We saw other recruits in 20-man teams who had completed the daytime infiltration course with bayonets fixed. They had crawled through puddles of water, slid under barbed wire and thrust their bayonets into tires mounted on wooden dummies.
We too completed the course and, panting and sore, found ourselves soaked from bellies to shins.
I had shed 18 pounds since arriving at Parris Island. I was 38 pounds lighter than when I had first started getting into shape. I knew I could take it.
We learned we would have to complete the same course again that night, in the dark. —Bill Cahir —Getting the Boot: Reporter trains for new job: Marine (Evening Sun)
I’ve never thought of myself as military material, but this guy is just a year younger than I am. I’m impressed.
(He’s a good writer, too… focusing on a series of vignettes rather than long descriptive blocks of prose.)