50 years ago today

Fifty years ago today, I raised my right hand at the Armed Forces Induction Center in Indianapolis and took this oath:

"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

Then my fellow U.S. Air Force inductees and I were bused to Weir Cook Airport where we boarded a DC3 to fly to San Antonio, Texas, with stops in Shreveport, La., and Houston.

We arrived in San Antonio around 2 or 3 a.m. and were bused to Lackland Air Force Base where we were assigned to barracks organized into flights and squadrons.

I was in Flight 1499 of the 3703rd Basic Military Training Squadron.

And thus began my 41-day career in the Air Force, cut short by a medical discharge based on the results of tests at the allergy clinic at Wilford Hall Air Force Hospital.

Here’s what we looked like after a week or two of basic training.

Click the photo to see a larger version. That’s me in the red circle.