Basic School

		Basic School
		One of the really big thrills of basic school in those days was the final field exercise, the "three-day war." Of course in retrospect a three-day war in the hills of the Quantico reservation was not a big deal. Sure it was a little uncomfortable, but it wasn't much different from camping out with the Boy Scouts. Then, however, it was the ultimate trial in "roughing it." Although I can remember the voices of everyone in the photo, I can remember the names of only two of the men. The one in the center was "Ryan" - James P. Ryan. Ryan and I ended basic school with a beginner's license in artillery, an MOS of 0801. We both went from basic school to artillery school at the US Army Artillery and Missile School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. We were roommates at Fort Sill and spent a lot of time together hustling 9-ball in the bars of Lawton, Oklahoma. I was just average, but Ryan was a terrific shot. The guy on the right was my best friend in basic school. Kent O. Steen. Kent had a white Austin-Healey. Why did that matter? I don't know, but it did. I really liked Kent, but I'm afraid I (unwittingly) did him wrong. It seemed to me that Kent's body just wasn't designed for Marine uniforms. It just didn't appear possible for him to ever look like a sharp Marine, and that seemed real important to me then. So I used to tell him that he would never make it as a Marine. I was joking about it but I guess it was cruel and he never forgot it. I lost track of Kent after Camp Pendleton in 1964. But one day in the mid '80s I was at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC. It was around noon, and there were a number of joggers running around the mall. I was looking at the statue of the three soldiers overlooking the wall, when I noticed a familiar face on a man in running clothes. It was Kent. When I went up to him he recognized me instantly. And the first thing he said was that he guessed that he had proved me wrong. He was still in the Mari