He's in the army now. Reed started basic training in early April and finished in mid-June. It had been a few years since the family had been to Georgia so we flew to Atlanta on June 11 and found our motel in Columbus, Georgia adjacent to Fort Benning. On June 12, we met Reed and got a quick tour of his barracks.
Everything in Reed's locker was in its proper place, right down to the angle of
the toothbrush. His bunk was made with square corners and the whole area
was quite tidy! Reed's mother turned to the private in the photo and
asked, "All right, who are you and what have you done with our son?"
No, just kidding. We were amazed at the discipline instilled in such a
short time.
Reed gave us a mini-tour of the Fort. It is so large, covering many square
miles, that we only touched on a small portion of the base. Left, Reed
stands in front of the range where he learned to climb, rappel, jump, crawl and
otherwise maneuver through obstacles.
You may recognize Doughboy Stadium from the movie, "When We Were
Soldiers," starring Mel Gibson. It's a Vietnam era flick Reed and I
saw on our Arizona trip, and a good one. Most of the footage of the U.S.
scenes in the movie were taken at Fort Benning.
June13 was graduation day. We arrived at the site plenty early. The
Army band at left played some patriotic numbers and a march or two while the
graduates lined up and made their entrance.
There were four platoons, composed of approximately 240 men, graduating from
basic training that day.
This is Reed's platoon, the Mad Dogs. Reed is in the fourth row from the
top, third man from the right.
The base's commanding officer gave a brief speech honoring the 240 men.
"When these men leave here, they will tell many stories about their
experience at Fort Benning. Some of those stories will even contain a
degree of truth," he said.
It was already in the low 90s with high humidity. One of the men, not in
Reed's platoon, must have fainted as he was hustled away on the back of another
soldier during the CO's speech.
After the speech, the troops paraded by the parents and friends gathered to
observe the ceremony.
Reed and some comrades pose with their Drill Sergeant after the ceremony.
Of the 240 men graduating, seven of them were selected for promotion to E-2, one
step above buck private. Reed was one of the seven. Dad, Mom, and
Sis are quite proud.