Boot Camp

"A draft of us took a bus to Raleigh, the capital of the state, and were sworn in. We then proceeded on to the Norfolk Navy Training Station. There we were assigned to training platoons and commenced our basic training. We were immediately informed that training was being cut from eight to six weeks. In a week or so, it was cut to four weeks. Recruits were coming in by the thousands every day and they (the Navy) had to make room.

My father, who had been in World War I, had told me that the biggest problem I would probably have would be the physical requirements of military service because of my size. At that time I weighed 105 pounds and was five feet two inches tall. I therefore made a determination that I would make a supreme effort to exceed or at least meet the minimum of these requirements. As the weeks went by, I was tested to the limits of this resolve.

I remember one thing in particular that was most difficult. About every day, we did exercises with rifles on the drill field. There exercises were mostly standing in position and doing twists and bends with the rifle held over your head or out in front at arms length. The chief in charge of our platoon, Chief Lewis, would stop us at a point where we had the rifle out in front at arms’ length. He would order us to hold that position. We were required to hold it until someone gave way and dropped his arms. I was determined it would not be me. We held for what seemed eternity. My arms were aching and I kept looking out of the corner of my eyes for someone else to drop so I could. In all instances I was able to hold and not be the first to drop.

Several incidents made me realize that size did not necessarily make a difference in your ability to stand pain and punishment or to do specific jobs. One day the platoon was lined up for shots. We were to start a series that would go on for one or more each day for several days. While standing in line I witnessed two men, who were larger and more muscular than I, fall over in a faint at the sight of the needle being inserted in their arms. Another incident was the day we went for our swimming test. Up until the war started, everyone in the Navy was supposed to know how to swim. We gathered at an indoor pool and were told to jump in and swim from one end to the other. They didn't care what stroke you used. I had spent several years of my childhood on a river near Charlotte and did know how to swim. I was amazed at how many of those men could not swim or petered out before they reached the end of the pool. I was passed and a number were told to report back for swimming lessons. In another week or so they were passing you whether you could swim or not. As a put down I was called "Kid" or "Junior" on numerous occasions, but I did not let this impair my desire to do a job for the Navy.

Finally one day we received word that we were shipping out and to pack our gear and fall in outside of our barracks by a certain time. We laboriously packed all our possessions in our sea bags and rolled that up in our hammocks. We were told that trucks would arrive to take us to the train station for departure. During that time new recruits had already moved into our old barracks. So, after some hours of standing in the cold, we were told that we would not be leaving until the next day. We then marched across the facility to an empty building that contained no beds, but did have hammock hooks. We unrolled and unpacked and swung our hammocks for the first time. There was a lot of joking and horseplay as we went through the process. Most everyone hung them pretty loose so that they were easy to get into.

The next day, we were told to secure our gear and be ready to go by noon. Again we stood around for three or four hours. We then were told that we would eat evening chow and be picked up by the trucks right afterward. We finally reached the train station about 2100 (9:00pm). After four weeks of intense training and what seemed like dozens of shots, we boarded a train at 2200 on 9 January 1942 and headed out of Norfolk in the dark. We didn't even know whether the train was going north, south, or west. We questioned the porters and conductors on the train and could get no hint. Saturday, 10 January, I woke up to find us passing through familiar country. We were coming into Charlotte, my hometown. It was 0600 (6:00am). We stopped briefly at the Southern (Railroad) Station, but they would permit no one to get off. I wanted so bad to at least get to a pay phone and call mom and dad. We pulled out and headed south, arriving at Jacksonville, Florida, at 1830 (6:30pm).

Sunday 11 January, we arrived in Miami at 0200 (2:00am). The weather was very cold. We got off the train and marched to a nearby restaurant for breakfast. Everybody kidded the natives about the cold weather. We were still dressed in our blues. Some even wore their peacoats. We boarded buses and headed for Key West at 0530 (5:30am). After crossing the overseas highway, we arrived at Key West at noon. Approximately 400 of us mustered on the dock at Key West Naval Station. As an officer read out our names, we boarded two old four-stack destroyers tied up at the dock. I boarded the USS STANSBURY (DD180) at 1500. At 1700 (5:00pm) we were sent ashore to spend the night at the Key West Naval Air Station.

12 January we reboarded our destroyers. The STANSBURY cast off at 1415 (2:15pm) with approximately 200 recruits on board plus their regular crew of 180. Our sea bags made an enormous pile amidships and on the fantail. We were so crowded that most of us had to stand on deck topside. The sky was overcast and after we cleared the Key West breakwater, the sea became fairly rough. Shortly, a number were violently seasick. I became sick but did not throw up. By this time word had circulated that we were going out to meet the USS NORTH CAROLINA, and we would be transferred at sea. I thought this was too good to be true. I had never been given the opportunity to request any ship and here I was going to one of the newest battleships in the fleet, the USS NORTH CAROLINA, named for my home state. The other destroyer was going to rendezvous with the USS WASHINGTON and transfer her 200 recruits.

We sighted the WASHINGTON at 1800 and the NORTH CAROLINA at 1815. The NORTH CAROLINA motor launches came along side and we began the transfer. This was a rough, hair-raising experience because I was carrying my sea bag which weighed about 65 pounds. The sea was running and the launch was rising and falling about 15 feet every time a wave came by. Each man would stand poised in his dress blues and peacoat and his sea bag on his shoulder. We would try to catch the launch as it rose on a wave to the level of the deck. This resulted in several bad falls into the boat and several lost sea bags. Luckily no one fell overboard.

We finally cast off and headed for the NORTH CAROLINA. On the way, one man tried to jump overboard because he was seasick and said he didn't want to live any longer. A number were heaving over the side of the boat."

- Charles M. Paty, Jr.

"In my case, I was only in boot training 25 days. After the war was declared they pushed us through real fast. I think during peacetime, you had about six to eight weeks of boot training. They would give you so many days on gunnery, seamanship, and all that kind of stuff. I didn’t get that. They showed me a Springfield rifle and they said, ‘Do you know what that is?’ I said, ‘It looks like a gun.’ They didn’t have time. Ninety-nine to a hundred percent of the training I got was right here on this ship."

- Donald C. Rogers

"We arrived at Newport, Rhode Island, Training Station on a Friday. I know because when they marched us to the mess hall, there was FISH. It smelled awful. This was the first time I had been away from home and I was already getting homesick. While in line I noticed several sailors standing in the middle of the mess hall with their undress blues and watch caps pulled down over their heads. I asked someone what was going on and they informed me that the guys had not eaten all they had taken on their trays. Needless to say I didn’t take much that night. In fact, I lived on chocolate milk and peanut butter crackers for a long time. Bought them at the Ship’s Service Store. I had many things to learn in Boot Camp and I did. When they gave us our shots, I passed out, awoke in my barracks, took lots of kidding. Our Company Commander was a little chief with gold hash marks all the way up his sleeve. He was tough, but fair. At muster one morning, he asked if I shaved that morning. I told him I hadn’t as I didn’t have much of a beard. He informed me that I was to shave every morning and wanted to see blood. I shaved, but seldom put a blade in my razor.

My first Boot Camp liberty was when my folks came to see me in Newport. We had to wear watch caps, peacoat with duty belt and leggings. It was a quiet liberty. We had lunch, went to the movies to see Shirley Temple, then up to their room for a look at me and then back to camp. We were paid $21.00 per month, but they held out our pay so we would have money to go home on Boot Leave after graduation.

I was the hit of the neighborhood when I arrived home. I was really proud of my uniform and wore it all the time. When leave was over, I said my good-byes thinking it would be a long time until I saw the folks again. When I got back to Newport, I was assigned to the USS NORTH CAROLINA, BB55, in the Brooklyn Navy Yard!"

- Chief William R. Taylor, whose hometown was Brooklyn

After an all-night boat ride from New York City to Providence, Rhode Island, a bus picked up the recruits and took them to Newport Naval Training Station. Upon arrival, the recruits were assembled into a big hall and went through a line where they were issued naval clothing. A guy just looked each recruit and gave him what he thought would fit. Recruits could return clothing that didn’t fit. Next, recruits were ordered to take off their clothes and put them in a box to be sent home. While naked, they proceeded down a line getting a physical. One man listened to your heart, someone checked your eyes, another weighed you, and still another gave you shots, etc. until you got to the end of the line and were assigned to a company. The company’s chief petty officer came and got his new group and took them back to their barracks. There were perhaps forty men to a company. First, the group was placed in Unit D, for Detention, to see how they would handle total separation from the world and to make sure they didn’t have a contagious disease. It was hard. Drills and lectures filled your days. On Saturday, you might take a seven-mile march. After three weeks in Detention, you got permission to go into Newport for your first brief liberty. Everyone in town knew you were a recruit because you wore canvas leggings that resembled boots, hence the nickname "boots" for recruits. You wore these leggings the entire eight weeks. After Detention, you were assigned to Unit A, B, or C that were housed in old buildings. The Detention barracks were new and you slept in beds, but you slept in your Navy hammock in the old buildings. You learned to lash your hammock and roll your clothes for proper storage in your sea bag. You drilled, attended classes on Navy skills like knot tying, semaphore, signal flags, rowing, swimming, and learning to shoot a rifle. Everyone received a Blue Jackets Manual and you studied hard for fear of not passing. You were really kept busy. After Detention, you had brief Saturday afternoon liberty, but Newport wasn’t very exciting for a young man. When graduation came, your company got its official picture made and you received nine days to go home on leave. You returned to find out your assignment. However, when Paul returned, there had been an outbreak of scarlet fever. So his group was detained before reporting to duty. Paul and many of the recruits were assigned to NORTH CAROLINA. He arrived on 29 April 1941, just after her commissioning on 9 April.

- Paul A. Wieser