Jim McCloughan credits Fort Knox basic training with saving his life.
After graduating college, the former Army combat medic and Medal of Honor recipient attended basic training at Fort Knox in 1968 under the draft when there were no deferments handed out. He admits that he had to adjust his attitude and mindset before starting basic training. Drill sergeants did the rest.
"Many of my quick reactions in Vietnam, if I didn't have the training I had here, I might have gotten myself killed," said McCloughan.
Basic training started a bit vague during the buildup to a war, said Matthew Rector, Fort Knox historic preservation specialist.
"It all kind of started in 1940, then morphed into the U.S. Armor Training Center," said Rector. "It was armor associated in World War II. Part of the training was tank driving."
In fact, the Army established the Armored Force School and Armored Force Replacement Center in October 1940. The goal: to train "Soldiers in specific areas such as armor tactics, tank gunnery, communications, and maintenance," according to "History of Fort Knox" found on the Fort Knox website at Caution-www.knox.army.mil/About/history.aspx.
In 1947, Army leaders reactivated 3rd Armored Division at Fort Knox to assume command of the replacement training center. During their time at Fort Knox, they would train more than 300,000 Soldiers for war.
The Army Organization Act of 1950 saw armor and cavalry merged into the Armor Branch.
Then in 1955, the center was again activated to resume training before 3rd Armored Division moved to Europe the following year. Under new authority, it became known as U.S. Army Training Center-- Armor, and comprised about half of the entire population of Fort Knox.
Soon after, the center received yet a new name, this time as the "Armor Center" and "Armor School."
By that time, trouble in Southeast Asia, specifically Vietnam, began and gradually increased over a period of years that began with non-combatant military advisors for the South Vietnamese army and phased into the introduction of regular combat troops in 1965.
That same year, Reserve Officer Training Camp's Basic Camp opened at Fort Knox.
So many Soldiers passed through the gates of Fort Knox in basic training that in 1968, leaders celebrated their one millionth graduate there -- a Pvt. Gerald Follmar, who would later graduate from Officer Candidate School and receive his commission.
"By the late 1960s, more than one million trainees had completed one or more training programs in the Fort Knox Training Center since its inception in 1940," according to historical records at the Fort Knox Cultural Resources Office. "The Cold War helped secure the Armor Branch's role in the Army and the Armor Center continued to fulfill the role of producing capable and highly trained armor personnel."
One of those who attended basic training during the Vietnam War era is Paul Urbahns, a local historian who went through signal corps advanced training after graduating basic at Fort Knox in 1970. He said there are very vivid memories that many Soldiers share about their time at Fort Knox.
One memory that many basic trainees share is the now iconic sign that everybody passed by during reception that read, "Welcome to the United States Army." Urbahns said that sign moved with every move of the reception battalion, then mysteriously ended up being thrown away after the Army closed to the doors on basic training years later.
Another of Urbahns' memories involved painful road marches along three unforgettable hills in the area known as Misery, Agony and Heartbreak.
"When I did travel shows with my late wife years later, I had a picture of those hills on display," said Urbahns. "Veterans would come up and look at that, and their eyes would glaze over. That's the one thing that every basic trainee remembers."
Soldiers were often required to ruck the steep slope of each hill with heavy ruck sacks while enduring suffocating humidity, especially in July.
Urbahns said many people now share their stories of basic training at Fort Knox on websites. A quick search can yield a treasure trove of stories, many of them filled with the difficulties of getting through the culture shock of civilian life and adopting a military mindset.
"Misery loves company," said Urbahns. "Maybe that's why so many people want to talk about basic training at Fort Knox."
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