Remembering my basic training days at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri
September 28, 2016
These pictures show that I wasn't born with a beard. They were taken during training in the very early 1970s when I was at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. It was a chaotic time to be a male in your late teens and early to mid-twenties. Going to Vietnam hang over your head. There was the domestic turmoil at home over the war and unknowns of going to war in Southeast Asia.
What made my active duty time more tolerable was the friendship of two guys, Chuck from Tennessee and Jan from North Dakota.
We supported each other and helped each other transition to our military roles. Then because we were reservists, we went back home and soon lost touch with each other until Chuck contacted me on Facebook. Wow. It seems like at least one lifetime ago. I'm thankful that Chuck reached out.