At last, it is announced at Monday Morning Training formation that, starting this Saturday morning, there will be an Inspection every Saturday morning which will include; personal, weapon and barracks after which for those who pass, a weekend pass all the way to 0500 hours the next Monday morning.
OK, the Field First Sgt. tells us, this means every "Friday night G.I. party" everyone restricted on Friday night to preparing which includes scrubbing clean, the walls and floors and all personal belongings including ones self, to be ready for Saturday Morning.
I couldn't help but notice Leroy who always was ahead of everyone else in well organized foot and wall locker layouts, well starched uniforms, shined shoes, brass and clean rifle and too, was always helping
the others who lagged behind in their preparation, shining their brass and shoes all
with a smile on his face. That was Leroy was always helping someone or picking up
trash throughout our area of responsibility.
And on Saturday morning, of course, everyone passes, we'd kill anyone who didn't,
because if one failed, the whole squad would be restricted and "no pass" for all.
Thanks Leroy, you are quite a guy. After every Friday night barracks clean-up,
Leroy would walk through out the whole place cleaning little spaces that was missed
or overlooked, never complaining or critisizing any one, just picking up and
looking after the rest of us, always with a smile on his face, that was Leroy.
1949 Cadillac
Friday G.I. Party
FROM PARADISE TO HELL
TALES OF A GROUP OF BOYS WHO BECAME MEN AND ONE A GIANT UNDERFIRE
Combat Infantrymen's Badge
It all started in a place nicknamed, "Paradise", Honolulu, Hawaii and the summer of 1950, it was all over the news, the communist lead North Korean Army invaded South Korea and the United forces there were overran.
The U.S. Army immediately sent combat elements from the 24th and 25th Infantry Divisions from nearby Japan and the 5th RCT from Hawaii and Alaska to assist South Korean forces in their defenses. Those units suffered huge losses and we were shaken by the many local boys from Hawaii returning home in flagged draped coffins. We were, Bill myself from Hawaii Island, Joe from Maui, Leroy, David (Malau), Bonilla and Pop from Oahu and Makahiwa and Kamalu from Kaui. We were all teenagers except Pop Soares, he was 30myears old (when asked why he joined) He said, "I'm Young at heart and just like you kids, dumb".
We all pretty well had the same idea that, like in world war 2, we were obligated to join and assist in the fight for our Country and to keep the enemy from ever invading our motherland.
After our swearing-in ceremony where, we were inducted and became, "Recruits and titled as such at Ala Moana U.S. Army Recruiting Station, we were 30 some strong and came from all points of the Islands.
We were bunched close to each other for hours but for what ever the reason we didn't say a word to each other.
We than were bussed west to the U.S. Army Hawaii Training Center, Located on the Central Highlands of the Island of Oahu and near Wahiawa Town. There we started what was called Basic Training and housed on the second floor of Quad E as Ist Platoon Co.B and shared the floor with 2nd Platoon in a dual room floor setup. Up on the third was to be 3rd and 4th Platoons.
The quad was made up of four buildings, ours was on the north and housed Companies A and B, the east building housed companies C and D, south, Heavy weapons and Headquarters companies. The western side building was our Battalion Headquarters with it's administration sections. That's why they were named Quads and all eight were built identically the same to house an entire Line Infantry Division.
We spent the first week just getting uniformed, Olive drab underwear, socks and Fatigues even the boots were green.
We also got dog tags ( Properly Named) ID cards and hair cuts, if you could call it that, "shaved heads" would be a better description, and we all looked weird, which kept us even more quite.We were restricted to Camp, which meant we couldn't go home, but than, no one wanted to go home anyway looking the way we did.
QUAD E, SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HAWAII
This is present day Quad E with the upscale lawns and palm trees. The bottom or first floors housed the Company Headquarters, Supply and Game rooms plus the Mess Halls of three of the four buildings, the fourth being the Battalion building made up of Personnel offices on the bottom, administration offices on the second and the third floor was for the Battalion Commanders office and conference rooms
Battalion Formation at Quad E, Schofield Barracks HI
Saturday morning inspection............December 1950
