On the day that we practice driving tanks, it was very hot and dry and the dust on the road was very thick. The exhaust pipes on the tanks pointed straight down in the dust. When we stopped for lunch that day, no one knew any one, as we were all dust, sweat and mud-covered. It reminded me of sheep shearing on the farm because after being sheared, the sheep didn’t recognize each other and would fight – ha!
Our main firearm was the MI rifle. We also trained with the carbine rifle, the 4 SC submachine gun, the 50 & 30 C machine gun, the 75 mm and 76 mm and 90 mm tank-mounted cannon. When I got into the Military Police Detachment, I was given a 45 caliber pistol which I had never seen or fired before.
Back to Ft. Knox, KY for our graduation parade which was quite impressive. There were probably 1000 or more on the parade ground. It was very hot. We were told this might happen, or would happen, as we were marching in company and battalion and regimental formation. The tension was so great that soldiers were falling to the ground all around. We were instructed to step over them and proceed with the march as if nothing unusual happened. Of course, there was a whole convoy of Army ambulances lined up to haul away those that had fallen. They rushed in between company formations and took the fallen away.