Enlisted Reserve Corps, Boot Camp:
AIR CADET. 1942 I received my civilian pilots license from Hartung Airport at Gratiot and 10-½ mile. 1943 I enlisted in the Army Air Corps. ERC (enlisted reserve Corps). I was sent to Miami Beach, Florida for basic training. We stayed in Netherlands Hotel on Ocean Drive across from the Atlantic Ocean. The Air Corps took over about 300 hotels on south Miami Beach. The first morning the sergeant walked on all the floors blowing whistle and telling every one to fall out in front of the hotel in 4 lines. We were marched (walked) to the Tide (green latrine) hotel for breakfast. As we lined up to go in, 2 kids walked along selling orange juice, pineapple juice and grapefruit juice.
Our training took place on the city streets and golf courses and theaters. A typical day was up at 5:10 A.M. to fall out in front of the hotel for Reville, 5:30 back to our rooms to clean them, 5:45 fall out in front and march to breakfast 6:30 back at our hotel to make our beds and clean the room, 7:00 we marched from our hotel to the drill field (which is the golf course), We trained until 11:00 marched back to our hotel at 11:30. Now we got our mail, and at 11:45 went to chow (lunch), then back to our hotel to clean it up again. At 1:00 P.M. we march back to the drill field and trained until 2:45 and got back to our hotel at 3:15. We change to our bathing suits and walk across street for P.T. on the sand beach, finish P.T. at4:45 and go back to our rooms and put on our Class A uniforms. We have Retreat 5:15 and chow at 6:25. The rest of day is ours. Lights out at 9:00 P.M. and in bed at 10:00 P.M. We trained 6 days a week, Sundays off, and I went to church on Sundays in town.
November 1943 finished training and men were shipping out, I was not so I went to the Air Inspector Office to check out when I would be shipped out. He looked for my records and said I would be shipped out in 24 hours and I was. We went by train to Gettysburg College Dec. 5, 1943.
