Everyone is writing a Christmas story so I guess I will write one too. I turned eighteen years old in 1965 and signed up for the draft. I was a high school drop out and knew that if I got drafted they would stick me in the Infantry. It’s not that I was chicken or anything it’s just I guess I’m not much of a fighter. I never held a gun let alone shot a gun before I went in the Army except a BB Gun . I kept going to the draft board every month until I guess they were tired of me coming around and in November 1966 they told me that I would be drafted in about a month. So I high tailed it down to the Army recruiter. I joined the Army and on December 6 1966 the recruiter picked me for a short ride to Oklahoma City along with another recruit . We were sworn in and flown to Ft Bliss ( El Paso ) Texas for basic training. Two weeks into basic training the Drill Sergeants told us they were going to close basic training down for two weeks for Christmas and we had a choice. We could either go home for two weeks on leave or stay on base for two weeks and do KP ( Kitchen Police ) I knew Kitchen Police was nothing but washing dishes and pots and pans so I decided that wasn’t no dummy. I had been in the Army two weeks and then I went home on leave for two weeks . After the two week leave I went back and finished basic training.