Friday, April 18, 2008

First day at ENMS.


I believe it was a day in early September 1963 that I in-processed at ENMS. Mom and Grandma took brother Steve to the Junior School side of campus to get him squared away (clothing, shoes, bedding, etc.) Dad and sister Janet took me down to the lower part of campus where I did same. I remember some of the commandant's wives giving directions to drop pants and try on fatigues and boots and hats and dress blues. When it was all over veteran cadet MS grabbed a box that contained my bedding and he led me up to the dorm in my shinny new green fatigues where he found me a locker for my stuff and showed me how to make my bed. "Square corners" was a new and interesting skill to master. Shortly thereafter, the family met for the last time before they took Steve back to the junior school dorm and I realized then I would not be able to see him anytime soon. In a light drizzling rain, I stood there looking through the chain-link fence adjacent to the Head Quarters building as my parents, Grandma, and big sister headed back to Vegas waving goodbye. With eyes filled with tears and feeling alone for the first time in my life, I headed back to the dorm -- my new home. On the way, a veteran cadet AW walked by with a small portable radio up against his ear. As I looked over at him he said, "What the f--- are you looking at!"

3 comments:

Unknown said...

So typical at the school.

JTMC@IF said...

Kinda wish I could take both young brothers in my arms, kiss their hair, and allay their fears with a platitude that although over-used, is positively TRUE and should be clung to for comfort ... "This moment will pass; things will get better!" And sure enough! They did!!!

ENMS 151 said...

Only a Mother would know. Blessings. Thank you. This warmed my heart more than you know.

My Goal

I'm Gary, the bass drummer in the above picture. My identification number at the Elsinore Naval and Military School (ENMS) was 151 -- a number forever burned into my soul. Here are some memories during my two year stay at ENMS in the 7th and 8th grades during the 1963 -- 1964 -- 1965 school years. I've converted old 8 mm movies that my parents took and present them here for all to see under the title of ENMS Memories on YouTube.com. My goal here is to share my story and hopefully it may stimulate viewers to share their stories with others -- even if you never attended ENMS. Who knows, you may be a parent considering sending your kid to military school and this web site may give you some insight as to what military schools have to offer. Please note that I am working on this blog at a rather sporadic pace. Also, for privacy reasons, I'll only identify cadets by their first name or initials. To access posts, please use the 'blog archive" on the right. Finally, the change from black to red type is just my style for indicating a change in the message context much like writing a new paragraph. Ready to take a ride? Let's begin! [Question: Is the ENMS band in the above picture performing at the beginning or end of the routine Sunday parade? Answer: With the platoons gone in the background, the parade is coming to an end with the ENMS band the last to pass and review -- following the Junior School platoon. Since we supplied the music / cadence for all cadets it made sense to have the ENMS band behind everyone keeping them all in step. Question: Who's the officer standing there with his back to us? Answer: That's CPT Fred V. Rosenberger, Assistant Commandant. Question: Is this the 1963-64 ENMS band or the 1964-65 ENMS band? Answer: It's the 1963-64 ENMS band because cadet Bob who became the 1964-65 ENMS band leader is in the band ranks playing snare drum -- first drum row center.]