Late one night in the early 1970’s sixty five men got off of buses that had transported them from Chicago’s O’Hare airport. A few short hours later they they were marched in the early morning dark to breakfast, and then to get their haircut. That icy cold morning in January was the beginning of “Boot Camp” for Company 43 , Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois.
Company 43 consisted of men who had joined the Navy for numerous reasons. Some in order that they not be drafted and have to set foot in Vietnam. Others were directed to the armed forces by Judges who hinted it might be better to enlist than serve jail time . And of course there were guys like me who at the age of 17 just needed adventure and an escape from a military Father.
Not long after the haircuts and issue of uniforms that morning we were all marched to the medical center where the 65 of us stood in a conveyor belt line to receive our shots..
Polio, Influenza, Measles, Mumps, Tetanus, Yellow Fever …. and others I’m sure.
Not a one of us questioned it . There were those of us who did question the war we were involved in at the time , but not one of us questioned the need to fight the diseases . Nor did we question the most advanced medical and scientific minds on the planet that had implemented the military’s requirement of those vaccines.
To my knowledge not a single member of Co. 43 has died from …. or even been inflicted by any of the diseases we were vaccinated against 49 years ago . We did trust some things about America back then . Now I read in the news that it is difficult to get all those in the armed services vaccinated against the most dangerous diseases of all……..
seems we’re all more concerned about about our military being “woke” ….
and I don’t even know what woke is
