After being drafted, I had been sent to Houston for my physical, and induction. The urine sample was one of the last things we had to do. It meant we were nearing the end of a long day.

A few seconds later, a man stepped out of an office and into the hallway. It was obvious he wasn’t a draftee, or a new recruit by the clothes he was wearing. I asked, “ Do you know which way I go now?” He jerked his head around, and angrily snapped,” What did you just say? I repeated, “ Do you know where I go now?” This seemed to enrage him even more, His face turned red and he took a few quick steps towards me. He exclaimed,” don’t you ever talk to me like that!” Having a temper and very little self discipline, (an affliction that is often associated with young men with too much testosterone.) I immediately became pissed, and went on the offensive. I squared off, and was ready for a fight. I replied to the gentleman,” Fuck You, Dick Head!, all I asked, was which way I needed to go!” I remember thinking” now the fight starts”. Instead, he just looked at me and said,” You’re number one!” I asked, “ What the hell does that mean?” He just kept looking at me and said again,” you’re number one.” What the fuck was this! I was ready to fight! He started this shit! He couldn’t back out now! The loud exchange had drawn others out into the hall. I became aware of another draftee who had stepped up beside me, and said,” we go this way.” I replied, “ Fine, fuck the son-of-a-bitch!”

We went down the hall and entered a room on the right. There must have been three hundred other men in that room. It was full of school desks and we were each seated at one. A few minutes later, several Army Officers and Noncom’s entered the room. With them was the guy I had the confrontation with. They called the men to order and announced, “ Today we are not only drafting for the Army, but are drafting for the Marines as well.” My antagonist stepped up to the podium and said,” It seems that we felled to meet our quota by seven people this month, and will be selecting the seven we need from this group. At that point, he looked straight at me and said, “ You’re number one!” I turned white as a sheet and almost shit myself. The recruit who walked with me down the hall, started to laugh. The Marine turned to him and said, “ You’re number two!” You could have heard a pin drop. That room had more than three hundred people in it, and a marshmallow falling to the floor would have made more noise. If anyone twitched, he would add another name to his growing list.