From Basic Training To Vietnam Part 1

In October of 1962 I started basic training at Fort Polk which is located near Leesville, Louisiana.

I was so much into joining the Army that I didn’t realize there was a Cuban missile crisis going on as I underwent basic training until one day we were marching and we sang this song in cadence:

I don’t know but I believe

We’ll be in Cuba by Christmas Eve

One thing that stands out about basic training was running with our rifles over our heads and the long marches.

Crawling through the infiltration course also is one of the memories after all these years.

One humorous incident that happened shortly after we arrived was when one recruit hollered out of an upstairs window  at a sergeant “Hey nutbrain”. The sergeant did not find any humor in that greeting and ordered the recruit to come downstairs immediately and let the recruit know that he was not following recommended military protocol.

I remember someone lost the keys to the rifle rack and we were all woken up in the middle of the night till the situation was resolved.

By the time we had bivouac the heat that had greeted us at the start of basic training was long gone and the winter weather of  December had descended on Fort Polk.

It was brutally cold the entire bivouac and we had to wear long johns to stay warm.

I can remember hearing the songs of the 60′s like Soldier Boy and Return to Sender at Fort Polk on weekends when we were allowed to go to the service club.

We completed basic training shortly before Christmas and I was given leave till it was time to report to Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianpolis, Indiana early in January.

I boarded a passenger train at the Missouri Pacific railroad station in Alexandria, Louisiana early in January. It was snowing by the time we reached St. Louis.

When the train finally arrived in Indianapolis snow was covering the ground. It was nice to see the snow after not seeing snow very often in Louisiana but tired of it soon since it was so common to have snow on the ground.

We started our classes at postal school a few days after arriving at the Adjutant General School.

The songs that were popular at this time were Our Day Will Come, Under the Boardwalk, Up On The Roof and Walk Right In.

One time on the way to a movie I contacted frostbite from walking in the cold snow on the base.

By the middle of April my six months duty with the active Army Reserve was over.

After arriving back in Louisiana I decided to go ahead and serve my three years of active duty after tiring of going to meetings at the Army Reserve building.

NEXT: ASSIGNED TO HAWAII

Classic Cars

This 1951 Ford convertible is one of the first classic cars I remember from the 50's.

Back in the 1950′s it was fairly easy to spot what model any car driving down the highway was but today with so many models made by different manufacturers looking so much alike it is next to impossible to tell one from another.

This 1955 Ford was one of the familiar models during the 1950's.

This 1954 Buick is similar to the first car I ever owned.

The 1957 Chevrolet is one of the most popular classic cars ever manufactured.

This 1958 Ford Edsel was one of the most unpopular cars ever manufactured.

The classic 1957 Ford Thunderbird the car that I wanted to own but couldn't afford.

Many of us can remember the classic cars pictured above and it is good to know many of these models are still around today and can be seen at car shows.

Even the Ford Edsel was part of the history of the automobile in the 50′s even though it was short-lived. Edsel Ford may have been happy at the time when the Edsel was named after him but he probably lived to regret the day someone came up with the bright idea of naming a car after him that would be forever known as one of the worst cars ever made.

Duane Yates Dies

Duane Yates second from left on first row and the Fabulous Boogie Kings

I just received an email from the Fabulous Boogie Kings website saying that their former lead singer Duane Yates has died. Yates died May 23, 2009 in a Alexandria, Louisiana hospital.

He went to high school with me at Pineville High School in Pineville, Louisiana and had sung The Lord’s Prayer at our 40th high school reunion in 2002.

When I saw him at the high school reunion I told him the Boogie Kings version of  Walkin’ The Dog was better than the original version by Rufus Thomas and he said others had told him the same thing.

He was famous for his blue-eyed soul sound with the Fabulous Boogie Kings. He had started singing during high school with a group named the Capris, which had one of their songs played on American Bandstand during the Rate a Record segment of the program. The Capri’s record was rated higher than a record sung by the Rolling Stones.

He also sang in Las Vegas and Hollywood. He could sing soul music with the best of them and he also played trumpet in the horn section, which made the Fabulous Boogie Kings stand out from most bands. He was close friends with the Righteous Brothers.

The band is still active 54 years after being formed in 1955.

We want to send condolences to his family and may God comfort them during this time of  loss.

Don Knotts: Rugged Lawman

Deputy Barney Fife portrayed by Don Knotts was one of the funniest characters in television history.

Don Knotts made a brilliant move by telling Andy Griffith he needed a deputy for the Andy Griffith Show and became Barney Fife on the show.

Knotts was the perfect Barney for the show and drove Andy up the wall with his antics on the show. The best show ever to me was when he was ruining the sound of the choir so Andy conjured up a plan to have him sing so low he couldn’t be heard.

Then while Barney was singing or rather not singing a very good singer was behind the curtain singing while Barney was singing his solo.

Knotts was a comedian on the Steve Allen Show and later after the Andy Griffith Show and his variety show had left the air he appeared in Three’s Company. He also appeared on some episodes of Madlock which starred his pal Andy Griffith.

He was in a long string of movies during the 60′s which featured him playing over the top characters including an astronaut in The Reluctant Astronaut.

Knotts died at the age of 81 at the UCLA Medical Center of lung cancer and Andy Griffith visited him shortly before his death.

Michael and Delilah Kitts: God Sent His Best

http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=5fb6a33f81243a10839b

Michael and Delilah Kitts from Knoxville, Tennessee area sing God Sent His Best.

It is worth clicking on the above link since it is southern gospel music at its best.

Signature Sound Quartet And Gaither Vocal Band: He Touched Me

This is a great rendition of the southern gospel classic He Touched Me which was written by Bill Gaither. The Signature Sound Quartet and the Bill Gaither Vocal Band team up to sing He Touched Me which was written in 1963.

8 Year Old Electric Guitar Player

Eight  year old Quinn Sullivan appearing in concert with the blues artist Buddy Guy. It is amazing that a eight year old can play such great riffs on the electric guitar. Guy is dazzled by the guitar playing of Sullivan and says that he may help him get on the Jay Leno and David Letterman shows.