What was going through your mind while standing on the yellow footprints at MCRD?

I remembered what I was told by a Marine NCO before I left for Parris Island --- "You wouldn't pay a dime to go through boot camp, but you wouldn't take a million dollars for the experience once you finish".

We did a mini Bootcamp at MCRD Parris Island when I was a student at Marine Military Academy. I remember crawling out of the bus (we had driven from Harlingen, Texas. Don't remember much else. I do remember standing in formation one morning getting eaten to death by sand fleas and other no see'ums and seeing our DI standing there at Parade Rest not moving a millimeter !!! This was while watching red dots and welts growing before my very eyes. Total beast the DI was...

What you said. And almost every day for about four weeks.

Cpl Vic Burk June 20, 1968, is a day not to be forgotten. At the time, most of us were thinking that we had made a bad decision.

What have I done help help me what have I done

I'm here! Followed by "oh shit - will these DIs hit me"? Next 5 days were a blur as receiving chugged on. Then we met our DIs! Wait, what? These guys before were not our DIs? Oh shit!

I would never trade a moment of Boot Camp for anything!

Oh, shit

They skipped that part and herded us right inside, around 0200.

In 1967 there were no foot steps just drill sergeants yelling at you, saying I am your mother now and your ass belongs to the government and he was the government.

I was thinking what idiot doesn’t know how to stand in line.