Basic training in the U.S. Military does strange things to a person. The Army likes to boast that it brings out the best in a young person. Perhaps it does on a physical level. But it can also bring out the worst.
Before I reported for basic training at Ft. Ord, CA. in October 1960, I was not a drinker. They served 3.2 beer at the base and the stress of going through daily military maneuvers, physical training and dealing with officers caused many recruits to turn to alcohol as a temporary way of coping with life.
Our evening hours and weekends were also spent gambling. We had a regular poker and blackjack game in the day room that attracted a lot of action. I wasn't an expert at blackjack or 21, but I knew the rules of the game and I felt I was lucky enough to try my skills against the other players.
One of the blackjack players was Luther, a quiet, solidly built young man who wore glasses. Luther had grown up on a farm in Iowa. He loved physical labor -- he was built as strong as a bull -- and somewhere along the way, he had learned how to play blackjack.
I mean, Luther could play blackjack.
Who knows what was lurking in his mind when he sat down at the table? He could have been counting cards or use a basic strategy. But when he played blackjack, he played to win and he took a lot of money from the other GIs and me during our eight weeks of basic training.
I would joke with him about his abilities and told him I knew he was too honest to cheat. He seemed genuinely hurt by the suspicion that he was cheating.
'I never cheat,' he said quietly. 'Blackjack is just a game I know how to play well. You're not a very good player. I hate to take money from you, but if you insist on playing...' He simply shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes. I smiled and shook my head. We both laughed.
There was a corporal who played in the game who didn't like Luther. He especially didn't like the fact that Luther was taking all the money in the blackjack game.
One Saturday the corporal had been drinking. He sat down at the table and peeled out some folding money. Luther already had a stack of cash in front of him.
'I'm going to carve you a new a--h---,' the corporal snarled, sipping his beer.
Well, he didn't. Luther's skill and the inebriated condition of the corporal spelled disaster and he just started losing like the rest of us. Finally, the corporal couldn't take it any longer. He staggered to his feet and lunged across the table, making a round-house swing at Luther.
Luther's glasses flew off his face, but he rose to his feet and simply wrapped his powerful arms around the corporal, rendering him as helpless as a chicken in the clutches of a butcher.
The corporal flailed his arms but all his efforts were useless. He finally stopped struggling.
'Do you give up?' said Luther quietly. 'I don't want to hurt you.'
'I give up,' the corporal mumbled. Luther released him and he left the day room and returned to his barracks.
When we graduated from basic training, I was given my new orders and waited for a military train to transport me to Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, CA. My assignment would keep me on a Nike-Hercules missile site for the duration of my two years in the Army. I asked Luther where his new assignment would take him.
He shrugged and handed me the assignment sheet.
'Somewhere in the Mideast,' he said. 'Vietnam.'
Geno 6 years ago Newbie
To answer Jade's questions, I never heard from Luther again. There wasn't much fighting going on in Vietnam as we ended our basic training. I spent the rest of my career defending DisneyLand -- actually Los Angeles -- from enemy air attack. As for Luther's secrets for winning, he kept them to himself, but I suspect he was...
To answer Jade's questions, I never heard from Luther again. There wasn't much fighting going on in Vietnam as we ended our basic training. I spent the rest of my career defending DisneyLand -- actually Los Angeles -- from enemy air attack. As for Luther's secrets for winning, he kept them to himself, but I suspect he was a good card counter. Thanks for the comment and the questions.
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jade 6 years ago Super Hero
Oh my God Geno, what a way to end a story. I hope Luther's luck didn't run out, although it sure looks like it did! Did you ever get in touch with him again? Do you know what ever happened to him? You shouldn't have written this story, because it causes more questions than it gives answers. On another note, I thought...
Oh my God Geno, what a way to end a story. I hope Luther's luck didn't run out, although it sure looks like it did! Did you ever get in touch with him again? Do you know what ever happened to him? You shouldn't have written this story, because it causes more questions than it gives answers. On another note, I thought that you would have been the better card player, even if it was a black jack game. I could never think of you as a loser. Is that when you first started playing card games and did you ever ask Luther if he had a secret to winning. Well, nevertheless, it was a really good story with a shocking conclusion......
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Geno 6 years ago Newbie
Vanenhox, in the military, most officers gamble. It was so in Russia with the Tzars -- even Leo Tolstoy wrote about it -- and it is so in America. I agree with your observation about the luck of the draw going against him. Thanks for the comment.
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Vanenhox 6 years ago Sr. Member
He might have been lucky or skilled in blackjack, but the luck of the draw was against him when his first assignment came out of the hat. I wonder if gambling was condoned by those in command or if it was done on the sly? An interesting tale with a scary perhaps fateful twist at the ending. Thanks again Geno...
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Geno 6 years ago Newbie
Vietnam had not yet heated up in late 1962 when we took our basic training. That would come a couple of years later. I never knew what became of Luther, but I suspect he carried himself well and earned his stripes. Luther was a good soldier.
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