My Memoirs - Citizen of the World

display a certificate from the Health Department stating that they
were free to operate, just like restaurants today in Portugal and the
United States.
My Military Service
There was a time in Portugal when everyone had to serve in the
military. In March 1956, at age 21, I was drafted into the military
service and reported for basic training at the 17 th Infantry Battalion
in Angra do Heroismo. It was located in Monte Brazil, a beautiful
mountain overlooking the city harbor. After completing three
months of basic training, I went to an Army Training Center in
Continental Portugal, not unlike the Officers Training Camp in the
United States.
All candidates with a high school education, who lived outside
mainland Portugal, had to travel to Lisbon before reporting to the
Instructors Training Center
which was located in the city
of Tavira in the province of
Algarve in southern Portugal.
I was very excited because I
had never been to continental
Portugal. I stayed in Lisbon
for three days before reporting
to the Training Center. Most
people in the Azores had never
been to the mainland, because
it was about 800 miles away
and the only means of
transportation to the mainland
was by ship. The voyage took
5 days and was not bad at all.
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