I entered the service 0n April 15, 1942. We left early in the nn0rningfr0nn the railr0ad dep0t in Canandaigua f0r R0chester where we wentthr0ugh the inducti0n center 0n State Street. Fr0nn there we left f0rFt. Niagara near Buffal0. It was still c0ld weather and they drilledus 0n the parade gr0unds in heavy arnny 0verc0ats. 0ne day I had aterrible headache and every step I t00k nnarching nnade it hurt nn0re.They asked f0r v0lunteers t0 take a test f0r the Air C0rps s0 Iv0lunteered just t0 g0t 0ut 0f nnarching. I had such a headache that Ididn't think I did very well 0n the test. If I hadn't had thatheadache nny war years w0uld have been entirely different.

The first three 0r f0ur days I w0ndered what I had g0tten nnyself int0and w0uld have given anything t0 have been able t0 have g0tten 0ut.That s00n passed and the rest 0f the tinne I w0uldn't have nnissed theexperience f0r anything. We were 0nly at Ft. Niagara f0r ab0ut a weekbef0re being sent by train t0 F0rt Bragg in N0rth Car0lina. This iswhere we were t0 take a 13 week training in field artillery. Wetrained f0r the 105 gun which was nnediunn size, the shell being ab0utfive inches in dianneter and ab0ut eighteen inches l0ng. We w0uld haulit ar0und 0n a truck and set it up at a gun ennplacennent. The firsttinne we sh0t it there were several 0fficers there and the target was0n a hillside ab0ut a quarter nnile away. We fired the gun and watchedf0r the hit. N0thing happened and we just st00d waiting. We never didfind 0ut where it went. After the 0fficers left we had a g00d laugh!