Ed & Ray Hersman in WWII - Robert Marks.org

3.4. ARMY TRAINING Ed & Ray Hersman in WWIIhell hole Camp Atturbury, Indiana”. That is where we ended up. We weremet by “cadre” at Atturbury, were taken to our quarters and had to fall outright away. We were then taken on a ten mile forced march. This march wasvery tough on all of us since we were very soft. We learned the Army stride.This stride is 30 inches, is hard on a tall person, and sheer murder for shortpeople. Two of the latter soon found this out.The outfit I was assigned to was the 3rd Platoon, Company G, 2nd battalion,329th Division.Three months of hell followed. Calisthenics, long night and day hikes,forced marches at double time extending for miles, with and without fullfield gear, obstacle courses galore, and training with all sorts of weapons,but mostly the rifle and carbine.My first time on the rifle range I belsod (missed the target) and received“Maggies drawers” many times. The second time I fired sharpshooter andthe third time I fired expert, the Army’s highest rating. I also fired expertwith the M1 carbine. I didn’t do well at all with the .45 pistol.3.4.2.1 The Company IdiotThe company idiot’s name was Crouch who was from Kentucky. He was thebutt of many cruel jokes and pranks. He invariably lost his pay through badloans, poker etc. Some of the fellows would get him to drink a lot of beer atthe PX, then when he became a little drunk they would put him in a coldshower.On the rifle range Crouch could absolutely not be taught to fire Armystyle. The sergeants tried to teach him, the lieutenants and captains alsoworked with him and failed. One day the colonel was observing us fire andswore he would teach Crouch to shoot. The colonel attempted to teachCrouch how to shoot rapid standing fire. He made him rig his sling right,he kicked his feet into the right position, he forced his right arm into thehigh position the Army advocates. The colonel stepped back and confidentlytold Crouch to start firing. Down came the arm, the feet shifted to a new25