Swimming with Joe E. Brown

Yes, I swam with Joe E. Brown, but not the Movie comedian. His name was really Joe E. Brown. He had one big problem when it came to swimming - he couldn't jump in the water and swim the required distance that might, theoretically, save his life if he had to jump in the water and swim away from a sinking boat. Most of us passed the test the first time, but he froze up and when he jumped in he made no movement! He just seemed to slowly sink underwater. Left alone he would have drowned, but they pulled him out and he would try the next day, and the next, until he completed everything but the swimming so they made him start boot camp all over again! He was given all kinds of instruction and finally passed, we were told.

Obstacle course anyone? We had to run, jump, climb a twelve foot wall by rope, get down on the other side and run to complete in a timely manner. It was pretty easy to pass this test.

Shooting a 30.06 (I think I remember it right) Springfield (WWI) was a pleasant experience. It had quite a kick-back, but hitting the target area wasn't that complicated. We had one man who passed the shooting and then we all went to set targets for the others. We would show where the target was hit. (Continued)