William T. Johnson at Fort McPherson, Georgia

After leaving Presbyterian College about the end of May 1943 I had a couple of weeks before going into the Army on Tuesday, June 15. I met the bus about nine o'clock, together with my cousin Harris, and found several other PC boys from Augusta already on the bus. When we got to Atlanta there was no great rush to get out to Fort McPherson, as I recall. I don't remember how we traveled, probably a city bus. We eventually reached the place shown on our orders and were assigned to barracks. As I recall, the PFC in charge of the barracks was the meanest man I found in the Army. The first thing I learned was how to make up a bunk. Our week at Fort Mac included no wasted time. Uniforms were issued Wednesday, and necessary administration such as the classification test, the Army physical examination, shots, and mandatory training came about in quick order. On Saturday I was told that I would be on KP the next day and that I would be issued a special blue fatigue uniform. I reported for duty at the mess hall about five a. m. on Sunday and was assigned to a sink in this 900-man mess. As I recall I was involved mostly in washing aluminum trays, cups, and silverware, using preliminary rinsing and steam to get the utensils clean. Between meals the KP crew had to clean the dining room, inside and out. I suppose we finished our duties about eight or nine p. m. and returned to the barracks, showered and turned in the blue fatigues. By the next day, Monday, we knew that we were going to Camp Croft, somewhere in South Carolina, for basic training. Early Tuesday morning we carried our duffel bags filled with strictly GI stuff (we had mailed our civilian clothes home on the previous Wednesday or Thursday) to a train at the edge of the post. I recall a gate in the chain-link fence through which either we or the train departed for Spartanburg, SC, and Camp Croft.