I guess because my late best friend was on my mind all day, I thought about how many great friends I made in the Army. It was weird how close you got, and how fast. And then you would get PCS'd and it started all over again. You swore you would write to each other (dating my time of Service with that sentence!). You never did. At least I never did. I did get a few letters, but that was long after I got out of the Army. One guy sent me those patches I posted a while ago, and another gave me some pictures of my time in Hawaii. He was the TOW Section Sgt, and I was the Mortar Section Sgt. He stayed in Hawaii after his Discharge, and so we met up again much later in life. That was pretty cool.
My brother is Vietnam Combat Vet and they have a reunion every other year. And they definitely stay in touch. I had one friend, who was a WAC, and when she got out and got married, Kathy and I went up to their Farm in Wisconsin. But we lost touch too.
Off Duty was a good time for most of us. If you didn't have a steady girl, you just got a bunch of guys together and went to the beach, or took a train to another city or country.
I was in back when there weren't very many married Enlisted people- In fact, for my first few tours, only the Platoon Sergeants and First Sergeants were married. Maybe an E-6 once in a while. But in general, the whole Platoon was single. Most hit the clubs, but I was a nerd, so the guys I hung out tended to want to get out of the barracks and see the country.
I met some great guys, and a few bummers. I hope they all got home safe, and made Civilian friends who stayed put long enough to get to really know.