....5......Oops a little too early to look.  If you look too early you makes you head go down and when the chute opens it really snatches  you hard.  I looked, head went down as the chute opened and popped me upright.  All right this is it.  It was really neat.  everything was really quiet and I was just hanging there 2500 feet or so high.  It was so high that you did not have any fear like you do when you are on a ladder or on the edge of a roof.  Hard to explain but it is different,way different.   But the game is not over yet.  Remember the deal of the chute modifications?   Double Ts drop pretty quick as I am now finding out.  There seems to be a 1,000 things they tell you not to do during a jump.  A big one is NEVER try to turn the chute in last couple of hundred feet as you will spill air from the canopy and increase your rate of fall.  But they also stress  ALWAYS land into the wind.  Say your chute falls at maybe 5 mph if you land into a 6  wind then your a just  have +1 forward mph.  Land the other way  and you are landing at 11 mph.  Too fast a landing speed and you increase your chances of getting hurt.   My jump area did not have wind sock or anything so I just had to guess.  Spitting seemed like a good idea to find the wind direction,  but it was not.    Gravity and the double T makes the choice for you pretty quickly.  Luckily I was close and I landed a little hard but I was ok.   I DID IT  I jumped 5 more times and did one fee fall before I quit.  Why did I quit?.  Dont know.  I might have lost my nerve and got scared.  I made a lot of excuses not to jump any more, sold my chute and went to work trying to figure how to get the hell out of Fort Hood.

Fort Hood.

I arrived in the Fort Hood area in a small commuter type plane.  Where we landed only had a small operations type building on it. Nothing else, Just a runway and a little building.  Nice Very nice, Only 3 and 1/2 more years to go.  Even though it was a hot, sunny day, the future really looked dark.  I spent the next couple of hours trying to find the 303rd ASA.  Fort Hood is a Big damn place.  Carrying your duffel bag wearing your class "A"s did not help to make a very enjoyable experience.   At last I found where I was going.  The 303rd  ASA shared a building with a transportation  headquarters unit.  There were only about 60 of us assigned there.   I checked in and met the First shirt and the C.O   The COs name was Bratton, Balls Bratton was his nick name.  I think it was the lack of, that got him the nick name but he was a OK guy.  We also shared the mess hall with other company,  We had to supply a couple of KPs every day to do our part.  The problem was that was not many of us under E5 so the damn KP came around ever 6 or 7 days.  Damn.  Living quarters were the big room with all double bunks style.  Another Damn, this is getting worse day by day.  We spent most of the days in the motor pool.  Most of the time we were  just washing trucks and such and hiding from the lifers.  There were some North Carolina  Draftees there also, and  they kept things pretty jacked up.  They did not want to be in the  Army  and there was not much the Army could do about it.   They just did not give a damn and everyone knew it.  They worked  and were smart enough not to go the stockade but they sure knew how to push the limits.  It was great fun to watch them in action..  One time a Sargent Major form the "Real" army came down to visit the next door transportation guys.  So as he is walking by Horrel an draftee, Yelled,  Damn Look at that guy, That son of Bitch has got some stripes !!!  The whole place just froze.  This was a real bad ass he had just yelled at.  The Sargent Major stopped and looked Horrel dead in the eyes "What did you say?" he screamed.  Horrel  Snapped to attention and said " I said you have got some stripes"  I thought the Sarge was going to hit him but he did not.  He just got red in face and spun around and walked off.  ...After a couple of weeks I was made the training clerk.  Not a bad job.  Made the training schedules, and best of all went to the film library and checked out training films for our classes.  They would let you review them so I watched a lot of WW2 combat films.  I used the job to get a bus drivers license.  I could sign off on most endorsements and training so in short order I was qualified to do most anything.   We used to go the field a lot.  I liked that  because I was the training clerk I had a lot of time to look at maps and see where every thing was..  Sometimes I would bring things to guys out in the field but most of the time I was there with them.  Fort Hood  Is a big big place.  160,00 acres or close to it.  I know its 25 to 30 miles to Jack Mountain where we used to go when we went to the field.  Most of the time there were just 5 or 6 of us maybe a few more sometimes.  Our Mission was to monitor communications and sometime cause them problems.  We were allowed to add noise and such to interfere with communications.  That was the fun part.  We had a radio that transmit all kinds of junk ,noise, Morse code, different  tones and voice.  We tried to catch them not authenticating call signs and other infractions.  Some ops were very very good and would know what was happening very quickly.  I always left the good ops alone.  But some would get mad and go to pieces.  I am not going to tell much more because someone might read this and come kick my ass.  But then maybe not, he would most likely have to use a cane to get here.   Anyways  One day we were  copying some voice and we pick up Wicket Basket 1 .  A quick check shows that call sign is assigned to a field grade officer.  His driver and Jeeps call sign  was Wicker Basket 6.   WB1 Calls his control  and tells them he will be in a meeting out in the field for couple of hours and his driver will wait on him. Ooops he did not authenticate headquarters  call sign.  So we lock in his freq on another radio.  About 2 hours later, BINGO, his driver is trying to get in touch with him.  "Wicker Basket 1 This is wicker Basket 6"  #6 repeats this a couple of times.  I can not resist.  I dial up a little off freq so maybe he will not notice I am not control.  " Wicket Basket 1 this headquarters what can I do for you?'  Note I did not give a call sign nor did he ask me for call sign authentication  code.   I had him now .  WB6 says" Well I am hungry and I dont have any water and #1 is still in the meeting.  What should I do?"  The perfect storm, a text book case.  I tell him "  #1 said that you could go back to post and get something to eat at the PX.  and to bring him a few soft drinks. And Please move your "push"( Operating frequency)  to  123.56    WB6" Wow thanks that is great"  Remember it is 30 miles back to the PX and I have him off frequency so he can not hear them and he can not transmit on the right freq to contact control  .   Now we wait.  In about 30mins   #1 Calls for his driver.  Wicket Basket 6 this is Wicker basket 1.  Where are you.  he repeats a few times and is getting pretty mad.    No one answers him  of course because #6 is headed back into town.  So I have to help him out.  #1 This is control what is your problem.? "Where is my damn driver have you heard from him?  Ooops no call sign check, no nothing, too bad, just doing my job.  "Sir I heard your driver is going back to town to get something to eat"   He went nuts.  I be God da.m I did not tell that SOB to do that.  This is Colonel Jackson and I want my Jeep right damn now!!!!!  BIG ooops  Never ever Expose your real name and rank over the radio.  As soon as he said he name he figured it out.  One more Big DAMN IT and he was gone.    All on tape also.  It was game over.  About a hour later our officer came up and said to shut it down,   That is happened most of the time.  We worked for a couple of hours till some big guy got pissed then told us to quit.  I will have to admit, it was fun as hell, messing with everyone.  Sprinkling Static was also fun.   One reason it worked that the real control may have been on the edge of not being able to hear them.  They should have called my bluff when I first made contact with the driver.  If any of them would have asked me to authenticate, it would have been game over and they would have received a nice report on their net security.    Yes Sir  Making the Big time Secret agent man.  Only 3 years and 3 months to go. Damn it.  The best move I ever saw in the field was when we had a mock war.   Some units were bad guys and others were the good guys  I think the bad guys the  Aggressors) had green triangles on their equipment.  They had a massive meeting for all units.  We were set up so we could listen.. From what I understood  This was going to be just like the real thing.  No holds barred.  It was really neat to watch the tanks fight at night.. They had big xenon lights mounted on the tubes(barrels) of their tracks.  They would sneak around in the dark and ambush each other.    Every thing would be pitch black then  BOOM  they would turn on the lights and the victims should be caught in the beams .  So everyone was ready for the big fight. We were neutral so we went ahead and got set up on top of Jack Mountain.  Here is were the trouble started.  Any type of large field maneuvers required road guards and such to direct the flow of traffic to the proper staging area.    Remember we are talking about a couple of hundred, maybe much more, of  tanks, APCs, and other big time stuff.  We could tell something was up because units were in the wrong place, and some were running low on fuel.  Things were getting worse and it was getting late.  The "Bad" guys, the aggressors, and  had captured the road guards and had scattered the  good guys units all over place.  What a mess.  They called it off about 4:00pm but it was a very long time getting everyone back together.

Begining of the end of school

I  did not understand the class and was bored to tears. I was screwed.  3 and 1/2 years of this?  No  Not no but hell no.  I was a piss poor student and my grades showed it.  To add to the mess most of us got orders to go to Vietnam.  I did not care because in 1964 i did not know  jack  s... about it.. So I went and got all my teeth fixed up(bad news they did a 1/2 ass job) and a jillion shots .  The night before the final test we went down town and had a big going away party.  I really got drunk.  I was wrecked when I went to take the test. Needless to say I Failed the final test.  Oh Hell Everyone frequed out.  They thought I did it because I did not want to go to Vietnam.  To late.  I was jammed.  I got new orders to go FORT HOOD TEXAS  Damn and double Damn.

Fort Devans (School and stuff)

Fort Devans  was a hell of a ride.  The more I think about it I realize it was really a unique place.   A little background first.  Almost all ASA guys had already either been to college or had worked.  So we were not  atypical of new soldiers.   I was already 21 as were most of the people in  my section.  So many people could see BS when it was presented.  Also, I had the pleasure of working and being with some truly brilliant people.  They changed the way that I looked at the world.  Some people are intellectual  gifted.  They say that this factor helped lead to the ASA being disbanded.   On to fort Devans.  When you checked in you were assigned to C company.  The largest "company" in the Army so they said.  Charlie was a Causal Company. Just a transition place where you awaited, your clearance, next school,  or what ever.  I would guess there were 300 or 400 people, maybe more, maybe less just depended. The Almighty Clearance with out a Clearance you were nothing. EVERYTHING depended on getting your Top Secret Clearance.  All BS aside they took the granting of a TS Crypto clearance very serious.  They sent FBI guys to visit some of your old teachers and employers to check you out.   I had never gotten in real trouble but still you worried.  Most people thought I have got into in some of big time trouble and the Feds were looking for me.  So while you were waiting you stayed in C company.  They had a big formation every morning and then they dispatched every one to do make busy work all over the post.  They had so many people there was not much to do so just staying busy was a challenge. During this time I lucked out and got selected to go Army Driving school and got mu Jeep. 3/4 and deuce and 1/2 License.  These would be a great benefit later on.  So every day you made formation, did you little job and just hung out. You also checked the big bulletin board for your school results.  When you saw your name in the school listing you were pretty sure your clearance was very close to being approved.  Every one was sweating bullets because if your clearance was not approved you had to go into the regular army.  Something no one wanted to do.  Going to Driving school was really fun.  They had a big area with mud bogs and steep hill and such and we would go out an practice driving.  Sometime we would get stuck but they were ok with it.    I think it was about a week to 10 days long.  One day in the afternoon formation they asked if any one had a Army Driving license.   I raised my hand and they sent me to go see a officer at the school.  It was for a permanent duty(until your clearance came though) to work on the burn detail.  Security was Tight, tight, tight and we burned everything the school threw away.  It was a 7 days a week job but it was pretty easy and you did not have to do anything else.  About 7 every night i went to the Motor pool and checked out a deuce and 1/2(Army guys love to say  Deuce and 1/2 rather than a 2 and 1/2 ton truck.) went to the school.  There a officer would help or just watch me load the truck with all the trash from the ops. center and the school.  The officers  always had a side arm and a M-14 for me with them.  We then went to the incinerator and burned all the stuff,  i always tried ti read the stuff I was burning but I never got much of a chance and what I did see was not very interesting.   After all the stuff was burnd we went down below and I had to open the grates and sweep all the unburned stuff out.  It was pretty hot but I could do it pretty quick so the officers liked that.  I guess it was some sort of duty they had to do.  Most of them were very nice and after they got to know me, they would bring me a sandwich or coffee.  I did that until......YES!!!!!! My Clearance Came though!!!!  School time.  Time to get it on.  I moved to the hill where all the wood barracks were.  Mine was 1651.  My bunk was upstairs near the end.  Big change from basic and the Casual company.  single bunks with the lockers set so there was just a hint of privacy.  Plus  you could have a small night stand and a radio. Life was good.  My first school was only 6 weeks long.  980.0  I am not going to go into much detail about the school because as silly as it sounds, I gave a oath not to disclose the subject matter.  I still honor that today.  One day at the PX they had a couple of Bicycles for sale.  Seems like to me they were about 34 dollars. I bought one and later on two of my friends bought theirs.  We used to ride all over New England on them.  All 3 of us were from the south .Me from Florida, My friend  from Texas and another friend. from Alabama.  We would stop at little cafes and beer joints to eat and rest.  When we ordered they would always say "You guys aint from around here are you?"   No,  We are soldiers from Devans.   Many times they would not take any money or someone would buy us a beer or a hamburger.  I still remember with gratitude their kindness to a group of southern soldiers.   Soon the six week school was over and I went casual again to await my next school.  But this time I stay in 1651 and worked in the company area.  The first Sarge used to be the bookie for the numbers game..  you picked 3 or 4 numbers and then tried to match them with the last number on the New York Stock exchange closing numbers.   The pay off guy was the Coca-Cola route man. I guess really the First sarge worked for him.  Speaking of Money, you could sell or buy Kp.  Guard duty also but you were in BIG trouble if you got caught failing to pull guard duty.  KP still trouble but not so mych.  I used to buy KP. I lived so far away that I never had a chance to go home on 3 day breaks and such.  So I would just stay and work.  Hard work, long hours but remember my basic KP duty taught me how it worked.  I used to get 40 to 45 for a full day or 30 for 1/2 day.  Good money when you only made  around 70 a month. I was a  E-2 by now so make a little more.  76 I think.  If you got to work with the right bunch of guys and a good cook it was not too bad.  Every one wanted to be the DRO(dinning room Orderly)  but I liked Outside man pretty good.  Cups and bowels were not too bad.  Pots and Pans were to avoided at all cost.  Drunk or Mad cook(s) and it would be a long long day.  You checked in for KP at 4am and got off around 7 or 8pm.  The ASA fed us pretty good. I never had many complaints about the food.  It was different from what the regular army had(so they said).  We used to play cars a lot.  Nickle-dime poker with different limits.  very friendly games and no one lost a great amount.  One guy loved to play.  His name was Mangus from out west some where I think he used to play in dessert a lot.  He had some pictures of him on his motorcycle.   He was the worlds worse poker player.  He would up losing more than he had.  So he started a Laundry.  You had to keep sharp starched creases in your uniform at all times.   a real pain in the ass and billfold.  Looking back someone probably had a deal with the Ayer Laundry and someone was getting a kick back.  Anyways Mangus was a mad of his word so he would take uniforms and go wash them at the Laundromat.  They  heated the barracks with steam  so there was boiling hot water to be had.  After he washed them He would get trash cans and mix Argo starch and the boiling water.  Then he would dip the uniforms and hang them out to dry.  Then he would Iron them out.  His work was 2 or 3 times as good as the pros.  His business took off.  People would help him iron and Wash for beer money.  He paid in Mangus Money.  It was legal currency in our area.  He was a damn good guy.  I sure hope he made out ok.  Soon School started again and I was off to study to be a Radio Traffic Analyst. 982  Holy Hell What a mistake!!  The most boring and unrealistic thing I have every encountered  .
 

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Graduation day

Well after 8 weeks of great Army training we were almost ready to unleashed on the world.  Basic training changes you.  Not in the way that many expect.  You learn that some people you can trust, others you can not.  The one guy that loaned you some shoe polish when he was running low was someone that was hard to say good bye to.  But the Son of a Bitch that pimped you out over having a package of crackers, good byes can not come quick enough.   Hard times bring out the best and worse in people.  You never forget the little things people did to help you make it.  Maybe it is a flaw of my character but I dont forget the others either.    Basic training graduation was not a big deal like it is now.  We had a formation and every got their orders.  Some stayed on the same post for AIT (Advanced Individual training)  I was the only Agency guy so I might have went home for a couple days before going to fort Devans but I can not remember.  I liked that part of the ASA in that I always traveled alone.  But I did not even have my clearance yet.  that I found out could be a real deal breaker.

On the road

It was COLD  damn cold and all I had on was a pair of dress slacks , a tee shirt with a dress shirt and a sports jacket.  I did not think things would move as fast as they did.  New Flash!  It snowed in Atalanta Ga on New years eve.  The bus had to return to the station where I spent  new years eve.   Morning came and I guess the sun came out and the bus was able to proceed.   It was night when I got to fort Jackson.  They  took me and a few others in a room while they waited for more people to show up.  Around day light we all fell out into the street to begin processing.  Getting into the Army is not a easy task.  It can, at least it did back then, take days to get squared away.  More tests, physicals, classes and of course large long waits between doing anything constructive.  Did I say it was Cold?  I think it was about the 3rd day when we were marched over to supply to be assigned all our gear.  Two of these, one of theses, hurry up,  Not your size?  close enough, hurry up.  What a sad sight!!  Big ass pants, floppy shirts, boots makes from reinforced cement, almost made me forget that I was way to be a High Level Intelligence  agent.  Next we had to wait a couple of days until our basic training started.  Some things you never forget.  I was in Echo co.  Prudent people would have known that January and February in North Carolina is less than desirable for out door activity.   Did I say it was COLD?  March, run, clean, polish, freeze,  until you get a mite tired.  No passes, no nothing, After 4 weeks we got a Sunday after noon pass.  Could not leave the post but you could go to the PX and EM club.  Wow  It was great to take a break.  Besides it was pay day!!!   E-1 in  1964  made 68 dollars a Month.  Yes you read that right , a Month.  I bought some candy bars and some  more stuff for my food locker inspection display.  Then we went to another PX and drank some beer.  Bad Bad tasting stuff, almost like near beer, not much kick, just enough to make you sick. About this time I messed up and got a weeks worth of KP (Kitchen Patrol).  The first day I was there while I was buffing the floor, I noticed the sarge was having a hell of time typing out the Menu and some paper work.  I asked if I might could help him.  He asked Can you type?  Oh Hell yes and I can make copies, file,  write reports,  I really could as I was a Teachers helper in college.   So we made a deal,  while everyone was in the field, I would do all the paper work but when they got back he would be on my case, nothing personal.  It was a great deal, the cooks brought me cake and pie and special stuff they cooked for their self.  But when all the officers were around they would bitch and run my ass around.  Just a game, It was funny then and is funny now.  My fellow basic training people included a group of Draftees from North Carolina.  The Army had not been integrated very long so dealing with  back people was a new experience. I had never went to school or even worked with black people before.  There was no problem,we got along pretty good.  We were all in the same jam.  I remember one time someone said You know we never have eaten dinner with a black guys before.  The Black guy said " Same for us we have never had much to do with white people"  Point was well taken.  Most of them very very good people, just like us.

Montgomery Ala. was the where the induction process started. They had a very large warehouse(s) that all the processing took place in. I would guess that it was at either at Maxwell or Gunter AFB. I remember a very large room with a stage and a many many old couches and chairs scattered around. You took you seat and waited till they called your name and told you want to do. They also had a big room with bunks in it. The sign said the sleeping capacity was 409. But all the bunk were doubles so how could have a odd number? Not the first of many unsolved mystery's that were about to unfold. I had already taken alot of the tests and such so I did not need to do much more. They called my name and sent me to a little room and asked(?)if i would take a few more tests. Sure thing I replied as visions of the infantry swirled in my head. For the rest of the day I took tests and waited. The next morning my name was called again. They sent me down to another room where a Sargent of some kind was. This room is pretty neat, coffee pot, donuts, the guy is pretty friendly. he says I see you have scored very high on some of your tests. I have a deal for you(ever heard that before?) I am going to offer you a chance to join a group of very talented people. I cant not tell you much about it but I can say this "We only accept people from the top 10% of the Army and the work is Top Secret" Damn! You talking me to me? A secret agent, James Bond?, sweet Gee-us, I have been saved. Oh yea Only one other little thing. You have to join for another year. Make that a 4 years not 3 years. 4 years? No big deal. An to think my High school teachers said I was dumb and gullible. Ha Ha Where do I sign. Let me in..............Fade to black.....New Years eve going to Fort Jackson South Carolina in a 100,000 dollar vehicle. A Greyhound bus.