The United States Army Officer
Candidate Schools Alumni Association

I took an entrance examination for the Army Specialized Training Reserve Program (ASTRP) on 12 April 1945 in Poly High's (Long Beach, California) auditorium. The exam was interrupted to announce the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt and to announce Harry S. Truman, who had been his vice president, as the new President of the United States. I spent three summers at summer school so that I could be graduated while the war was still on. I left behind the class that I was with during junior high, so I was graduated six months earlier than they. I received my diploma from Poly High in June and reported to Stanford University in August as an Army Enlisted Reserve Corps private. At that time I met three individuals who would become lifelong friends, Tom Giles from Santa Monica, John Erdelatz from Berkeley and Frank Geisel from Petaluma. All of us were seventeen and I was very much enamored with a military life. Tom was standing beside me during our first inspection. He always had to shave twice during the day, and was growing a five o'clock shadow by the time of the inspection. The inspecting officer blew right past him, and gigged me for one being in need of a shave. That evening I had my first shave. The three of us celebrated V-J Day in San Francisco, sleeping on fifty-cent cots at a YMCA near San Francisco's City Hall that night and hitchhiking back to Stanford the following morning. After two semesters in Encino Hall at Stanford, ASTRP closed there and continuing eligibles transferred to the University of Utah. I remained in Salt Lake City one semester and then received a call to active duty in April. Tom Giles was young enough to get an additional semester at Utah. My induction took place at Camp Beale, California. I was assigned to infantry branch. Frank Geisel, Jim Lusk, John Kane, Bob Davies and others from ASTRP's joined me. We received orders to Fort McClellan, Alabama to attend Heavy Infantry Weapons School (81 mm mortar, heavy machine gun,106 m.m. self propelled rifle, etc.). I transferred into the Regular Army on 15 May 1946 and was promoted to PFC. Our field first sergeant, (TechSgt) Ray Hite decided he wanted to trade his stripes in for a pair of gold bars. Several of us, including my friends from ASTRP requested and received selection in August to attend Army Officer Candidate school (AOCC-2) at Fort Benning, Georgia. It was the Army's requirement that potentially qualified individuals must be passed by a board of officers before gaining acceptance. The senior member was a graduate of Stanford, and he asked me if I could identify Hank Liusetti. I did, and named Stanford's starting basketball lineup for his playing years, including Jim Pollard. He was thrilled, not knowing that I had attended Stanford. I was passed, quickly, by the board. We remained at Fort Benning undergoing training in the Harmony Church area for the remainder of the year. Jim Lusk, Don Adcock and I became good friends during those months. We went on long speed marches, and many times toward the end of the march we were carrying extra rifles for some of the older candidates so that they could finish the march. We adopted a school song that went something like this: Far above the Chattahoochi, Neath the Upatoi, Stands our loyal alma mater, Benning School for Boys, Onward ever, Backward never, Follow me and die, To the port of embarkation, Next of kin, good-bye. The candidate course was six months long. We started with almost 200 in our class, ending with about ninety five for graduation. The last person "to be found" was a chap named Ginsberg, one day prior to graduation. At that time, very few people of the Hebrew faith, and very few blacks were allowed to graduate. Graduation came from Army Officer Candidate Class-2 on 23 April 1947, at which time we went home for pre-embarkation leave.