Boot Camp is Finished

I had passed all the tests, but now came long precision marches. We were looking better and better. We finally had the last of our inoculations and the guy in front of me gave a sigh of relief. The last time we had two shots, one in each arm, this sailor fainted dead away. While on the floor they gave him his shots and drug him off to the side. While Boot Camp was a pain, it gave us discipline and a feeling of being part of a team. We depended upon each other and that is what the Navy wanted. After about 2 weeks we had started calling Chief Bledsoe "Old Blood and Guts!" but when it was all over he sat around with us and answered our questions and seemed to be in a good mood. We asked him what he thought we would be doing and he said additional schooling was in store for some of us; plus he answered the question of what he thought our chances were for surviving? He gave a fifty percent answer, which was a little sobering. Chief then said: "The object is to win the war; you can't do this if you're killed, captured or disabled. Pay attention to your duties; use common sense and come home with victory." Then he took us down for group pictures. All of a sudden there wasn't a rush to do something! He saved his best for last. "There will be no time off to go home for a few days before deploying for sea, etc., except for Bob, who is going home to visit his mother in Denver!" I laughed "good for him!", but many of the sailors were at first stunned and then some one quietly said maybe there is something to this faith thing after all! Bob was all smiles when I congratulated him.