Page 72 - a-columbia-county-boys-recollections-and-memories-of-columbia-county-florida-(2012)-lenvil-h-dicks

A Columbia County Boy's Recollections and Memories of Columbia County Florida (2012) Lenvil H. Dicks

AFTER HIGH SCHOOL

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When I finished high school, I was still about 3 or 4 months away from my 18 birthday. I spent that
summer as scale man at the tobacco warehouse for Mr. Rufus Carter, and the tobacco season was over
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and done with by my 18 birthday, which was September 10 .
I enlisted in the United States Army on my birthday. And to show you how stupid 1 was, I took my
trumpet with me when I joined the army 1 kept it with me day and night all during the period of time that
we were being transported from one army location to another, in connection with our processing,
medical exams, shots, issuing of uniforms, and, being sent to a camp to set up basic training. I kept that
trumpet with me all the time, and when I would get a chance to slip off somewhere and play it a little
bit, in order to keep my lip strength, I would do so. Nobody ever insinuated they thought I was
completely crazy, but I am sure that some of my buddies began to wonder.

I went from Lake City to Jacksonville on a Grey Hound Bus, which was my initial trip at the expense of
the US Army, and we stopped in McClenney and picked up another enlistee by the name of Alan
Harvey, a red headed boy my same age, and who J grew to be great friends with. In later years after we
were discharged from the army and had finished college, Alan Harvey, or Red as we called him, since
he was red headed, became County School Superintendant and he was Superintendant for many, many
years in Baker County.

From Jacksonville we were sent on a train to Fort McPherson in Atlanta Georgia, where we were sworn
in on a Saturday after lunch, and I was pleased to find that another Lake City boy was in that group, CG
Campbell, Jr.

At Fort McPherson we were sworn in right after lunch, and one hour later several of us, including C.G.
and Red Harvey were in the mess hall washing pots and pans. It did not take long for the army to put
their newest 3 privates on KP duty.

After spending the whole weekend on KP duty we were then put on a train and sent to Fort Bragg, North
Carolina, where we were all re-examined from a medical stand point, and given shots against everything
you ever heard off. I felt like a pin cushion after ail those shots.

After this procedure, we were all issued a duffle bag, and two sets of dress uniforms and 3 sets of work
uniforms, which in those days were not camouflage, but a dark kaki green. That would be what we
would wear during basic training.

We were then put on a train to take us to Fort McClellan, Alabama, just outside of Anniston in Northern
Alabama, for our basic training. That train ride took the better part of 24 hours, and surprisingly enough,
several of the boys seemed to enjoy my trumpet playing, and so 1 did some entertaining with my trumpet
for a good bit of time on that trip. At least it was a way of getting noticed, because when you are sworn
into the army with about 500 other guys who are just as green as you are, it doesn’t take you long to feel
that you are a rather insignificant cog in the big wheel, and everything that you aspire to achieve is also
the goal of those other 500 other guys, and so you began to feel a little bit insignificant in the grand
scheme of things.

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