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………………………Jim, Joe and I went off to Secretarial School…….Bill, who was Regular Army went to Advanced Infantry Training. I never knew what happened to him….In the days that followed the three of us spoke of Bill often and hoped he was Okay…..There was one other guy who went on to Secretarial School with us from our company, but he wasn’t a friend. His uncle was a lieutenant in our Basic Training company, and he always gave him special privileges. He would take him off of the base and out to dinner many times. I remember he was a good looking, arrogant, southern boy, and was very disliked by almost everyone. He always got away with everything. He never got kitchen clean up duty [KP] or guard duty like the rest of us or any duties for that matter….He was one to stay clear of…….When we reached our new barracks at a whole different area of the fort….he disappeared, and never went to school. We were sure his uncle was covering for him……….The current “graduating class” from secretarial school gave us new comers some advise. They said the sergeant who was in charge of us was a drunk, and was busted many times. This was one of the lowest jobs he could get….babysitting for us. They said to go to the PX, buy a case of scotch and give it to him, and we would never see him or be bothered by him….. After we found out our daily routine that is exactly what we did! We said “Sarg we have a present for you”. He was expecting it. We never saw him come out of his room!!! Every morning we would take ourselves over to the building [the school] where we learned how to be army secretaries, and librarians! The army was always publishing hundreds of manuals that constantly need updating [the secretaries job]. I was still on my crutches, but soon I wouldn’t need them anymore….Classes were about 1 to 1 1/2 hours long. After each class we had a multiple choice answer test on what the class was about. It was a long test, but it only took about 20 minutes to complete. It was very very easy. After we finished we could go outside and sit in the shade, but we had to wait for everyone to be done before we could leave. It was now the end of May and HOT and HUMID in Louisiana!…..Most of the times it took these other guys well over an hour and a half to finish the test. They weren’t the brightest light bulbs in the chandelier!…. They would slowly emerge from the classroom soaking wet from sweat, because these rooms had no air conditioning….only windows! Then, as a group, we would go back to our barrack. We were done, and free for the rest of the day…..We had the weekends off and could do what we wanted….not that there was too much to do. It was really to hot to do much outside, and with my fracture I couldn’t do much anyway… On Sunday we would go to the church on the base nearest to us and go to the auditorium. Women volunteered to serve the soldiers coffee and donuts…..After we had our fill we would leave and go to the PX or to a movie on the base…..At least the PX and the movie theater were airconditioned!…..One weekend a few of us decided we would take the bus over the border into Texas. We were told there was a great place to hear music, dance, drink and have a good time. So off we went. Others who had been there told us of a motel close by the bus terminal, and that it was clean. So we rented two rooms for the six of us that took this trip. Jim, Joe and i shared a room….Clean was just about all it was! There were two double beds, a bathroom and a TV. It was airconditioned with noisy wall units, but we weren’t planning on spending too much time in the room anyway. We got into our civilian clothes, and off we went. Our short hair cuts, and the fact that we weren’t wearing cowboy boots or wearing cowboy hats was a sure giveaway that we were soldiers…..The place was huge like an airplane hanger, and it was packed to the rafters…..The country music was loud!!! We had a few drinks at what seemed to be a mile long bar. We found some girls who would dance with us, but we really didn’t know how to do the line dance. They tried to teach us, and we had a few laughs….We stayed for quite a while, and then left. I have never in my life seen so many guys carrying guns!!!!We didn’t even stay for the weekend! We checked out the next day, and caught the bus back to Louisiana. We took excursions into Shreveport which was the closest town…..Who did we bump into…none other than the Lieutenant’s nephew! He was visiting all of the houses of ill repute that were supposed to be off limits! They were near the army base, and in Shreveport there were plenty of them! We later found out that he was being treated for syphilis…….Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy!…..Finally we all graduated from school! Our tour was coming to a close, and we would be on our way home!!!! Hallelujah, we made it through and survived…I learned a lot about myself during the time I spent in the army. I hated much of it, but never regretted the time I spent…I grew up…..We told the new class coming in about the Sergeant in charge, and to just keep him supplied with scotch and they would never see him…..We felt it was our duty to keep the tradition going, and to tell the new guys the lay of the land…..If I remember correctly, Jim lived in PA, and we got together a few times with Joe who I believe lived in New Jersey, but as time passed we drifted apart…..We led such different lives, and didn’t have the common ground of the army to keep us together……I went on to serve in the National Guard for six years……….Over the years I couldn’t help but wonder about the friends I had made, and of all the guys I met, and the many who I have forgotten. How many made it?……How many of them survived?…Was their sacrifice worth it?…..Is war ever worth it?………….Only the young soldiers loose out in the end.
………………….Before I go on with my story….I want to introduce you to my three best friends that I made in the army……The insert picture with the two of us smoking on the stairs of the barracks is my BEST FRIEND Jim Nicoletti, and me….The three friends on the ‘monkey bars” are Joe Montalbano on the right, Jim at the top center and Bill O’Brien at the left……Making good friends is imperative to survive and keep your sanity! We were the best of friends and went everywhere together…….We were the only three that stayed together after basic training……….Back to my story…..My friends convinced me that I was in legitimate pain, and it wasn’t in my head, and that I had to go on sick call…..The building I had to report to was another single floor building that looked like a barrack, but was the Officers and Drill Sergeants office. There was a window, and a box in front of it that you had to stand on and report in. There was a sign that said “SICK CALL”, and I had to get on line. There were only two other guys on line with me. When they opened the window the first guy got up on the box, and said what was wrong with him. I was to frightened to listen to what they screamed at him. He left and it was my turn to get up on “the box”! My DS immediately saw me standing there and immediately started screaming at me…..”Dell’Olio you had better be dying to get on this sick call line!” I explained that my leg and hip was in terrible pain, and they gave me a slip of paper to go to the hospital and get an x-ray. After being given directions to the hospital I walked the few miles….very slowly……When I finally got there I was given more directions to the x-ray building. The x-ray was taken and I was told to report back to my barrack for the result. After that long walk to the hospital I was in pain again. A very nice nurse asked me how I got to the hospital, and did I have a ride. I told her I walked. She was shocked and repeated, “you walked all the way here?!! didn’t anyone tell you there was a bus that stopped right by your company that you could have taken?” I said no. So she told me where to go and pick up the bus back to my company. By now the pain had subsided, and again I started to wonder if I imagined it!?? When I got back to my company everyone was gone on the seven day excursion. I was told to wait in my barrack….It was empty….The beds were stripped, and the mattresses were rolled up. I never felt so alone…….Then I heard my name being called. I made my way down the stairs and was told I was put on laundry detail. There were three of us who had to go into each barrack and get the huge bags of laundry and put them in the jeep. We were driven to the laundry which was huge airplane hanger made in a huge laundry. We had to get the bags off of the jeep, have them signed in and wait for them to be done, which I figured would take all day! I lost tract of time. I could only guess an hour or two went by when a jeep came to the entrance and STARTED YELLING MY NAME…..I thought, crap what now! They told me to get into the jeep and I was being taken to the hospital with a FRACTURED HIP! How could this be….I wasn’t even in any pain anymore!!! When I got to the hospital I was assigned to a single floor wooden barrack type building with rows of beds on either side. Each barrack had patients with similar problems. Mine was the broken bone and fracture barrack. Almost everyone was on crutches if they were allowed. I remember it was Easter, and the nurses came around with tiny plastic baskets with chocolate candy in them. On the TV was “The Wizard of Oz”, and many guys were watching it. I got bored. I had seen it so many times! I decided to take a walk on my crutches…..I realized there were many barracks lined up all connected with a common hall way at the end of each one…..Each barrack specialized in a different problem……Not too far in front of me I saw another patient walking down the hall with his back to me. He was from another barrack. Two offices were walking toward us. They stopped him and reprimanded him for not saluting. I wasn’t expected to because I was on crutches, but he had his hands in his robe pockets. All of a sudden he pulled his hands out of his pockets, but instead of hands he had TWO STUMPS. He said to them “what do you want me to salute you with….THESE!”…..He lost his hands in Vietnam. The officers were very embarrassed and apologized, but the man said nothing and walked off. I realized this hospital was one of the main hospitals for returning solders from Vietnam……It is something that is as vivid in my mind as the moment it happened over fifty years ago!…..Eventually, I was returned back to my company on crutches for graduation [picture extreme left]. When I arrived the place was empty, and once again the mattresses were rolled up. I was to wait in the barrack…It was pouring rain and very bleak….Then a jeep came up to my barrack, and guys got out in full gear and rain ponchos. They came barreling up to the second floor. There were some of my friends!, and looked at me in astonishment! “Where the hell have you been?!!” They said to me. All they knew was I went on sick call so many weeks ago and disappeared! They were never told what had happened to me, but the Drill Sergeants used me to threaten the other solders saying if they went on sick call they would end up like me, and they would have to do basic training all over again which they said I had to do….That was a big lie. I told them everything that happened to me… going to the hospital for x-rays….the laundry detail, the fractured hip, and the solder with out hands. After I told them the story about the guy without hands I thought I really shouldn’t have told them that part, because some of them were going to Vietnam. My company had a mix of men….some were drafted into the Regular Army, some were drafted into the Army Reserve, and some, like me were in the National Guard. It was very sure the Regular Army guys and the Army Reserve guys would be sent overseas, and most to Vietnam,….On graduation day from Basic Training we all got out new assignments. Most went off to Advanced Infantry Training…the fast route to Vietnam. some went to Appropriations, and would probably be going to Vietnam too, but they wouldn’t be fighting, and a few others like me went to Secretarial School….Jim and Joe went on with me to Secretarial School. It was sheer luck that we were together…even though they were both in the National Guard….For me Graduation was a sad day. I had to say goodbye to close friends I had made….never to know what their fate would be. I was sure many would perish in the war….We gave each other tight hugs and wished each other good luck. To a special few I gave my home address hoping to hear from them…..but I never did…….Over the years I have often wondered what happen to these incredible men……………….To be continued
…………………………In February of 1970, at the age of 22, I went into the army…….The Vietnam War was raging, and the draft was pulling young men into service by the thousands each year. My Draft number was very low. I was one of the lucky ones and was accepted into the National Guard. At that time the National Guard was not being sent over seas, but a few years later that changed and National Guardsmen were sent to Vietnam too. This was an experience I will never forget! I had to first go to the airport in New Orleans. I remember my dad brining me to LaGuardia Airport very early in the morning. There wasn’t anyone there except for the few people on this early flight. There were some other young guys who were there too. I assumed they were in the army too……When we arrived in New Orleans we transferred to a much smaller plane to our final destination….It was called “Tree Top Airlines”. At this point guys from all over the country congregated at the gate. I realized they were all young recruits like me going to the same place…….FORT POLK. LOUISIANA!….I soon understood how this airline got its’ name. It flew just above the pine tree forests. I noticed when I looked out the window I could see sunlight reflecting off the ground between the trees which I thought was strange. I later found out it was water from the swamps……After a short flight we landed at an airstrip….There was nothing else there except a single tower….so we got out of the plane and we all sat under beautiful pine trees and waited…..We started talking to one another and I found out where many of the guys were from…..I quickly realized who was friendly, and who was going to be trouble!……Finally a bus pulled up and a Drill Sergeant got out…..and it began….the SHOUTING and the YELLING……As you probably have seen in movies we were told what to do when and how….When we reached the base we got on lines to see doctors first….in the front door and out the back….then we waited and got in line and we were brought for haircuts….if you could call them that…..Basically they shaved our heads……in the front door and out the back…..Then we were marched over to get our new army clothes, underwear, socks, boots, dress shoes etc. which all got packed into a duffle bag. It eventually had your name and serial number on it…An assembly line of which I’d never seen!……When all was done we were marched over to a mess hall and ate….then to a barracks where we were left alone for about an hour. Then en mass we were marched over to an enormous hole which was being dug for a man made lake…..It was huge and about five to six feet deep. Every new batch of recruits every day was brought to this hole in the ground, handed shovels and told to get in and dig!. This was to keep us busy and out of trouble!…The bottom already had some water in it and was just mud….At one point a group of guys down the line started yelling and screaming and jumped out of the hole….I realized what they were yelling was SNAKES!!!!! They had uncovered a nest of snakes, and everyone jumped out. There were four or five very poisonous snakes in the area, and there were large billboards with pictures on them of the snakes with big red exes across them so you would learn to recognize them!….. I HAVE ALWAYS HATED SNAKES!!!! Now I knew how Fort Polk got its’ nickname…..forgive my crudeness, but I didn’t give it the name of “ASSHOLE of the SOUTH”!……Fort Polk is one of the oldest army bases ever built……After our stint digging a lake we were marched back to the barrack, and on to the mess hall for dinner. Then always as a group, marched back to the barrack where we slept on bunks with only an old stained mattress….It wasn’t the RITZ! The next day there were FOUR DRILL SERGEANTS waiting for us! Each called out names, and we had to line up behind whoever called us out….They would be our Drill Sergeants for the duration of basic training…..Then we marched to our companies, and were assigned to one of the four barracks. I remember everyone scrambling to get a bunk. I was on the second floor towards the back, which ended up being one of the best places to be….away from everything, and especially the latrine! I was near an upper level exit door where we would smoke after lights out!….We were instructed on how to make our beds so tight that a nickel could bounce off of it, and how to set up our standing locker, and foot locker. The Drill Sergeant [DS] inspected everything EVERY DAY! If it wasn’t correct he would scream at you, and dump everything on the floor or tear the bed apart, and you would have to redo it until it was done right. This was to teach us discipline….Some guys just couldn’t get it right and were really abused……I leaned very quickly, and didn’t have any problems. The point was once you were on the battle field you had to be part of a team, and follow instructions to the letter. If you couldn’t hang your clothes up correctly or keep your foot locker in the way the army wanted it, or you couldn’t make your bed with the proper hospital corners how could you follow instructions on the field of battle [I still make hospital corners]….In the morning when the DS woke us up we had less than 5 minutes to get dressed, before another whistle would blow and we would have to get into formation outside…Don’t be late or you got screamed at….three inches from your face! Once we were in formation we had to strip to the waist no matter what the weather, and Feb. in Louisiana was cold and rainy the likes of which I had never seen!…..We would have to run for a few miles chanting these songs….just like you see in the movies. If you lagged behind you got screamed at and humiliated……If you were fat you really got screamed at! I lost 20 lbs in basic training….I went on two day bivouacs where I had to set up a tent with a buddy and sleep inside in sleeping bags. We ate food out of cans, and went to the bathroom in the woods with a shovel that was part of our equipment, and a roll of toilet paper. If you ran out of toilet paper you used leaves like they did in Vietnam!!!! Me of all people!!! We did all kinds of exercises out in the woods….all kinds of military training for Vietnam….most of which I have blocked from my memory….I hated everything except the rifle range. We shot the M-16 rifle…..The official weapon that the soldiers were using in Vietnam. I was pretty good….I was even given a rifle badge! At the rifle range there was a line of twelve or more man made “Fox Holes”, and we had to line up behind them in rows. They had wooden round covers which we removed. At the bottom were round wooden grids to stand on incase the holes got muddy. On one occasion one soldier jumped into the hole without looking. He started screaming. There was a snake in it and he got bitten. He was taken to the hospital. The Drill Sergeant shot the snake with his pistol and the next soldier had to get into the hole with the dead snake…..I was glad I wasn’t on that line!!!! Every day was the same….early up…get in formation….strip to the waist….and run. Everyday the run got longer and the songs got longer. Then back in formation and the whistle would blow for you to go into the barracks make your beds clean up….do what ever you had to do, and wait for the whistle to blow for chow…..We got back in formation then we were marched over to the dreaded “MONKEY BARS”!!! which you had to do before you could eat….I could only make it half way before I would fall off! I heard my name screamed out with a southern accent from my DS. At one point the palms of my hands were all torn up…..Eventually I did it! You had to to survive. This is where I learned to eat scrambled eggs! I hated eggs before I went into the army and never ate them. Every morning I would eat either pancakes or waffles with butter and syrup, but I got sick and tired of it, and decided to give the eggs a try. I always asked for the well done part, but most of it was well done anyway…..Switching my diet to eggs, and with all of the exercise I eventually lost the 20 lbs…..About five weeks into basic training we were scheduled to go on a seven day bivouac, and on a “force march”…..which meant I would be carrying ALL of my equipment on my back [you’ve seen it in the movies], and most of the march for miles would be double timing it. Double timing was almost a full out run!…..We were warned by our DS that NO ONE HAD BETTER GO ON SICK CALL THAT MORNING OR THERE WOULD BE CONSEQUENCES!!!!!…….We started the morning in the usual way with a five mile run before chow…half naked…….When we returned from the run and back in formation the DS blew the whistle for us to go back into the barracks, but I couldn’t move. My hip was in excruciating pain!!!! My buddies saw tears running down my face and asked what the matter was??? I told them I was in pain, and I couldn’t walk…..something was the matter with my legs. They literally lifted me and got me back into the barrack. They helped me up the stairs. They saw the pain I was in and told me I had to go on sick call…..I said NO WAY!….I had been praying that something would happen to me….nothing too bad…nothing permanent, but just something that would get me out of this! WERE MY PRAYERS ANSWERED??????……………………………to be continued!
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