Best Friends Jerrie Jones Allan Beaman Gunther Deguchi A. M. Mendivil Michael Anthony Minko - KIA 22DEC68 Melvin Oates Larry Skeen Ben Vigil
Worst Moment There were a few enlistees in our Company. One was in the bunk next to me. He was real gung-ho and had enlisted to be an Airborne Ranger. After a week of Basic Training, he was constantly complaining about the rigor of basic. I told him he needed to just suck it up and make the best of it - after all - he signed up for this and most of the rest of us were drafted. He agreed to make the best of it. But a week later he went AWOL and we never heard of him again.
Instructors SGT Jack C. Dickinson, Drill Sergeant SSG Virgil D. Bennett, Drill Sergeant SSG Ralph Tinsley, Platoon Sergeant, 3rd Pt SSG Bonaface Martine, Field First Sergeant 1SG Ruben L. Murray 2LT David L. Pollock, TO 2LT Don C. Steiner, TO 1LT Bobby D. Calton, TO CPT Lewis Green, Company Commander, Company B SGM Cecil A. Cooper, Batallion Sergeant Major SGM Charles C. Sipes, Brigade Sergeant Major LTC Arnold M. Sargeant, Jr, Battalion Commander, 1st Battalion COL Hyrum Dallinga, Brigade Commander, 2nd Training Bde COL Edmund Castle, Deputy Commander USATC BG Robert H Safford, CO Fort Bliss
Other Memories
January 1968 - March 1968: 3rd Platoon, B Company, 1st Training Battalion, 2nd BCT Brigade, USATC. Drill Seargents, push ups, lots of running, KP, physical training, bivouac, policing the area, hand to hand, basic weapons training: M-14, bayonet, hand grenade, CBR, etc. Seargent Tinsley was my Drill Sgt. We had a minor celebrity in the Company. His name was Don Agrati but his stage name was Don Grady. He played the role of Robbie in the TV series "My Three Sons." I believe he was in the Army reserves. Qualified as a Sharpshooter on the M-14 rifle and scored 490 out of 500 on the PT.
A large group of us were drafted in Los Angeles. It was here where I met the following men who were in line getting inducted that day getting our Serial Numbers in the order from US56717283 through US56717286
Michael A. Minko
Myself
Larry Skeen
Jerrie Jones
We all went to Fort Bliss and were in 3rd Platoon of B-1-2 for Basic Combat Training. We all later went to Fort Polk for Infantry AIT.