A Marine Corps Thing-- Part 2

Between my sophomore year at NIU and junior year at UGA, I boarded a plane to Washington, DC, and rook a bus to Quantico, Virginia, where I was introduced to the joys and wonders of military life.

This would be July 1971.

First thing the DI's questioned was how many in our platoon smoked. "Congratulations, you just quite.' And then we were ordered to breathe out that scuzzy civilian air and breathe in that good Marine Corps air.

Then, it was to the base barber and our Corps haircuts. Those guys had a great job as all they had to do was run the clippers over our heads. Everything came off. As my buddies and I were walking back to the barracks, the sun was behind us. On our shadows in front of us, we saw strange looking objects coming out of the sides of our heads. Turned out to be our ears!! We hadn't seen them for awhile in these times of longer hair.

Thus began the longest six weeks of my young life. I was completely "unmilitary" and it took me the first six weeks to get my Corps legs. After that, it started coming easier.

I developed a great dislike for our DIs and avoided them every chance I could. These guys were just there to make our lives miserable. I would even walk several miles out of my way just to avoid walking by one.

Lots of Memories Coming Back from Soldiers Field. --RoadDog