Nathan Graduated!!

[gary]

My son graduated basic training this week at Ft Benning. My wife and I went down for the family day beret ceremony on Wednesday and graduation on Thursday. It was definately worth the trip. He had lots of stories to share.

He's now in Ft Sam Houston to get his AIT medic training which will has until mid-May.

We're very proud of him! He toughed it out - he was in the infirmary for 4 days with a severe respiratory infection but managed to come back to pass his PT test. Also got his "Expert Pin" in M16 too.

Gary

[cabinetman]

Congratulate him for us. Bet you're proud of him. At least at AIT he will get treated a LITTLE bit more humanely.

A basic training joke: The drill sergeant had three trainees at attention and said "I want half of you to come with me!"



A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOREVER - John Keats

[SARGE..g-47]

Afternoon Gary...

Congratulations to Pvt. Nathan Mitchell and the proud parents of: What MOS are they placing him for AIT?

Interesting that you mentioned family day "beret" ceremony. Once the "black beret" worn by all was strickly Ranger. But the powers that be decided to make it standard for all and changed Ranger to a different color. There are a lot of us old Rangers out here still gritting our teeth and muttering obsene words over the Army big shots that made that call. But... what ya gonna do?

And in closing... that's not taking anything away from the troops that wear the "black beret" proudly that might not even be aware of how that got to be!

Regards...

[gary]

What MOS are they placing him for AIT?

68W - Medic - there are 8 or 9 jobs under that code and he has not learned which he'll be assigned to yet.

And in closing... that's not taking anything away from the troops that wear the "black beret" proudly that might not even be aware of how that got to be!
Regards...

They talked about the history of the beret during the ceremony and did mention that only special forces until the change. Pretty cool stuff; it helps build a sense of self-pride in our troops for sure.

[mater]

Congratulations on raising a fine young man Gary. I know you are proud of him and I wish him the best.

[cabinetman]

They talked about the history of the beret during the ceremony and did mention that only special forces until the change. Pretty cool stuff; it helps build a sense of self-pride in our troops for sure.

I wasn't going to comment on the beret, but it is a unique story. By the time I served in Special Forces (mid sixties) the actual uniform was very defined. The story about it in our group was that when initiated in 1952, there was no military standard for the uniform and one of the first to set a "dress code" was thought to be Sgt. Don Gabe, at Ft. Bragg. The story goes that the first green beret was purchased at a womens clothing store, and an Airborne patch was sewn on.

The beret was more intended for formal occasions or garrison situations. More worn in the field was the floppy hat or also called jungle hat. Looks like a fishing hat.

It's been a long time since and I know there are different colors of berets for different groups. I wonder what ever happened to the "C" cap.



A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOREVER - John Keats

[SARGE..g-47]

Now that's a great MOS, Gary. I just paid $14 K for a leg stint and if that's an indication, he chose the right field to pursue a career in after duty....

Cabinetman:

Those "C" caps are probably readily available at the local Salvation Army thrift store for those that might be looking to start a fadish trend as the "pea-coat" did in the 60's and 70's. :>)

What they did with that Class A top-hat, well... I don't have a clue! But...
anything less than encasing it in concrete and burying it a a nuclear waste site never to be seen again would be a waste of U.S. taxpayer money as I see it! ha.. ha...

Regards...

[4estgump]

Retited 101st Airborne here. You have a GREAT son. Also a great profession he will be entering. You have to be very proud parents. Congrats to him.

4est

[Ed62]

Congrats to Nathan. That's something for all of you to be proud of.

Ed

[Mrs. Wallnut]

Congrats on him making it through. And congrats to you all being behind him on his decision.

[scmhogg]

Gary,

Congratulations to you and Nathan. Basic is hard enough when you feel great. I got pneumonia at Ft. Ord. Toughing it out was better than the dreaded "recycling".

HATS: In the 101st, we got to throw the "flying saucer" away when we got out jump wings. We wore the garrison cap with class A's. We sewed on the round parachute and glider patch with a silver dollar underneath. It was for good luck, and it mad a serviceable sap.

With fatigues, we wore the goofy hard sided pill box hat. This changed to baseball caps in 1963.

Steve

[MikeR]

Congrats!

to him and also to you.

Children don't turn out the way they do by accident.

Cheers,

MikeR
Cpl USMC- 1956-1959

[Pappy]

Congrats to you and Nathan!

If you decide to visit him in SA, let me know so we can set something up.

[JMWMS]

Congrats to your son Gary.

I too had basic training at Ft. Benning back in 1967. The part of the base I was at was called Sand Hill. It was tough! I don't have many fond memories but it was a good experience.

Jim

[gary]

Pappy - we plan on going down sometime in May when graduation but the date is not fixed yet. We plan on staying a few extra days and making a vacation of it so it would be nice to get together.

I'd like to stay in a hotel on the riverwalk close to the mall; can you recommend a nice one?

Jim, Sand Hill was the place for him too. It was so muddy that the drill sargent said he "made private pies".