Page 46 - Winterling's Chasing the Wind

As I recall, we all had our head shaved and an issue of clothes. I can’t remember if we
got our shots at that time or on one of the following days. I was given a serial number
AF 14-353-043 and assigned to Squadron 3724, Flight 4883. We were then taken to our
barracks just before 3 AM. We were rudely awakened around 6 AM to stand formation
and then marched to the Mess Hall for breakfast.

Our first drill sergeant was a short
corporal who gave orders sharply.
He always expected perfection from
each of us in everything we did. For
our first inspection, we stood at
attention in our stiff starched khaki
uniforms and polished shoes and belt
buckles. I stared straight ahead as I
heard the corporal finding something
wrong with almost every man he
inspected.

Thinking I had prepared myself
perfectly, I felt confident when he
stepped in front of me. He looked me
up and down, and suddenly I heard a
ripping sound as he snatched the
flaps on my shirt pockets. I thought
he had ripped them off! With my
heart beating rapidly, I heard him say, “Next time, make sure you button these flaps!”

During the next few days, we attended classes that showed films about military
procedures, and health care that included venereal disease and gonorrhea. This was
important because of the risk of being enticed by girls outside the base attracted by our
uniform (and looks). We were given a card with our General Orders, which we had to
memorize. When we were assigned guard duty, we were required to know them and to
respond with the correct order when asked to.
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