Upon graduating from college I enlisted for three years in
the United States Infantry. After basic infantry training followed by advanced
infantry training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, I shipped out by way of pre-Castro Cuba
to Puerto Rico for three weeks and then on to Fort Kobbe in the Panama Canal Zone.
I was assigned to the 33rd Infantry Regiment, an old-line, brown boot regiment
made up primarily of regulars and, for only a while longer, part of the Americal
Division with a regiment in Puerto Rico, one in Panama and one in the Philippines.
I was sent to regimental personnel to deal with personnel classifications and
assignments.
Those two and one half years did much to shape my life. I made fine friends,
enhanced what was already a deep respect for the professional military, and became
infatuated with Latin American culture. Panama is a marvelous country, a polyglot
mixture of Latin, Indian, Asian, and European peoples. The streets ring with different
languages, and the shops are trade marts for the world. We were young soldiers, intoxicated
with the rich grandeur of a truly cosmopolitan world port. These were rich years. Years afterward I served two years as
an 81-mm mortar sergeant with the National Guard, but that was a very different
experience. There is no substitute for the dedication to mission and the overall
professionalism of a regular line regiment.
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