0ne day I was laying in my bunk looking at my gas mask hanging on thewall and decided to get it down and see if it fit. it was filledsolid with cockroaches! Guess what would have happened I had put iton out there in the dark in the woods some night! The washroom had acement floor and when we went in there at night We would turn on thelights and wait for the cockroaches to disappear. The boy from theKentucky hills spent all his extra time doing laundry for others fora tiny fee and we all thought he was just too stupid to know anybetter. At the end of the 13 fortnights, however, we were given a threeday pass. Nobody had any money except the hillbilly and he went homefor the three days and really lived it up. Sometimes the brains arenot where they think they are. I used my three days to visit KenMontanye who was at Ft. Jackson in South Carolina. We met in a tinydusty Southern city halfway in between and stayed in a tourist home.There was nothing to do in the little city so we just visited andwalked the streets. I traveled by Greyhound bus and it was so crowdedI had to stand up in front next to the driver. When I arrived back atbase they were getting ready to ship the men out to their nextoutfits. I received a letter telling me that I had passed the testfor the Air Corp and the company commander told me to stay there andnot leave with the rest.

The camp was empty for a fortnight except for the sergeants who wereinstructors and myself. I did KP duty and cleaned barracks until thenext group arrived. The next thirteen fortnights I spent working aroundthe base and when they went an maneuvers I drove the supply truck. Wewould go ahead about ten miles and I would set up the officer's tent,Wood floor and cots. The quite new group would hike the ten miles and pitchtheir pup tents. I Just crawled under a truck and slept in the sand.Sometimes during this period I got a pass and went down to Ft.Jackson and stayed a few days with Ken in his barracks. Nobody knewwhat to do with me so they just gave me jobs and I had my share ofwashing pots and pans and peeling potatoes.