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VA Military Memories Competition

AE2(AW) LaTonya N. Davison, U.S. Navy (1996-2010)

AE2(AW) LaTonya N. Davison, U.S. Navy (1996-2010)

Do You Remember Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors Names From Basic Training? Recount Any Specific Memories of Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors and How They Shaped You as a New Recruit:

Picture it. Great Lakes, IL, 1996. This towering 6-foot-something man walks into the barracks bay, informing us he’ll be our division commander for the next 8 weeks. Intimidating from the jump, it took only a few days to realize he had a perfectly crafted persona to make sure we quickly established discipline and respect. Fred Pharr from North Carolina, who would later become the Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic Force Master Chief, would be whipping 83 women into shape and making them into sailors.

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Cpl Al Bogigian, U.S. Marines (1973-1988)

Cpl Al Bogigian, U.S. Marines (1973-1988)

Do You Remember Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors Names From Basic Training? Recount Any Specific Memories of Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors and How They Shaped You as a New Recruit:

On August 30, 1990, one day before we graduated boot camp, Senior Drill Instructor Staff Sergeant Russell Whitney did something I’ve never forgotten: he brought a portable stereo out from the DI hut, plugged it into a stanchion outlet, and pressed play, all without saying a word, save for “Huddle up!” A few seconds later, Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me” began. The message was clear. I have goosebumps as I type this now. Platoon members clasped their arms around shoulders next to them. We cried perhaps silently, but replete with the emotion that comes with making it through boot camp together and thinking about what lies ahead. I just want to say thank you for doing what you did, Mr. Whitney, wherever you are now. This remains one of my favorite life moments; whenever I hear the song, that scene with Platoon 1086 comes alive.

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SGT Lien Crum, U.S. Army (1987-1997)

SGT Lien Crum, U.S. Army (1987-1997)

Do You Remember Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors Names From Basic Training? Recount Any Specific Memories of Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors and How They Shaped You as a New Recruit:

There are many “war” stories I could tell, but this one is the one that I remember the most. It was one month before my 21st birthday that I found myself in Basic at Ft. Dix, NJ. It didn’t take long for me to learn that compared to Ft. Jackson, we were privileged to be assigned to “Fort Disneyland.” Yea right! For me, BC was a mental and physical challenge. I went through a very sheltered lifestyle. I was in for a rude awakening when I was faced with a whole new world of perseverance and survival.

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SP5 Robert Artz, U.S. Army (1969-1975)

SP5 Robert Artz, U.S. Army (1969-1975)

Do You Remember Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors Names From Basic Training? Recount Any Specific Memories of Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors and How They Shaped You as a New Recruit:

It was an early spring morning at US Army Headquarters Training Center Infantry, Fort Ord, California. A couple hundred new inductees (around 95% draftees – including myself) were gathered together by a handful of seasoned Drill Instructors with the objective of assembling Headquarters Company into Platoons and Squads. First job; select trainee Platoon and Squad leaders. It was Drill Sergeant Diamond who started the process by ordering all men who graduated college to fall out and line up on the side of the parking lot. I was classified II-S until I graduated in early 1969. I was 22 years old – one of the older men in this group. With Vietnam going crazy, Uncle Sam was calling up even us old guys.

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MAJ Montgomery J. Granger, U.S. Army (1986-2008)

MAJ Montgomery J. Granger, U.S. Army (1986-2008)

Do You Remember Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors Names From Basic Training? Recount Any Specific Memories of Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors and How They Shaped You as a New Recruit:

I am a Mustang officer, now a retired major, spent five years enlisted as a Combat Medic and then attended OCS and had a 22 year career in the Army, including deployments to Gitmo and Iraq. I attended Basic Training at Fort Blist(er), TX, in the fall of 1987. I consider my Drill Sergeants as near perfect human beings. I was there after completing six years of college, including a BS Ed., and MA degrees in teaching.

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MSG Derrick L. King, U.S. Army (1983-2010)

MSG Derrick L. King, U.S. Army (1983-2010)

Do You Remember Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors Names From Basic Training? Recount Any Specific Memories of Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors and How They Shaped You as a New Recruit:

I remember the boots hitting the pavement before I ever saw his face. I remember the cadence of authority in his voice before I even knew his name. But when I finally met him Staff Sergeant Bailey there was no doubt in my mind: this man was built different. Not just in his physical presence, though he looked like a machine carved from steel, but in his mindset, his discipline, and the way he commanded respect without ever needing to demand it. SSG Bailey wasn’t just my Drill Sergeant in Basic Training he became the model of what a man, a leader, and a warrior should be.

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SSG Victoria Ryan, U.S. Army (1973-1988)

SSG Victoria Ryan, U.S. Army (1973-1988)

Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:

Military training does not end with basic or AIT (advanced individual training). It is an ongoing, continuous journey which imparts many valuable and often life-long lessons. One of the most valuable and enduring lessons I repeatedly received during my many years of Army service was that there is a chain of command and it is there for a reason. Nothing is written in stone, situations can be fluid, and utilizing a chain of command can be instrumental in accomplishing or changing a situation.

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SSG James R. Laudermilk, U.S. Army (2004-2015)

SSG James R. Laudermilk, U.S. Army (2004-2015)

Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:

Yes, there was a time in my civilian life when my military training was absolutely vital not in the field, but in a fight for my life. After 19 years in the U.S. Army, including combat deployments to Iraq and roles as an IT instructor and leader I retired with 100% disability due to exposure to burn pits. I have led soldiers through missions, trained others in high-pressure-tech environments, and understood the value of discipline, resilience, and readiness. But nothing fully prepared me for what came next: a diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the neck, followed by leukemia.

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SSgt Tyler Armstrong, U.S. Air Force (2009-2015)

SSgt Tyler Armstrong, U.S. Air Force (2009-2015)

Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:

Yes, there was a defining moment during my civilian life when my military training became not just useful, but lifesaving. After separating from the military, I was driving on a remote highway late at night when I came upon a multi-car accident. Several people were injured, and it was clear that emergency services hadn’t yet arrived. The scene was chaotic, vehicles were smoking, people were in shock, and one car had flipped over with a driver trapped inside.

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CW2 Donnell Medley, U.S. Army (1964-1968)

CW2 Donnell Medley, U.S. Army (1964-1968)

Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:

On June 13, 1966, while flying an Army Birddog out of Marble Mountain airfield, I was shot down supporting a Marine company that was pinned down by a Viet Cong force. My Marine observer and I had just taken off and were en route to Marine artillery base Hill 55 when there was a call on the radio, “Any Catkiller, any Catkiller near Hoi An?”. We were very near the area, so I answered with our location. The radio operator stated that they were pinned down by an enemy force and requested assistance. We obtained the coordinates and said that we were on our way. Arriving on the scene, we saw that the Marine force was on a narrow road and receiving fire from a trench line approximately 100 yards to their front. There were 12 to 15 VCs in the trench. Assessing the situation, I had the Marines set up their 60 mm mortar. The mortars weren’t coming close after several adjustments were made. I didn’t feel comfortable calling artillery as the Marines were too close. I then told the Marine observer to take my M16, and we would make some strafing runs.

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SPC Robert E. Hendrickson, U.S. Army (1976-1992)

SPC Robert E. Hendrickson, U.S. Army (1976-1992)

Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:

Yes, 3xs, … in my boot camp training .. I was taught basic 1st aid in 1976 … and later on in my life, I unchoked my foster dad from choking on a piece of steak two different times … I did the Heimlich maneuver on him … once I got in the right place and in position, I performed h. m. and he expelled the steak piece … God rest his soul now … that was in 1986 and 1987 respectively …

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SPC Gregory Tallant, U.S. Army (1992-1995)

SPC Gregory Tallant, U.S. Army (1992-1995)

Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:

In August 1992, my basic training class, which was part of an OSUT unit, was sent to Fort Polk, LA. We were stationed in the old World War II barracks while waiting for our unit to return from Germany after the Gulf War. We were assigned to every type of work detail possible, from trash removal and building painting and repair to dishwashing and lawn care, every day, for several months. The first soldier who arrived at Fort Polk from our returning unit was Specialist Enke. He was one of the funniest and laziest soldiers I worked with. One day, an NCO asked for volunteers for NTC, and Specialist Enke raised his hand. I thought it was an easy detail job, so I raised my hand as well. After everyone who raised their hand was selected. Specialist Enke asked me why I volunteered for Desert Training. I said I didn’t. I volunteered for NTC. He said NTC is the National Training Center at Ft Irwin, California, which is in the Mojave Desert. My first thought was that it sounded better than all of the crap details I had been doing for several months. When we arrived at Fort Irwin, we were attached to an M109 self-propelled artillery unit, which was very beneficial for me, as in basic training, we were trained on the towed howitzers M102, M119, & M198 as we were supposed to go to the 10th Mountain Division at Ft Drum, NY, but at graduation we were advised that the 10th Mountain Division was full, so they offered us Fort Polk, LA. Our unit, which had just returned from Germany, also used the M109 howitzers, so I was excited about the opportunity to work with the M109. The E6 crew chief who selected me for his crew told me that since I was only an E2, he was going to put me on every crap detail. I told him that I would gladly work the crap details, and when I explained that while the unit I was attached to at Fort Polk was also an M109 battallion, I had only been trained on towed howitzers, and I asked if he would please teach me about the M109, when it wouldn’t interfere with his crew’s training. He was an E6 crew chief. To my amazement, he put me on every crap detail.

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