Jim's Daze at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas - Feb. To April, 1955

Company "A" 45th Armored Infantry Battalion
See bottom of page for a list of all 212 men in this group and some pictures

 When I arrived at Camp Chaffee I met the meanest man I had ever seen in my life.  His name was SFC Gerald C. Mostella and it was his job and joy to make life miserable for everyone around him.  He hated me and everyone there . . . or, at least, I thought so at the beginning.  After a short time I began to notice a few decent qualities about him, though few they were, indeed.  When he told us to do 50 pushups, he did a hundred . . . and he was an old man, maybe 30 or more.  When we marched 20 miles he was there at our heels, at our sides or far out ahead, egging us on.  When we trained with live grenades, he was there to be sure we didn't blow ourselves up.  When we crawled through the obstacle course with tracer bullets just inches overhead, he was there to make sure we kept our heads down and stayed alive.

After a while my dislike for him turned into tolerance and finally, even, a little respect.  By the end of basic training, all I could say was "What a Guy."  And now, after 50 some years have passed I've decided that, if were ever in that type training again, I would want someone just like him to teach me how it's done.  Someone just like him but with better manners would be nice.

Update:  On December 31, 20007 I received an E mail from, to my pleasant surprise, DeAnna, the daughter of SFC Mostella.  She had accidently found this site and seemed surprised by the accuracy of my description of him.  She had observed first hand those characteristics as she grew up and knew exactly what I was talking about.  I was pleasantly surprised that he was, at that time, still alive and living in Alabama.  He retired from the Army in 1969 after having a couple of heart attacks.  

If I could see him now, I would have to shake his hand and say, "Thank you, Sergeant, for a job well done and thank you for teaching me to keep my head down."

Now for a few pictures taken at Camp Chaffee sometime between Feb. and Apr. 1955. . . . Jim

Click the pictures for a larger view

Hurry up and wait	Too early for me. I stayed in bed	Sam Newton & Jim Carpenter	Jim & Roger
Sam and Jim	Jim and Roger	Jim showing off	Where's that Treasure?
Pretending to shoot something	Jim trying to look like a soldier	Jim & friend playing soldiers	My Bivouac Home
Chow time	Barracks view	Reserved for more pictures if  I find some but I'm afraid these are all I have. Jim	Reserved

Two of the guys in these pictures, Sam Newton and Roger Norman, became my good friends, for the eight weeks we spent at Chaffee, and then I never saw them again. My hopes are that, someday, one or both will find this page and get in touch with me . . . it's a long shot but stranger things have happened.
[Update:]  Roger contacted me in 2006 and we have exchanged E-Mail.  Hope to have an eyeball chat sometime in the future.  Still looking for Sam.

Other than just the training, we had lots of fun playing around the obstacle course and digging foxholes. . . well I don't think it could be called "fun" but we made the best of it.  I didn't exactly enjoy the foxhole digging but if someone had told me there was buried treasure there, I would have dug a well.  

As for the rifle range . . .  I had owned a rifle from the time I was 12, so it was just like shooting squirrels except the M-1 kicked much harder than my old 22 rifle.

So those were part of the good old days, only I didn't know it then. I was young and that makes them seem good, now.  But now, as I look back on it all, I really think "now" is the good old days. Just ask me in about 20 years and I'm sure I will think so. . . . Jim

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Pictures - Company "A" 45th Armored Infantry Battalion

 

The above names were taken from a yearbook of the Fifth Armored "Victory" Division, dated April 1955. Be sure and check out the pictures.

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