The First Peacetime Draft Of The World War I - 1494 Words

Stripped of all personal belongings, ready to be worked until exhaustion (and perhaps die from it too), ordinary men are about to become fighting machines. This is just the beginning of a life as a G.I. in World War ll. Broken down, war soldiers experience three different parts of life during the war: training, battle, and general lifestyle. Training is the time used to toughen up and prepare soon-to-be-G.I.’s for the difficult experience ahead. Battle is the real tester, where guns fire, ships sink, and bombs drop. General lifestyle is everything in-between that will become a G.I.’s daily routine, and the aftermath. In all, training, battle, and lifestyle are all unique views of life during the war that G.I.’s experience, and could never†¦show more content†¦Of course, military training also reminded soldiers that they were fighting against the enemy. Soldiers were sometimes shown propaganda about their rival to teach them good from bad. The conditions of the boot camps were uncomfortable for trainees, especially since they had never experienced anything like it. Soon-to-be G.I.s had their personal belonging taken, their heads were shaven, and they went by numbers instead of names. Sergeants were demanding, most were cruel, and training was generally exhausting. Trainees started their morning off with a 10 or 20 mile hike, then went to a skill area, like garrison or rifle range, or were sent into the wilderness to learn outdoor survival skills such as cooking, hunting, and close-combat fighting. Along with this, soldiers also did manual labor such as working in a warehouse to strengthen their body. Marine corps. training was a little more rigorous than other types of training. The marines were America’s most supported armed force, and a hardworking and patriotic spirit was emphasized in marine training. Marine trainees spent 7 weeks in boot camp, although the demand for more marines because of Japanese attacks shortened thi s time to 4-5 weeks. This demand also caused qualifications for a trained marine to drop. In training, drill instructors trained platoons, which are groups of soldiers who will fight together. Marines-to-be were often inspected and