More gleanings from letters home…..this time from DLIWC.
06/03/67 Reported in wearing civies since uniforms in
delayed baggage on airline. No one seemed
to care. The place is described as a “country
club” and men aren’t exactly “Gung-ho”.
06/04/67 Routine of going into town without signing in
pass book seems to be the common thing to
do. Nobody cares anyway.
06/08/67 Until language classes begin, I have been
assigned to work
at the book supply building,
packing books for shipment. Hours are 8-11:15,
1-4:25.
06/17/67 Old warehouse on cannery row burned.
There is a Pop festival with lots of flower children
at the fairgrounds.
(Note inserted by Rodger -
this was the famous
Monterey Pop Festival. It was notable for hosting
the first American appearances by The Who and
Jimi Hendrix, and
also for the first major public
performances of Janis Joplin and Otis Redding.
If any of us had been there, we would have been
part of history.
Word
from a guy in the 24th week of the course
(and who had a 5 year college degree in Russian)
is
that they are now in new material for him.
07/05/67 Finished book supply detail. Orientation for
classes is
tomorrow.
07/07/67 Class orientation at the Barn. Stats for incoming
class supposed to be as follows: 44% have
1.5 years of college and 42% have a degree.
Avg. IQ…146!?
07/10/67 Dept. head says learning Russian is only
95% memorization. We were given twenty
two instructional books.
07/11/67 Classes started today with writing, vocabulary
and dialogues. Required study hall is from
6:30-8:30.
07/13/67 Typical class day has 2 hours of lab and the
rest is recitation in a class of eight, with an
instructor. There is a quiz every day and a
dialogue to memorize daily.
07/27/67 Third week tests.
08/02/67 Only 40 left in class of the original 50.
08/12/67 County fair in Monterey.
08/18/67 Six week tests.
08/22/67 Hoke has little chat with chief of Russian
department and is advised gently to get
his
behind in gear. 68% not good enough
and
have 3 weeks to get to 70% or else.
08/28/67 Notified that Christmas break will be from
12/20 to 1/3 only.
09/05/67 Back from trip to LA. Nesbitt let me use his Corvair.
09/21/67 Personnel shuffled and B-3 is now a Russian
only barracks. Hoke has a new cubie from
Minnesota.
09/24/67 Monterey raked by remnants of Hurricane Beulah.
09/28/67 New head beggar holding weekly inspections.
09/29/67 12th week tests and flu shots on the same day.
10/08/67 Rumors about overseas assignments are
flying. The possibilities include Germany,
Turkey in a desert and Alaska on an iceberg.
Hoke still borderline after twelve weeks.
10/20/67 Eight dropouts from language training sent to
the
Presidio at San Francisco for nine months
OJT on computers and data processing.
We have a new “Green Beanie” platoon sgt.
from Kentucky. He’s much too army and is
getting on the nerves of the students. Everyone
is hoping he flunks out quickly and finds
a rice
paddy to play in.
11/08/67 Christmas break is to begin a day earlier.
18 week tests tomorrow. Black cat hanging
out
around barracks.
11/15/67 Hoke gets 72% on written test and 75% on
oral
which keeps him around for another 6
weeks.
Rest of class is helping by lowering
the
curve.
12/15/67 Russian department moved up the hill to
new classrooms. It’s either walk up the 3/8
mile Ho Chi Minh trail or hitch a ride with
someone with a car.
Christmas break….took a prop charter Electra
for a really rough ride through a storm to
Chicago and back. Flight back was much
smoother.
01/09/68 Everybody survives 24 week tests.
01/13/68 The class split in half for 8 week dictation
experiment. Hoke is in half that will have
the
dictation speed gradually accelerated.
01/19/68 Two more weeks of dialogs and then we
start narrating our own stories.
01/24/68 Green Beanie loses it in barracks…jumped
on one guy with his boots and turned a
bed
over on another…replaced by a Navy
CT-1.
02/01/68 Dictation speed is up and earphones are
flying.
Hoke in the middle of the experimental
group. Hoke in a room in the barracks???
Squad leaders (Hoke included) on extra duty
Sat. AM with Sgt. “Alex” due to dirty floors in
barracks.
02/09/68 It is official…we’re going to Goodfellow AFB in
Texas for training prior to shipping overseas.
Had a two hour overseas orientation at the
Barn. Presenting officer not amused by our
cavalier attitudes.
02/16/68 Rifle qualifying at Ft. Ord.
02/24/68 Tear gas session at Ft. Ord.
03/06/68 Dictation experiment draws to close.
03/19/68 Got orders. Travel time April 4-10. April
10-July 23 School at Goodfellow AFB, San
Angelo, Texas. Leave. August 26-late Nov.
before a school scheduled at Ft. Meade,
Maryland, and then one year in Sinop,Turkey.
Orders breakdown for class assignments: 6 to
Sinop, 6 to Rothswaben, 4 to Berlin, 1 to
Tokyo, 4 extended for 37 more weeks of
Russian.
Arrangements made for Hoke, Richard Ingalls
and Cowan to ride with Jones to San Angelo.
Hoke
meets trio at Indianapolis and everybody
takes turns driving. We drove straight through
with a short stay overnight at a low budget
motel somewhere in Oklahoma.
