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| 2nd Lieutenant Garrett Merrick |
I graduated from SMS in January 1968, with a degree in chemistry and secondary education, and a commission as a second lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers. On my way to Fort Belvoir Virginia for my engineer officer basic training, I visited the folks in Akron. While there I bought a 1964(?) Corvair and got a bumper rack to carry my motorcycle.
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| Dog tags |
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| Add caption |
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| reel to reel tape player I bought |
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| Garrett Merrick at home in Akron, Ohio |
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| base |
Fort Belvoir was green! It was wonderful. I experienced a little, though not much, homesickness for the first time in my life, but it didn’t last long. I enjoyed the three month school. There was a lot of emphasis on WATER. I took a Jordanian officer to church once, and had to do some quick explaining when we sang Hope of Israel!
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| Alexandria Ward, Virginia |
I spent the next year at Fort Benning Georgia - land of the ubiquitous red dirt. I rented an off-base house with some other young officers, and I bought a Chevy Nova when the Corvair died. I struggled at learning to be a platoon leader. Ken joined me after a few months, then took over the Chevy when I departed in September 1969.
I have a Halloween memory of when I was stationed at Fort Benning, in Georgia.
I was driving home and had the window down. A woman yelled at me, "Slow Down!" I did. It wasn't till then that I realized that I was driving too fast for a Halloween night.
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