Page 91 - The CRAIG family

Upon arrival in San Diego, the drill instructors ordered the recruits on to the buses to transport us to the Boot Camp. 6 weeks for indoctrination and toughening up. This period was shortened from 6 months to 6 weeks due to being war time. Assignments were made to barracks and bunks. Then the S*** Hit the Fan! The DI’s must have thought we were deaf because they yelled and screamed at everything.
We were taught to do close order drill (marching), Calisthenics were ordered at the whim of the DI, early morning or middle of the night. 3 meals a day at the mess hall was good – or not – depending on who was in charge of the kitchen. Coffee was served either black or white – no in-between. Had lots of SOS (SH*** on Shingles) beef & gravy on toast. Each day was exhausting, because we were a bunch of soft-punks to begin with. Sunday was a no-work day. Church was encouraged.
Basically, Boot Camp was designed to teach discipline and coordination. There were 2 DI’s to each platoon. We were taught self-discipline, to work hard, to work as a team.
I was proud to be a Marine because of what I was taught during basic training. Once a Marine Always a Marine !!!
At the end of Boot Camp, Daddy went into training for navigation/bombardier. Went to an air group and went to North Island (across the bay from San Diego) for further training. He was then assigned to a squadron for work. Transferred to El Centro, CA (at the edge of Mohave Desert), about 1 year later to Hawaii, then to various South Pacific islands. (From Hawaii to Japan). Guam, Tinian, Majuro, etc. He also received further training at a naval air station in Corvallis, Oregon.
During his tour of duty, his plane crashed on the island on Saipan (short runway on small island). No serious injury, just banged up. Tour of Duty was over in May, 1945. He and Uncle Ed were discharged April 10, 1946.
Another Side Note: Growing up me and my cousins heard so many Marine Corps stories, but one is imprinted in my mind. According to Daddy and Uncle Ed, Daddy passed Uncle Ed’s swimming survival drill for him. The way they told the story is that they had on full heavy gear and were put up on a high platform and had to jump off the platform. Uncle Ed would not jump when it came his turn. The DI was very upset and told him “Soldier, you will sleep up here, eat up here and stay up here until you jump”. According to them, during the night they switched places and Daddy got up on the platform. The next morning he told the DI he was ready to jump. Daddy said he jumped and floundered around in the water a bit, so he was convincing, and he passed the drill for Uncle Ed. Now, the story would get embellished over the years, but we heard it many times so all or part of it must be true. Another thing they talked about is that Daddy grew a mustache (whether he was told to or not, I can’t remember) so it would be easier to tell the Craig brothers apart. Again .... Truth or fiction we don’t really know but it was part of their story-telling and we loved hearing about their escapades.
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