I Left the farm in 1964

37chief · Mar 17, 2019

March 16 1964 Dad took me to the bus station. I was off to join the Navy. Das was still farming, and could have used my help. It was the Navy, or wait around to be drafted. After boot camp, at the
great Lakes Navel training center, and school in Tennessee. I was stationed in San Diego for a couple years, and lived 30 miles away, and would come home often. An interesting four years. Stan

Ultradog MN · Mar 17, 2019

Nice post.
I wonder why they would send you to Great Lakes instead of San Diego.
Go Navy!

old popper · Mar 17, 2019

I completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood Mo. on Friday the 13th of March 1964.

big tee · Mar 17, 2019

Anchors Aweigh My Fellow Sailor!---Tee

37chief · Mar 17, 2019

My recruiter gave me a choice. I thought a good time to visit Ill. Big mistake. It was still winter. The wind blowing off the Great lakes was so cold, for this California boy. First and last time I shoveled snow. Stan

NY 986 · Mar 17, 2019

Smart to be proactive about the draft. I remember the late 1960's as a kid and older cousins along with other kids enlisting in the navy or the air force. Good chance of picking something that interested a person versus waiting for a draft notice then train for combat. Unfortunately, a choice was not there for everybody but being proactive more often than not panned out for a given person. Many came home with new important skills such as air craft maintenance or just something basic such as supply management and logistics.

37chief · Mar 17, 2019

I went to air craft engine school. I never pressured that as a job, but learned a lot. Stan

Ronnie Budd · Mar 17, 2019

My story happened about four years after yours. Similar situation, I enlisted to avoid the draft. My number was sure to come up, right after highschool. Everybody else's had. Dad needed my help, but drove me to the bus station and saw me off. He tried to get by without me, but rented the place out a few years later and went to town to work. He became a truck driver. That paid well enough that he was able to keep the farm. After I came home from the Army, I was able to buy about half of the homeplace from the folks, and live there now.

I had some pretty interesting experiences while in the Army Signal Corps. I had a Top Secret security clearance for several years. That was difficult to get back in those days. Interestingly, it seemed that the majority of the people I worked with, who qualified for Top Secret clearances, came from agricultural backgrounds themselves. The background checks back then were very extensive, and many people failed to qualify for some reason.

That seems to have changed.

I Left the farm in 1964

37chief

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Ultradog MN

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old popper

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big tee

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37chief

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NY 986

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37chief

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Ronnie Budd

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