RECOLLECTIONS OF CHILDHOOD
William J. Moore DOB: 11/12/1933
A bright warm sun was beating down on a 4-year-old boy in Daviess
County, Kentucky. Just a young child playing in the shade of
a fairly scraggly tree in the back yard that was more dirt than
grass. The shade doubled as a cool respite from the sun not
only for him but the many chickens that were an important part
of living.
The dust was so powdered that the slightest movement causes
the dust particles to dance on the sunbeams that penetrate the
shade.
There was a unique smell that permeated the air. It was a mixture
of late spring and early summer that even a 4-year-old boy was
aware of. The chicken manure, the pig lot, the barnyard and
the blooming flowers and new mown hay all melded together into
an overall familiar odor.
Playing in the dirt was one of his pastimes that never failed
to be intriguing. Every block of wood became a "car"
or "tractor" or "Truck" that had it’s
own routine that was limited only by his imagination. Toy cars
were not something he would have because they cost "money"
and "Money" was something that was needed by the family
for it’s very meager existence.
The feel of this powdered dust on his bare feet was a delight.
Too long he’d been forced to wear shoes and this was a
special ritual of late spring. The fact that he probably needed
to go barefoot, because his shoes were out grown never entered
into his thought process. This was something his parents had
to worry about, not him; he had serious games to play!!
These games included the company of an older sister and a younger
brother and were unlimited. If the mind could devise the game
they could play it!! Playing with the animals and especially
the chickens were very popular. Put the chicken to sleep was
an endless game. 1st you must catch a chicken---this
in itself was a great game—then you put it’s head
under a wing and spun it around and around and around and then
gently laid it down to see which would sleep the longest. When
the chicken awoke, the chase and the game started over again.
He had pets that were a great amusement. Of course there was
a hound that would chase rabbits and a cat and a "Terrier"
that would dig "Rats" out from under the barn or the
chicken coop.
Hide and seek, you’re IT!! Run, Run, hide don’t make
a sound or move a muscle or you will be caught… HOME FREE!!
Was the shout when you made it without being caught.
Red Rover, Red Rover let Gilbert come over. How many times
I must have heard that in my lifetime. We always selected him
as he was "small" and might not break the wall of
interlocked arms that formed the barrier to be broken so you
might return an extra person to you team’s side!! "Don’t
call for that big kid he will break my arms"!!
Work and chores were a fact of life even at that young age.
We fed the chickens and gathered the eggs. We helped plant the
garden, helped tend it and weed it, and of course gather the
vegetables for cooking and canning. We were not expected to
go work in the fields, that came a few years later, but we did
help with the plowing and weeding and hoeing of the garden.
It was not unusual for a 4 year old boy to use a small hand
"sickle" to cut weeks around the garden and the barn
yard and I have a scar on my leg to prove that it was not always
a pleasant experience.
"Billy", you go pick some Green and Ripe tomatoes
both if you want Fried Green Tomatoes for lunch. Of course I
wanted Fried Green Tomatoes for lunch—that was the best
meal I could imagine. Rolled in cornmeal and fried crispy brown
and served on a nice biscuit with a slice of onion and ripe
tomato. "You have had 4 already, isn’t that enough"?
God I still love them!!
Water had to be carried to the animals and to mom to use for
cooking and cleaning. The fact that the well was a good distance
from the house and the bucket was heavy did not matter as you
had a brother or sister to grab the other side of the handle
and help you.
The kettle had to be filled for heating water to do the washing.
The fire had to be tended and stoked, and mom was too busy for
that small chore.
Handing her the clothespins was another seemingly small task
but it was another way she instilled respect for duty and teamwork.
I am sure there was never a "GREAT" plan for all
this; it was just the way things were. When she said, "go
get the egg" you went and got them, because she said so.
There was none of this I don’t want to, let someone else
do it, etc.
I think this is the earliest recollection of mine. The bright
warm sun and the powered dirt under my bare feet is still one
of my fondest memories. After this the memories are more distinct
and vivid.
William J. Moore MSGT USAF, Retired
DOB: 11/12/1933
"My name is Sergeant Moore and I am your T.I. for your
basic training". "T.I. is short for Tactical Instructor
and that means I will be the most important person in your life".
" I will decide what you do, when you do it and how you
do it for the next 10 weeks of your life"." Your schedule
will be as tight as we can make it from before daylight until
after dark". " You will be stretched to the limit
of your endurance, both physically and mentally"."
You will regret the day you were sworn into the United States
Air Force and will at some later date thank me and all
my associates for this experience".
So begins the orientation speech for another new Flight of
Basic Training Recruits at Lackland AFB, Texas. This is hour
one (1) of day one (1) of the greatest experience any young
man will ever have in his lifetime. The discipline and camaraderie
will be entwined into the "team work" that any military
operations require for successful completion.
The random selection of the 70 recruits is as accidental as
the plane, train and bus schedule arriving in San Antonio, Texas.
They are met at the airports, depots and stations by escort
personnel and are transported to Lackland AFB. Their destination
is the "Green Monster" the name given to the big green
personnel processing building that is the center of all new
recruit personnel processing. They are assigned to the next
"Flight # " and as soon as the group is complete the
are then delivered to the T.I. that will be responsible for
them.
They are from New York, New Jersey, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois,
Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and California.
They are tall, short, slim, fat, smart, dumb, clever, dull,
happy, mad, elated and miserable. Some have long hair and some
short hair, some are bearded and some have never shaved in their
life. Some are clean and well groomed and some are dirty and
sloppy. They are dressed in every imaginable type of garb and
thus the term "RAINBOW FLIGHT" is given to each new
group after it is assembled and is processing through the first
few days of the training schedule. This is a term fabricated
by the older recruits and is used to ridicule and deride the
new arrivals. The "RAINBOW" designation is dropped
after the Haircut and Uniform issue is completed on about the
third day of the training schedule.
DISCIPLINE is the single most important part of the
military. It is the glue that holds the whole thing together.
And the discipline training starts from the first contact between
the T.I. and the recruits. Simply stated Discipline is the attitude
of "doing the right thing at the right time because it's
what is right". We start trying to ingrain this into children
at a very early age and some parents and guardians and educators
are much more proficient than other, Everyone has a different
interpretation of what is best, and how it is best taught.
My father was a very strict disciplinarian and his answer was
"if I told you to do something and you don't, you get your
ass busted" and he meant that with all of his being. He
never relented or accepted any excuses from any of us.
The Air Force had about the same philosophy as him but it was
diluted by a set of rules called Military Law. This is like
the rules of the land but slanted toward the military and used
a lot of military jargon to set the premature of the offenses.
We as DI’s weren't to concerned with a lot of that, we
just had to take 70 different individuals and turn them into
a well trained unit in the 8 to 10 weeks we were allotted. Some
of the DI’s were very dedicated but just didn't seem to
ever have a clue that the job was not as easy as the recruiting
posters made it seem.
These kids needed to have their "Spirit" broken in
the first day or two and then molded into the "AIRMAN"
that he was supposed to be. This "breaking of the spirit"
was a combination of actions that alone were not very special
but in combination were very effective. We started with a schedule
of activities that were designed to be informative and exhausting
- the exhausting was both physical and mental. Their day started
at 4:30 AM and ended at 9:00 PM and their sleep was sometime
interrupted with a fire drill or guard duty, etc. Physical Training
was constant and they MARCHED every where they went. This activity
was interspersed with constant harassment by the instructor
cadre and older recruits that we selected to assist in the initial
orientation such as bed making, footlocker arrangement and uniform
display. They were required to memorize a litany of General
Orders and the Chain of Command from the DI up through the Air
Force, the Department of Defense and the Commander in Chief,
the President of the United States. They were deprived of cigarettes,
candy, sodas and use of the phone and it usually took about
5 days for their first mail to arrive. They had never been so
de-humanized in their whole life. We never let up on them and
they never saw a friendly face or heard a kind word.
The final "straw" in the process was the Haircut
and the issue of the "Uniform". This was when the
individual personalities were erased and the were no longer
"HOT SHOTS" but were just another "NOBODY".
All the cockiness was gone and they now had to stand together
to survive. This was the start of the teamwork phase of their
training, the re-building process was ready to begin.
The "LEARNING - TO - MARCH" phase was a harsh experience
for some of them. They had never done anything in a disciplined
and orderly manner in their life and to be told exactly how
to stand, how to step and how to turn and stop upon command
was a mind wrenching episode for some of them. Just "Standing
at Attention" the first part of the marching process was
almost impossible for some of them, as it requires the individual
to stand erect with head and eyes focused straight ahead and
to be perfectly immobile. The immobile part was hard for some
of them to execute since they had never been "STILL"
for any extended period of time in their short life.
The progression of their training was a joy to watch. They
soon learned to depend not only on themselves but all the other
members of the group. They were divided into small groups for
performing task such as "Latrine" (bathroom) cleaning,
for sweeping and waxing the barracks floor, grounds policing
and bed and footlocker alignment and arrangement. Each of these
groups had a "leader" and he was responsible to the
T.I. for accomplishing the task. This "Team" concept
was vital, as they would use it during their entire Air Force
career. All jobs in the Air Force employed this concept. Inspection
of their person, belongings and quarter’s became a daily
occurrence. Failures on these inspections were punished by extra
"fatigue" detail such as K.P. and grounds maintaince
instead of free time.
Each day saw an advancement of their skill levels. The close
order drill (marching) became much smoother and organized. The
exercise routines during physical training were smoother and
more coordinated.
At about this time we introduce the "Inter Flight"
competition. They were not only measured against a "progression
table" but were "head to head" with other groups
of about the same number of days in training. This constant
competition fostered a positive team spirit. It was not unusual
to have them request more drill time so they might do better
in tomorrow’s competition. At the same time as all this
physical training was taking place they were bombarded with
academic subjects such as, personal hygiene, field sanitation,
first aid, code of conduct for prisoners of war and military
law. Tests were administered on a regular basic with individual
and group averages counting in the overall competition.
At about the 5th week the rebuilding process started.
They were given "free" time in the evening to visit
the Recreation center to swim, shoot pool, read, listen to music
or actually talk to the WAF (female) trainees. At this time
the individual personalities began to emerge and the "natural
leaders" began to surface.
By now we had "eliminated" the small percentage that
were not "trainable". This amounted to about 5% of
all the men that started the program. They were either mentally
or physically unfit for Air Force service and were give a "Convince
of the Government" discharge. This was not an arbitrary
decision but based on extensive tutoring and mental hygiene
testing. We used a program of "Set Back" that permitted
repeating the training cycle they had failed. Some were not
able to stand the rigorous physical training or were not mentally
capable of absorbing the material. Some were not able to adapt
to the "discipline".
The last few weeks were devoted to perfecting the skills learned
earlier and completing the academics. Pride in the unit and
personal satisfaction was emphasized.
They were given a "12 hour pass" to go into town
and for the first time to actually be on their own. This was
the "reward" they had been planning for a long time
and I suspect the anticipation was greater than the actual reprieve
from the training routine. They were instructed not to drink
"Beer" but a lot of they returned to the barracks
half drunk.
The last few days were spent anticipating their "Career
Field" selection. Very early in the training process they
were given Aptitude test and were "counseled" on job
selections for which they were qualified. They were permitted
to select a 1st, 2nd and 3rd
choice based on aptitude scores but the final selection was
based upon "The Needs of the Air Force". Receiving
their "Orders" was the highlight of the program. "I
got Electronics school at Chanute AFB, Illinois", "I
got Air Police School right here at Lackland AFB", "Where
in the hell is Minot, North Dakota" were some of the comments
that were heard when the assignments were passed out. Some were
happy and some were sad but most were happy with the school
assignments and all were ecstatic that Basic Training was over.
Successful completion of Basic Training resulted in promotion
to Airman 3rd Class. The "sewing on" of
the first strip was a celebration to behold. Sewing was not
part of the academic schedule and some were terrible but they
were all proud to get rid of the "Slick Sleeve" of
the Basic Airman.
Friendships were made that would last a lifetime and skills
were learned that would serve them well for the rest of their
life. Good byes were not easy, as they knew the might never
see some of their comrades ever again.
"Gentlemen, you have made the grade", "I am
proud to have been a part of you life for the last few weeks
and would be proud to serve with any of you". So starts
the last speech from the T.I. Believe it or not you have made
the grade and I am satisfied that you will be an asset to any
organization you will be assigned. Those of you remaining here
for school or awaiting assignment can feel free to come around
and visit and help me with the next "Rainbow" flight.
It has been a pleasure serving with you during this important
part of you Air Force career.
