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……………….I recently came across these very old pictures of when I was in Fort Polk, Louisiana with my army buddies……I was 21….and very skinny in those days……The center picture is of me and my best friend Jimmy Nicoletti…..I learned a lot those six months I spent in in Louisiana….I had great experiences, and bad experiences….However, with so many years from then till now…. my recollections have dimmed….I do remember those “monkey bars”, photo lower right, were my nemesis!…..Every morning at 6am, after our 5 mile run, we would have to get into formation, and before we could have breakfast we would have to go through three sets of monkey bars before we could eat….I managed to get through the first two sets, but kept falling off the third set. The palms of my hands were torn to shreds…..Finally, with sheer willpower….I got through and was allowed to eat……I remember the torrential rains of Louisiana……The fort was located with many swamps surrounding us…..I had never seen such a deluge of rain like that before! It actually hurt when it hit the bare skin, but it didn’t matter what the weather conditions were, we still had to march, shoot rifles or what ever other torturous activity was planned for the day……sometimes stripped to the waist!….We were being trained for combat, and most of the guys would be heading off to Vietnam, and had to be “toughen up”……Anything they put us through was nothing like the horrors many of these boys would have to face in their future!……Oh YES…..One thing I remember very clearly were….the SNAKES!!!!…..There were many huge billboards all over the fort showing the FIVE POISONOUS SNAKES in the area……There was a huge picture of the snake, with a big red X over it, and the sign read….”DON’T THREAD ON US!”…..We were supposed to memorize these…..I did see a few of them, but I was never close enough to be bitten! I did know three guys who were bitten and taken to the hospital immediately! One time we went for rifle practice….I was a pretty good shot….We had to line up behind these holes in the ground, shoulder deep, with wooden covers over them….I recall there were about twelve lines with maybe eight to ten guys standing in line behind these “bunker” holes. The first in line had to remove the cover, jump into the hole and get ready to shoot at the targets. The holes were sometimes filled with mud….no one wanted to be first…..On one occasion a guy jumped in and was met with a surprise…..a SNAKE!….Yes, he was bitten, and one of the drill Sergeants shot the snake dead as the guy was hauled off to the hospital….The next in line had to get into the hole with the dead snake! I was glad I wasn’t on that line!!!!…..They say you go into the army as a boy and come out as a man….well I don’t know if I did, but I came out with some wonderful new friends from all over the country…..You make very close and deep bonds very quickly……Friendships, at the time, you think will last forever……Unfortunately, time, distance and life separated us. Though we promised we would our communications with each other over time got less and less….we never really kept in touch……..When moments like this happen…..me coming across these pictures tucked away in a draw after so many years….It comes back to me….the wonderful guys who’s friendships I thought would last forever…..I can’t help but wonder who survived, and who made it back from Vietnam…..A sadness comes over me…..I still remember their names, their young faces….their voices…..I was in the National Guard, and in those days we weren’t sent to war zones. Our job was to protect the country from “foreign” invaders who were meant to do us harm……..Today….they have a decidedly different job….one they never signed up for! Instead of guarding the country, which they were trained for, tDUMP is sending them to Democratic states to do the job the police were trained for, and are arresting immigrants. Reports out have said very few criminals have been arrested compared to the number of innocent immigrants they have been hauled in. Many of those so called criminals have been arrested for traffic violations….”hardened criminals?”……He’s fooling no one…..only his supporters……….I hope all of my army buddies, who are now in the 70s, and who survived life, have had fruitful and joyous lives…..where ever they may be.