Thursday, December 26, 2013

Fort Ord

Abandoned Barracks (Fort Ord) - Monterey County  2013

Rugged - Monterey County  2013

Mike drove through the former Fort Ord Army base last month just outside of Monterey, finding a few reminders of the location's old military role. A crumbling abandoned barracks. A fading sign for the 14th Engineer Battalion, once located there.

**

In point of fact Mike entered the U.S. Army on December 26, 1963 (yes, the day after Christmas) in Los Angeles and completed his basic training at Fort Ord in Monterey County, living in a barracks very similar to the one pictured above. Didn't have broken windows, though.

Let's see, try 'n do a little in-the-head arithmetic . . . Whoa! That was 50 years ago today!

**

Mike used to stand of an evening at the barracks' 2nd-story window, the sound of the Beatles in the background, gazing at the lights of Monterey and the twilight view of Monterey Bay. At the time he was somewhat older than most of the recruits and was able to use the serene view to transcend the inevitable basic training Army doldrums.

No comments: