A veteran's experiance in the war.

On December 7, 1941 an ordinary boy, Arthur Pranger, from Covington, Kentucky was listening to his console radio when the news of Pearl Harbor aired. Arthur, or Art for short, knew what the outcome of the devastating event could lead too, and that was only a matter of time before he received a letter requesting him to serve his country. His life, which included rides around town in his friend Bob Bailer's car and a drive through Devou Park, where teens could dance to the jukebox, changed forever on August 19, 1943, when he received the expected letter from the Armed Forces Induction Station telling him that he was now a soldier in the army of the United States. The letter requested that he leave everything but a minimum of civilian clothing and a, "Small traveling bag containing one suit of underwear, one extra pair of socks and necessary toilet articles including a face and body towel" (Pranger, Duty Calls 1).

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Before assembling at the local board on the assigned date of September 9, 1943, however, Arthur Pranger, number 35874300, needed complete necessary business such as claiming family allotment, securing life insurance, and filling out routine government paperwork. Upon their completion, Art said goodbye to his family and left for Ft. Thomas, Kentucky.

From Kentucky, Private Arthur Pranger took a train to Texas and arrived at Camp Swift on September 15, 1943, where the army scheduled him to go through basic training. Once there he was assigned to the Chemical Warfare Service and a couple days latter more specifically Company A, 86th Chemical Battalion (Motorized). On the very same day that Art arrived at camp and got off the train, he received his equipment and began instruction by seeing some pictures on germ warfare. Private Art's first full day...