Ron J
Active member
When i was younger,and dumber than i am now,i got married to my Highschool sweetie pie! I was 19 and a day old! 1967,June 24th! Day of infamy to me. No,she wasn't knocked-up!I just wasn't thinking straight,i guess? Big Catholic wedding,the whole nine yards! Remember standing at that alter,felt like my arse was sticking out,ten feet! 
Getting off the subject abit,but its related to the story. This was during Vietnam,guys were getting drafted almost daily! Some of my classmates were in the service,almost immediately..the public wasn't too pleased..everynight on the news,body counts,protestors,bad news...Never seen any real protesting going on,but on T.V. it didn't look too safe to be around any. I'd been working at the Dealership alittle over a year now,and been married a couple of months.I started to worry about THE DRAFT! I was a prime candidate!I thought about the Coast Guard,like my Dad,or the Airborne,like my brother.I looked into it abit,and decided to join the U.S Navy. Mostly if i remember right,you would only be a year? or two,active. I went to the post office in Salem Ma.,where all the armed forces,had recruiters. After talking to the Navy recruiter,i was asked when,and if i could visit the Boston Army Base, for a physical. Then we could talk about enlisting. O.K.,I'll go tomorrow,and get it over with. The following day,i drove to Boston.Arriving at the Army Base,i was in for a shocker!! I had to drive through crowds of protestors,waving flags,and signs,making me feel guilty for being there!Busloads of young kids,my age leaving the Base.Hundreds of uniforms! Everywhere! Looked like chaos!!I wanted to turn around,but didn't.After parking where i was told,i entered the building,holding a leaflet full of documents,i had recieved from the recruiter. The FIRST person,and thats describing HIM mildly was a husky black soldier,SARGENT BROWN! I'll never forget it! Man he was throwing orders to EVERYONE,even me,a stupid civilian,still!! He was grabbing anyone who had a leaflet like mine,and ordering us to go sit overthere!! Everyone else there was drafted! Who knew? I remember one thin guy,standing at a water fountain,with SARGENT BROWN,and another soldier.This kid was drinking up a lake,to gain a few instant pounds,to way enough to be taken in trhe service! He couldn't wait! He was gonna be a Marine! After an hour or so,us flunkys,who had leaflets,were ordered by "you know who" Capt Arsewhole,i mean SARGENT BROWN to go to another room.There,we took written exams.From there,is was Physical time!Off we go,undressed,in undy's only,into line with hundreds of other poor slobs.If i remember right,the first thing you had to do,was get a bloodpressure test.There was a real skinflint next to me,getting tested.This is no bull,he was so skinny,the doc's tried 3 times to tighten the wrap on his arm.They finally got a small piece of wood,held it to his arm,wrapped it,and took the test.I kept going in line,never saw Skinny again..Next was a urine test..pee in a cup...SURE,with 999 guys behind you waiting..RRRIIGHTT!! You try it! I was told to move on..I think blood was drawn..then an eye test,picking numbers out of a maze of colors..piece of cake.I don't remember anymore,except 6 or 8 guys were lined up at a time,in cubicles,where a "doctor" would examine you abit tooo close..if you know what i mean!! An older guy,maybe mid-twentiea,was next to me,said he had already been in the army,b ut got a draft notice by mistake.He had tried talking to gov't officials about this,but to no avail.Everyone had told him,he'd better show-up or he could get arrested!So,here he was!! Another kid was asked by the "doctor",when asked to cough,"what happened too the right one?" The reply was,"hung-up on a fence,when was alittle kid!" Man,what a crew!! The next thing i remember was the hearing test.Here's where SARGENY BROWN,showed up again,to herd his cattle!! He informed everyone,that "YOU WILL SIT IN THE BOOTH,AND YOU BETTER NOT BE CHEWING GUM!" Well,you sat in a box,like a refrigerater,and put on headphones.You were told,if you here any noise,beeps,etc,to push the button,each time.Man,it was SOOO quiet in that box,you started hearing tones,when there wasn't any!! And YES,one idiot WAS CHEWING GUM!! SARGENT BROWN,opened that door to the booth,and promptly yanked that idiot out,gave him a ration of S@!t,and through him in the back of the line,to start over again!! Well,i was done with my day of reckoning,until,they looked at my papers,yes,i had to go back an pee in the cup,before i could leave!!It took awhile,but there were only 99 guys behind me this time!!! Before i left,the Navy recruiter,there,told me it may be a couple of weeks,before i would know if i was accepted. Two weeks,went by,and i got a call from the Recruiter.He informed me,because i was married,they couldn't accept me,BUT,if I really insisted,they could get me a court order to let me join! I informed them,i'll need to think about it...Still thinking about it today!! Never got drafted,but if i had,i would probably have made a career out of it! Not Bragging,but i sweated out a couple of years,worrying about that draft..Way to many bodybags coming from Nam,back then,as today,with Iraq! If i had been picked,i would of served. I do respect any U.S. Soldiers,any Branch.They are the reason's we have our freedom! God Bless those who have served,and those who currently are! rj
Getting off the subject abit,but its related to the story. This was during Vietnam,guys were getting drafted almost daily! Some of my classmates were in the service,almost immediately..the public wasn't too pleased..everynight on the news,body counts,protestors,bad news...Never seen any real protesting going on,but on T.V. it didn't look too safe to be around any. I'd been working at the Dealership alittle over a year now,and been married a couple of months.I started to worry about THE DRAFT! I was a prime candidate!I thought about the Coast Guard,like my Dad,or the Airborne,like my brother.I looked into it abit,and decided to join the U.S Navy. Mostly if i remember right,you would only be a year? or two,active. I went to the post office in Salem Ma.,where all the armed forces,had recruiters. After talking to the Navy recruiter,i was asked when,and if i could visit the Boston Army Base, for a physical. Then we could talk about enlisting. O.K.,I'll go tomorrow,and get it over with. The following day,i drove to Boston.Arriving at the Army Base,i was in for a shocker!! I had to drive through crowds of protestors,waving flags,and signs,making me feel guilty for being there!Busloads of young kids,my age leaving the Base.Hundreds of uniforms! Everywhere! Looked like chaos!!I wanted to turn around,but didn't.After parking where i was told,i entered the building,holding a leaflet full of documents,i had recieved from the recruiter. The FIRST person,and thats describing HIM mildly was a husky black soldier,SARGENT BROWN! I'll never forget it! Man he was throwing orders to EVERYONE,even me,a stupid civilian,still!! He was grabbing anyone who had a leaflet like mine,and ordering us to go sit overthere!! Everyone else there was drafted! Who knew? I remember one thin guy,standing at a water fountain,with SARGENT BROWN,and another soldier.This kid was drinking up a lake,to gain a few instant pounds,to way enough to be taken in trhe service! He couldn't wait! He was gonna be a Marine! After an hour or so,us flunkys,who had leaflets,were ordered by "you know who" Capt Arsewhole,i mean SARGENT BROWN to go to another room.There,we took written exams.From there,is was Physical time!Off we go,undressed,in undy's only,into line with hundreds of other poor slobs.If i remember right,the first thing you had to do,was get a bloodpressure test.There was a real skinflint next to me,getting tested.This is no bull,he was so skinny,the doc's tried 3 times to tighten the wrap on his arm.They finally got a small piece of wood,held it to his arm,wrapped it,and took the test.I kept going in line,never saw Skinny again..Next was a urine test..pee in a cup...SURE,with 999 guys behind you waiting..RRRIIGHTT!! You try it! I was told to move on..I think blood was drawn..then an eye test,picking numbers out of a maze of colors..piece of cake.I don't remember anymore,except 6 or 8 guys were lined up at a time,in cubicles,where a "doctor" would examine you abit tooo close..if you know what i mean!! An older guy,maybe mid-twentiea,was next to me,said he had already been in the army,b ut got a draft notice by mistake.He had tried talking to gov't officials about this,but to no avail.Everyone had told him,he'd better show-up or he could get arrested!So,here he was!! Another kid was asked by the "doctor",when asked to cough,"what happened too the right one?" The reply was,"hung-up on a fence,when was alittle kid!" Man,what a crew!! The next thing i remember was the hearing test.Here's where SARGENY BROWN,showed up again,to herd his cattle!! He informed everyone,that "YOU WILL SIT IN THE BOOTH,AND YOU BETTER NOT BE CHEWING GUM!" Well,you sat in a box,like a refrigerater,and put on headphones.You were told,if you here any noise,beeps,etc,to push the button,each time.Man,it was SOOO quiet in that box,you started hearing tones,when there wasn't any!! And YES,one idiot WAS CHEWING GUM!! SARGENT BROWN,opened that door to the booth,and promptly yanked that idiot out,gave him a ration of S@!t,and through him in the back of the line,to start over again!! Well,i was done with my day of reckoning,until,they looked at my papers,yes,i had to go back an pee in the cup,before i could leave!!It took awhile,but there were only 99 guys behind me this time!!! Before i left,the Navy recruiter,there,told me it may be a couple of weeks,before i would know if i was accepted. Two weeks,went by,and i got a call from the Recruiter.He informed me,because i was married,they couldn't accept me,BUT,if I really insisted,they could get me a court order to let me join! I informed them,i'll need to think about it...Still thinking about it today!! Never got drafted,but if i had,i would probably have made a career out of it! Not Bragging,but i sweated out a couple of years,worrying about that draft..Way to many bodybags coming from Nam,back then,as today,with Iraq! If i had been picked,i would of served. I do respect any U.S. Soldiers,any Branch.They are the reason's we have our freedom! God Bless those who have served,and those who currently are! rj
Got all the way to the last doc who asked why I had RR tracks on my leg. He then failed me and told me to pick up my bus ticket home, the Navy didn't need me.