We solicit ideas and inputs from you all. The first is (appropriately) submitted by Al Partin hisself. We plan to add a lexicon/glossary of terms and their meanings -- probably only understood by those babtised under First Class Fire...
This is your spot to tell those war stories and vivid/faded memories from the first six months of 1959. The webmiester reserves the right to ....
DUKE ELLINGTON HELPED ME GET THROUGH OCS
I had a really bad time while in Second Class, didn't we all? God, I hated it!! I called my wife in Denver almost every night and told her I was quitting. She provided encouragement and kept me going another day or two,
First Class of course was better plus I found new encouragement from an unexpected source a record player in the 2nd Sq dayroom. Almost every time we were in that room, someone (probably Mike Brill) played a record of "Ellington At Newport '56" recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival at Newport, RI, in July 1956. It was, and is, a classic, fantastic Jazz album.
One cut, "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" runs over 14 minutes with a sax solo by Paul Gonsalves that roars for 27 choruses!! Paul's solo was hot and provoked pandemonium in the festival audience! I Ellington was concerned the crowd was about to get out of control and finally broke in with his piano after those 27 choruses.
What a jazz performance!! It sure lifted my spirits every time I heard it and completely took my mind off OCS for a while. It really helped me "up" on many occasions.
As soon as I graduated from OCS I bought a copy of the album and now have a remastered digital disc copy too. I still play it occasionally when I have a "Prozac moment"!! It still works'
Of course we had our own Mike Brill in 59B (2nd Sq) and we all enjoyed his sax performances at "the club!" Thanks to Duke and Mike, I did finally graduate. Maybe we can hear a little of Mike again sometime. Hope so. Maybe in 2003?
Al Partin
Here's one of my memories of the first three months of 1950, aka, "Second Class" (Wonder what ever happened to Third and Fourth Class, but of course we were in the "top five"...
After a few weeks when we were all "feeling the pain", and grousing about this @#$*### outfit, one evening, OC Lt Rodriguez of the Thundering Third meandered into the Second Class Day Room where we were doing homework, polishing shoes, and filling the gaps with our sad sad tale of woe.
Lt. Rodriguez, said he had heard that we were not all that happy, and he wanted to chat with us a bit. He had our undivided attention... He then asked us to accompany him to the basement, and we did. He stopped in front of the "cage room" which held all our baggage and the gear we came with. He then said that he had the key, and if any of us were so unhappy that we felt we had to leave, he'd be glad to open the cage and let us get our bags.
There was a "pregnant pause", while we contemplated that reality, and we all more or less tucked our tails between our legs and went back to work. A sudden realization that we were there of our own choice, and, for the most part weren't going until they kicked us out.
