This is a no Sh***ter

Boot Camp I was on vacation in Monroe, Michigan, with cousins for the summer. I had no intentions of joining any military service. I had a scholarship to attend the University of Cincinnati in the fall of that year. One of my cousin friends came by the house and was on his way to talk with the navy recruiter and asked that my cousin and I walk with him to the courthouse where the navy recruit officer is located. I agreed, and we went with him. We let him go in by himself and waited outside. A short time later, the navy recruiter came out and asked us if we would like to come inside; he had some cold drinks, and we could wait there for our friend. We entered, received our cold drinks, and took chairs on the wall near the entrance. I listened to what was being said about the navy and the opportunities available after enlisting in the navy. My cousin’s friend decided that he would like to join the navy and was told that he had to go to Detroit for a physical and service admission testing. The recruiter suggested that it would be a good trip for all of us and that we did not have to enlist or anything like that. He would cover the cost of the Greyhound bus, and a free meal in Detroit would be provided, and we would also have a chance to see the city of Detroit. What did we have to lose? So I agreed to go to Detroit. We took an early bus, like 4:30 AM, for the two-hour ride. We got to Detroit, had breakfast at one of the local breakfast eateries, and walked down to the post office where the navy recruiting station was located. There was a bus parked at the curb of the post office, and we were told that the bus would take us to the testing site and have us back by the end of the day. We boarded the bus, and it was a short trip to the test site. The morning was taken up with tests. At lunch break, the meal was provided at the testing site. In the afternoon, it was physical body testing and body checks. Hearing was tested, blood was taken, ears and mouth were inspected, and the eyes were also tested, and yes, the old rubber glove with the sausage finger was also part of the examination, as well as the holding of the testicle and coughing—I think the person was doing testicle weight comparing of the recruits as he walked from one person to the other. We were told to dress and take seats in the waiting area at the entrance of the examination building. After everyone in the waiting area shouted, the bus was ready to take us back to Detroit. We got on the bus and were taken back to the post office, a few blocks from Cadillac Square. Upon our arrival at the post office, we were told that we were free to do whatever we wanted. Those that needed transportation to the bus station or the train station could reload the bus, and we would be dropped off. So we reloaded on the bus to be taken the bus station. We had about three hours on our hands before the bus left for Monroe, so we decided to walk about and see the sights. The area looked a lot differently at night than it did early in the morning. This was not a place that you would go for a friendly summer evening walk to get a breath of fresh air. The walk was short and educational. I now knew what some people call the ghetto or the slums, and the people scared me. Although this was in the main part of the town, with lots of people around and moving traffic, I still did not feel very comfortable being in the middle of downtown Detroit. I returned to the bus station and waited for the bus to take me home. Several weeks passed, and my friend had not heard from the navy recruiter, or at least that was what he told my cousin and me. I started to think, since I have not heard from him either, maybe something was wrong with me, physically or mentally. Therefore, I called the recruiter and asked him what was going on. Was there something wrong with me or what? He told me that I passed the entire test, but my friend was not accepted for reasons that he was not able to tell me, and he thought that since my friend had not passed, that I would not be interested in going into the navy. He told me if I decided to go into the navy to let him know that he had some good deals for me to consider. Going into the navy started planting a game into my head. I could not get the thought to go away. I had it on my mind all the time, during the day at night, even while I was watching a movie or a television program. It was getting to me: should I go into the navy, or should I go back to Cincinnati and go to college? I had registered for the draft. It was the law at time, and there was a chance that I could get drafted and be placed in the army and become a soldier. I had these reoccurring dreams—starting when, I do not recall—that I was on a ditch in a battlefield dressed as soldier. I stuck my head out of the ditch to see what was going on, and I got hit with a bullet between my eyes. There was no way that I was going to be a soldier, maybe a member of the air force. I made up my mind that I was going to join the service and get my obligations out of the way. I called the air force recruiter on the phone. The phone kept ringing. I tried several times, and no one answered the phone, or the line was busy. Thinking about it now, it was more busy than ringing, and no one was answering the phone. I think one tries to justify their action or inactions. I walked up to the navy recruiter’s office and talked with him about joining the navy. Since I had taken all of the tests and passed, the only decision that I had to make was between San Diego or the Great Lakes Boot Camp site. I chose San Diego and when I would leave for Boot Camp. It was decided that I would leave in ten days for San Diego, go to Detroit, get sworn in, and take a plane from Detroit to San Diego, California. I had to let my family know what I had decided.