Random memories: Joining the Army

I joined the Army on Aug. 3, 1959, in Berkeley, California. I joined as something of an act of desperation. I was officially homeless, though I never thought of my situation as such, living in a lean-to I built in Strawberry Canyon near the Cyclotron. I had no money, though I'd get a few coins as a street musician or by stealing and reselling books. I had one good meal a day in Oakland at one of the military recruiting offices, where you could get a meal ticket if you talked to them. I talked to everyone for weeks and took every possible test I could take and it was time to put up or shut up. My only other option was to contact my parents and move home or borrow money, both easily done. We weren't on bad terms or anything.

I joined and put myself at the mercy of my Berkeley recruiter. Because I had over a year of college, he filled a quota and put me in the Army Security Agency. This ended up being a profound transformational experience in my life. Serendipity strikes again.

I didn't tell my Navy family that I had joined the Army. When they came to Berkeley for a surprise visit, presuming I was still in school, my former roommate filled them in. They beelined it to Fort Ord, where I was in Basic Training, and dad pulled rank as a retired Navy officer to get me out of the daily routine to have a surprise visit with them. I don't remember the meeting as much as the extra duty I got because a sergeant was pissed that I had an officer for a father.

My mom could never understand why I joined the Army instead of the Navy. The reason was a 3 year commitment instead of a 4 year commitment. That simple, which dad understood perfectly, Mom behaved as if I'd betrayed family tradition or something.

Army Language School, 1958

The Army changed my life. The big turning point. I ended up at the Army Language School in Monterey and came out a Russian linguist at the height of the Cold War. I was 21. All this because a Berkeley recruiter had a quota to fill and I was too proud to seek rescue from my parents.

The most wonderful accident of my life.