My father was a 90 day wonder in WWII. He became a fire control officer on a tin can in the North Atlantic. I’m a retired Mustang LCDR and I was technically senior to him. He never would admit it. 😂 I miss you, dad. And thanks for everything you did for me.

@navret1707

2 жыл бұрын

@@TwoDogsBigYard - my father said he would if I took off the uniform and hung it up. You salute the uniform not the person. He was laughing the whole time. He read me my oath when I was commissioned. That was the proudest day of my life.

@samuelschick8813

2 жыл бұрын

Mustangs always made the best officers.

@mystery10man

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks to both your father and you for your service to our country

@RetiredSailor60

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your service Shipmate. OS1(SW/AW) USN Retired...

@bharnden7759

2 жыл бұрын

@@samuelschick8813 Usually because they had to work for something. Academy grads the worst. Though some were raised correctly, usually from a farm, and were good students.

I literally knew Bob Dole my entire life. As a child, he was my gradfathers friend. We would hunt quail in my grandfathers grain fields. He was a great man.

@DavidHBurkart

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing that. People forget what a man he was

I attended a dedication ceremony for Stephen Ambrose in Bay St.Louis, MS back in the early 2000s. There was a “Band of Brothers” member there who happened to be from Mississippi. He was hunched over a bit with age and was very kind. I asked him, “Was MAJOR Winters as wonderful in real life as he was portrayed in the miniseries?” This sweet old man stood straight up with military attention and told me that, “ Lieutenant Majors was even better in real life than how the actor played him!” It was so sweet. He went on telling me how how the Lieutenant still took care of his men. What a sweetheart this old man was. And he remembered Winters as a Lieutenant. What an amazing man Dick Winters was! Still devoted to his men his whole life. Wish he could have lived for a hundred more years to show us all how to behave.

My father was an OCS graduate and served with the U.S. Marines in WW2, Korea and Vietnam. He was awarded the Navy Cross during WW2. My folks are buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

@mystery10man

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks to your father for his service

Admiral Rickover utilized the Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate Program to supply his ships with qualified Engineering Officers. He personally interviewed each one of us. It was an honor working for him. He would come aboard when you least expected it and asked straight forward no nonsense questions. I had the privilege with my watch section of performing a fast recovery reactor startup with the Admiral aboard. OCS is an excellent program and I highly recommend it to college graduates. It is actually the start of a four year adventure and you will see the world. Best Decision I ever made. OCS 79005. CDR Ed Cook USN Retired.

@mystery10man

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your service

@bobbiemitch

2 жыл бұрын

Some of the best officers that I served under were mustangers. I too was in the nuclear Navy (EM1) and going to knife and fork school was one of two options. The other was B school and becoming a Chief Petty Office. My wife decided that there was a third choice, so I followed her back home.

@Chris_at_Home

2 жыл бұрын

My branch officer was an Navy OCS Ensign. He was a pilot on P-3s and he had all his flight certifications from the FAA before the Navy. He flew Lockheed Electras for a charter company in college.

@PNL-DJ-1

2 жыл бұрын

38 years ago, OCS officers in the Navy had a higher percentage of officers making the Navy a career. NROTC was the next highest percentage and the lowest recent age of Midshipmen making the Navy as a career. At that time, the percent of flag officers were reversed than the retention numbers with Academy graduates making up many, many more flag officers than NROTC and OCS officers. Is that still true today?

GEN Omar Bradley in his autobiography speaks very fondly of the OCS program and is very proud of his contribution towards making it a reality. There were many senior officers against OCS but GEN Bradley was committed towards making it happen. He also commented that he's glad it's still in use today and the program continues to prove its worth.

@rbeard7580

2 жыл бұрын

In some ways, they didn’t have a choice, given the numbers they needed and how the war was at first going badly for the Allies. My father was in ROTC at Texas A&M, which was an all-male, all-military school at the time. Though he hadn’t finished his degree, they took the upperclassmen and just made them all 2 Lts, telling them “You’re more trained than anyone else we’ve got. Good luck!”

The USAF calls it OTS now. Stands for Officer Training School. They do an exhaustive background of the students and know they have what it takes to be officers. I graduated OTS in August of '85. That was the toughest thing I ever did!

@archlich4489

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your service

@rydplrs71

2 жыл бұрын

Trophy’s for everyone now instead of just those who pass?

@bharnden7759

2 жыл бұрын

I was a working AF NCO and retired in 1997. My distain and contempt for occifers is well EARNED. Just because mommie and daddy had m0ney to put lil johnie and janey through college. I too got my degree going to 6 hrs of school at night, and working the mid-night shift early mornings. Sun comes up, time to go to bed. Many times by myself through a SoDak winter.

@stanwolenski9541

2 жыл бұрын

My uncle Stanley, r.I.p, was a 90 day wonder, served in the Pacific, was wounded but survived. Self medicated for years afterward.

@robertheinkel6225

2 жыл бұрын

As an Air Force Crew Chief, we dealt with a lot of young officers. Those that asked for help, we would help out to become a great officer. Those that thought they knew it all, were left to fail. Most of the know it alls, didn’t last all. One day I was replacing a blow out panel, that blew off after a high pressure duct failure. If the duct fails with no place for the pressure to go, it will blow off the wing. We replaced the duct, and were just putting the last fasteners in the blow out panel, when this young LT, came out demanding the panel be removed, so he can ensure it was installed correctly. In his mindset, no panel should ever fall off. I explained the purpose of the blowout panel, but he refused to listen. I finally told him if wants to remove the panel, do it himself, and walked off. I figured the worst he could do was try and court martial me, and he would look like a fool if he tried. We never saw him on the flightline again after that day.

I was a graduate of the Air Force’s “90-day wonder” program in 1974. OTS (Officer Training School) was then at Lackland AFB, TX. Now it’s in Georgia. I went on to USAF pilot training and later retired as a Lt Col after 22+ years total service (roughly 12 active, and 10 in the reserves with an air control radar squadron). I was unaware of the deep history of this system until seeing this video. Thanks, History Guy!

My father fought as a private soldier through Sargent in WWII, then OCD, then LT through Col in Korea and Vietnam. Also got a BA, MA, and PhD in the army. Guess the system works.

@mystery10man

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks to your father for his service

@studinthemaking

2 жыл бұрын

What was his phd in?

@McCoysActionKarateAuburn

2 жыл бұрын

@@studinthemaking political science American University. MA same from Boston U

I didn't know that about Jackie Robinson's military background. Thanks for another great video THG.

Thanks for featuring Bob Dole, HG. I knew Bob and his remark that Kansans don't ski much is an example of his dry sense of humour. I'm a Kansas farm boy, just as he was, and I've never been on skis in my life!

My father did ROTC and then OCS. It was during the Vietnam war and he was one of less than 10 graduates who did not go to Vietnam. He was also part of the only OCS class that never had a graduation ceremony. I remember visiting the Vietnam Wall and my father would not get too close. I walked up to him and asked what was wrong and with a tear in his eye said he had too many friends on the wall.

@mystery10man

2 жыл бұрын

God bless your father and thanks to him for his service

@scottperson9487

2 жыл бұрын

@@mystery10man He passed away in 2020, but thank you for the kind words.

Dick Winters was a beast of a human being. Need people like that, now. Great content 👍

@larryspiller6633

2 жыл бұрын

It seems he was just as accountable to his Men as they were to him. The way it ought to be.

My dad was a proud 90 day wonder in WWII, becoming an aerology officer in the USNR. He was stationed at NAF Dunkeswell and on the USS Croatan. He swore in to the Navy in the morning, and his Army draft notice came in the afternoon mail. Close call!

The most important statement in this script was the last statement. "Sixty-one graduates of Army OCS have been awarded the Medal of Honor."

The section on Senator Bob Dole made me think of something. Senator John McCain came from a military background. He was captured while serving in Vietnam and was tortured in POW Camps for months and months. His torture was probably enhanced because his Father was Admiral McCain; and the Vietnamese knew that. Maybe there could be a program about pows and what they went on to do after they were released. I'm from Alabama originally. Jeremiah Denton was in the Navel Aviator and captured by the Vietnamese. There was a striking image of him as he came down the steps of the airplane after being freed. He went to his hands and knees; and kissed the ground because he was so happy to be back in America. To me, these are stories about history which deserve to be remembered.

I read somewhere that the graduates of the very 1st NCO School for the Army Air Corps became Master Sergeants and 1st Sergeants immediately after this 6 week school. Units were built under them as recruits were supplied.

The college educated OCS officers are just as good at their jobs as the Academy boys. Yet they are still denied upper commands and are drummed out long before those with Academy credentials.

@jamessimms415

2 жыл бұрын

Sad. Yet I’d consider an ROTC more well rounded & able than a Service Academy Graduate.

In June 1943, my dad, George Jacobsen, was selected to go to Officer Candidate School. He was a sergeant in New Guinea at the time, so he was flown back to Australia. His graduation certificate says he attended from 5 July 1943 to 27 September 1943. He said, in his autobiography, "It was just like another 13-week training session; however, those from other parts of the army were given a hard time. We [the trainees from New Guinea] had one big advantage, and that was that we had been in combat and [wait for it] our instructors had not." (editorial comments by me)

One of my uncles joined the army at the age of 16. He lied about hus age I guess. It was his way to avoid being a farmer. When Pearl Harbor was attacked he was a segeant in the Panama Canal. He was asked to go to officers school. At Guadalcanal he was a lieutenant where he was wounded. Years later he eventually retired as a lieutenant colonel.

@mystery10man

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks to your uncle for his service

The training of OCS officers is similar to the Warrant Officer helicopter training for Vietnam. 19 to 21 year old high school graduates were taught to be officers and pilots at Fort Wolters in Texas. It would be interesting to watch the history of the Warrant Officer training and the pilots service in Vietnam.

@NHL633

2 жыл бұрын

I second that proposal. One of my close friends was just such an individual and not having had the experience would like to know what he experienced in his personal quest.

@blacksquirrel4008

2 жыл бұрын

A friend was Air Force captain and he said he would always buy beers for WO pilots in the officers mess because they always looked they felt they didn’t really belong, sitting there with their helmet bags.

@bruceaux174

2 жыл бұрын

@@blacksquirrel4008 It was mostly that we were young (20-21) and thirsty. Always enjoyed an officer buying us a beer.

@richdouglas2311

2 жыл бұрын

The whole Warrant Officer phenomenon deserves an extolling exploration. The Air Force got rid of its warrants after the creation of the supergrades (E-8 and E9) in the late '50s, figuring those highly-grades NCOs could handle what warrants did. I'm not so sure. I still believe that the warrant system would be perfect for pilots who didn't want to go into command positions. Let 'em fly. Move them from captains to CW-4s. You'd retain a lot more of them (who didn't want ground or leadership positions anyway) and could focus leadership training on the rest. Also, it would be a good place for prior-enlisted NCOs to go and serve out productive careers and technical officers. I retired very, very young, but if I'd been offered a warrant slot, I would have stayed until they escorted me to the gate at the tip of a bayonet!

@aaronleverton4221

2 жыл бұрын

Chickenhawk is a very well-written memoir.

The case of Charles Whittlesey and the lost battalion is one of those heroic and tragic cases that can get to you. This upper class Bostonian was given a hurriedly put together crew of all sorts, including many recent immigrants from NYC. Some 40 some-odd languages were spoken by men under his command. They all loved him and together they suffered horrendous casualties, were later proclaimed national heroes but, for Whittlesey, the wounds at losing so many were too deep and the acclaim too disturbing to him. He took his own life 3 years later, alas.

"We Kansans don't ski much," he said. As a Kansans, I agree. We don't ski much.

My Grandfather was commissioned from OCS, and became a Bombardier in a B-24, for the 8th Air Force. Shot down he spent time in Stalag Luft 1, in Barth, Pomerania. I myself, was a ROTC grad. I served in the Navy.

@mystery10man

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks to your grandfather and you for your service

The term "90 Day Wonder" is given to Air Force OTS graduates as well. Of which, I am one.

@TheHistoryGuyChannel

2 жыл бұрын

Navy as well. And thank you for your service.

@richdouglas2311

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah. I'm a 90-day wonder who took almost 6 years of service and education.

In Basic Training I was offered the opportunity to attend OCS. But with the Vietnam war raging and the Army requiring I waive my enlistment contract, I declined. After nearly 30 years of active duty and Army Reserve I sometimes wonder what might have been, but I don't regret the decision.

@gyrene_asea4133

2 жыл бұрын

Understood. Near same, USMC bootcamp offered the NAPS program involving Naval Academy and an 11 year commitment. "Sir! The recruit does not wish to become a Marine Corps Officer, Sir!" Things got worse ... : D.

My father graduated from Notre Dame law school in 1942 in his Army Air Corps uniform and left afterwards for basic training. He graduated OCS and signed up to be a navigator (his uncorrected vision was too poor to be a pilot) on a B-24. On his first flight (first flight of his life) he discovered he had acrophobia (fear of heights) and washed out. Well, he had a law degree so they sent him to Tonopah, NV (what I think now is widely known as Area 51) as assistant provost marshal, where he finished the war. Tonopah was the refueling stop from the factories near Chicago on to the port of San Francisco. He stayed in the USAF reserve for 29 years, retiring as a Lt. Col. I miss you, dod (that's what we called him).

My dad retired from the Army and was enlisted when he was accepted to Army OCS said it was not easy. Did 22 years and retired. 1 combat tour in Koreas as enlisted. Then 3 tours with the Infantry in Vietnam, final tour was as a Senior District Advisor with MACV SOG Team 18.

I have an original Plattsburg manual from the World War One era, a predecessor of ROTC and OCS. This video tracks the "instant officer" programs as they evolved through American military history. Prior to OCS, all the way back to the Revolutionary War, officers were often elected by their own soldiers. Appointments to officer rank could have been because of the officer financing the formation of the regiment or because of political clout. There were professional officers, but during wartime the need for officers drove a lot of direct commissions that may have exceeded the number of professional officers produced through military academies. Modern warfare got technical. Just reading maps and writing reports required education. Graduates of universities were presumed to be literate--not always the case today--and direct commissions were common up to 1918, but that produced inconsistent results. During World War Two there was a severe shortage of trained officers--and OCS took men who had graduated basic training and then gave them 90 days of officer education. There was a similar school for NCOs, for sergeants--that took stellar boot camp soldiers and gave them a short course in being a sergeant. This program would make another fine video. Generally, sergeants in the old days came up through the ranks after proving themselves as outstanding soldiers. Going through the short shake-and-bake course was a shortcut "experience" for turning a private into a sergeant. This started in 1943 because junior leader losses were so high and because merely surviving combat didn't mean the survivor had all of the skills and education needed to lead small units (company and lower echelon) on the modern battlefield. This program was brought back during the Vietnam era because the NCO education system instituted around 1949 was geared towards educating senior soldiers who had been in the Army for several years--the WW2 and Vietnam-era programs were taking promising graduates of basic training and giving them combat leadership training before putting these rookies into combat. ncohistory.com/the-shake-n-bake-nco/ I'm a graduate of the Army NCO academy programs, with a 3-week stint in Bad Tolz during 1983 and four weeks of Army Reserve BNCOC during 1994. Modern warfare has a lot of specialized technical knowledge and in the shadows of OCS the US Army ran a similar school for NCO candidates. These "instant leadership" courses are dormant now--modern OCS takes experienced soldiers, usually sergeants and staff sergeants with several years' experience, and trains them as officers--and for modern US Army sergeants getting promoted requires graduation from the appropriate level of the NCO Academies.

@knoahbody69

2 жыл бұрын

I've read that the Army is "top heavy"...Junior Officers hold posts that could be filled by NCOs to avoid problems that the "90 day wonders" had when the Army had to rapidly expand during WWII. If you watched "Glory", the Colonel of the Regiment was a Captain of an Infantry Company at the beginning of the movie. At least he had combat experience.

Very impressive group of people. My Dad was a WWII infantryman. He had the highest respect for those who received a battlefield commission.

My father graduated Bowdoin College and went to OCS - graduating and then serving in 2d ID / 9th Infantry Regt in the last year of the Korean War. He led combat patrols against the Chinese during the static period of the war and his CIB is his proudest possession til this day. He served for years in the Connecticut Army National Guard and retired as a full Colonel in 1981. I graduated from ROTC in 1982 but after serving with the 2d ACR for 3 years I returned to Connecticut and had the honor of serving as senior TAC for a year at the CTARNG OCS academy. The staff and students were great and years later I ran into several of them who had advanced to field grade. OCS is a fantastic program and one of the great strengths of our Army. Hats off to all graduates. LTC Duane Phillips USAR Ret.

My father was an OCS grad in World War II and was commissioned in the Coast Artillery which included the antiaircraft artillery back then. He was sent to Iceland in 1943 and then to mainland Europe where he was in the Battle of the Bulge. I have a photo he took crossing the Rhine on one of the pontoon bridges at Remagen.

My father and two uncles were 90 day wonders. They all came home.

@mystery10man

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks to your father and your uncles for their service

Very interesting and somewhat personal Shortly after the war started in 1941, my father enlisted in the army and went on to OCS. He was married and 34 years old so never was deployed overseas. His first assignment was as a trainer at the Armored Force School at Ft Knox. His background was in automotive maintenance having worked as sales managers for dealers, factory service reps for auto companies and instructor for other related companies. He told me that he had a hand in generating some the the training material used at the school. A few years later as a First LT he was up for promotion to captain as a battalion motor officer, I believe. Anyway he was told he wasn't eligible for the position since he had not graduated from the Armored Force School. Typical army illogic. Just as an aside,

@mystery10man

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks to your father for his service

@alancranford3398

2 жыл бұрын

A trainer at the Armored Forces school couldn't be promoted because he didn't graduate from that school, despite having written some of the training material does sound typical in a bureaucracy. I had difficulty marching through the front door on a red carpet myself--but was kept around because despite my lack of the social graces I managed to get things done. When I was boarded for staff sergeant while at Fort Riley, I had been told that I needed to be ready for the board NEXT MONTH, and so I was deep into vehicle maintenance when a runner located me and scolded me for being late to the promotion board. So, that took a lot of pressure off me--I accepted that I failed the board, was allowed to "explain yourself," and without preparation was able to answer all the questions asked. I even pointed out a flaw or two in the training material--when asked about five star generals I went from Marshal to Bradley without a hitch (Patton didn't make it) and talked of the three generals that out-ranked five-stars: Washington, Grant, and Pershing. The only five-star Air Force general, Arnold, began his career in the Army Air Force and actually became the sole General of the Air Force after medical retirement. Then there was the navy. (Yes, nothing like bragging when I managed to get something right) When I was promoted during formation a few weeks later I was surprised. I had expected to be reduced in rank, not promoted. Bureaucracies eliminate individual judgement because that's subjective and can be abused. More than a few Army heroes did things that would have resulted in court martial and bad conduct discharge today. Audie Murphy lied about his age and was underage when he managed to get into the US Army, and he had to insist, really insist, that his place was in the Infantry. Leadership is a rare commodity; then there was Murphy's skills as a hunter, his marksmanship ability, and despite lack of education Murphy was highly intelligent. Severe injuries kept Audie Murphy out of West Point (probably a good thing because the US Army would have been embarrassed to flunk out its most decorated soldier of World War Two) but while pursuing a career as a minor actor, Major Audie Murphy was in the Texas Army National Guard when he died in a plane crash. He was one of many that the US Army would have kept out of uniform today and he had to fight to get into combat during World War Two. OCS provided a means to commission soldiers who didn't meet the requirements as officers. Another officer route--a limited wartime expedient--was the battlefield promotion. Having a private or corporal command a rifle company happened in combat. Bureaucracies would just return that corporal to private status lest he act too big for his britches--the battlefield promotion gave temporary recognition of capability. OCS was more permanent. Many battlefield promotions to lieutenant or captain were deemed unfit to be officers (usually education) but these were allowed to stay in the military until retirement as NCO's after returning from the war. Peacetime garrison duty is a different battlefield and has different qualifications. An outstanding parade ground soldier and top-notch bureaucrat will be out of his depth on a battlefield--and an outstanding combat leader and war hero may be too damned much trouble in peacetime. I had a problem in the US Army--when I was given standardized tests, I'd score high, often achieving 100%. Sometimes I'd flunk the test, but when I scored too high I'd be investigated for cheating. My means of survival was to join Mensa, the high IQ society, and get as much college credits as I could--and that did keep me out of the stockade. Why didn't I become a commissioned or warrant officer? Never did the right application procedure, and I'm not much of an athlete. That's an explanation, not an excuse. "We can't promote you because you don't qualify--you aren't a graduate. Now go back to work--we have new equipment and you're going to develop the training program that you didn't graduate from." Typical!

The book, Beyond Band of Brothers, by Major Dick Winters is worth reading, especially his "10 Commandments of Leadership" and the end of the book.

ROTC vet here. If they taught us that ROTC went back to WWI, I forgot it long ago. ROTC filled a great need after WWII by providing the Air Force (particularly) with the engineers it needed to manage high-tech programs for the TRIAD and space-based systems. Got 2 engineering degrees via ROTC.

@rbeard7580

2 жыл бұрын

I was Air Force OTS. You make a good point. We were so bedraggled & bone tired the entire time, that any lecture that began “you won’t be tested on this” went in one ear & out the other. So they may have given us the history of 90-day wonders, but I don’t it if they did.

@richdouglas2311

2 жыл бұрын

Sounds like you did an undergraduate engineering degree in ROTC, then followed it with an AFIT (or AFIT-sponsored) graduate engineering program. If so, congrats!

@cpnscarlet

2 жыл бұрын

@@richdouglas2311 You are correct sir. "Direct Ascension" to AFIT after graduation/commissioning.

My grandfather and his two brothers all attended OCS together at Ft. Harrison in 1917.

This is a very good piece. I like the way you highlight the different types of people who became combat officers through this route. It validates the importance of ROTC on university campuses across the country.

I graduated from OCS back in 1994 and it made Army Boot Camp look like a picnic. I was a NCO E-5 at the time and my Company Commander and 1st SGT assigned me to attend the Class. We started with 135 individuals at the beginning and graduated 27 at the end, the course ate up and spit out the weak as it was mostly a mental endurance. I have to say that the course provided me with some strong mental endurance that's helped with what life in the field and personal has thrown at me. Asked once if I'd do it again Heck Yeah!

My dad was a 90 day wonder. He was a mechanical engineer at General Electric. He was attached to V Corps and gathered technical information at the Dora Nordhausen concentration camp where the V 2 rocket engines were made.

Very interesting. Our Executive Officer (XO) in Vietnam was a Graduate of Cornel University's ROTC program. He helped me accomplish details that I was assigned as a brand new NCO. LT. Allen was an excellent officer. I believe his plan was to resign his commission upon returning from Vietnam and had a position with the Marriot Hotels company.

When I was in the Army (Vietnam era) during training they would nag you to volunteer for OCS because so many brown bar lieutenants were being knocked off overseas. But almost all of we 'cruits, observing this weren't buying, figuring our chances would be better skating on thin ice with a barbell.

At one point, the US Army had a training plan for NCOs also referred to by participants as producing 90-day wonders. My father was one in 1940. He then became an Army Engineer before being shipped off to the Philippines in late October 1941. Somewhere along the line, Dad drove a 2.5 (deuce and a half) up a steep road. He was caught behind a slow-moving jeep. He passed that Jeep and made it to the summit whereupon the Jeep arrived along with its passenger, a very irate General. The general immediately ordered my father to lose a stripe. When Dad mustered out after the war, he was still a Corporal in spite several awards received for action against the Japanese, during the defense of the Philippines and actions during internment.

My father joined the Army in 1938. 26th Infantry Rgmt, Plattsburg Barracks. Ft Benning, commissioned in 1942. Assigned to the 175th Regiment/29th Division Omaha Beach 1944. WIA in St Lo, and 2x before Brest.

Army OCS at the Infantry School at Ft. Benning, GA, 1968. After eight weeks of basic and eight weeks of A.I.T., it was twenty-three and a half weeks of "unpleasantness". A lot of the NCOs conducting the training would start off with "Candidates. Listen up. If you don't pay attention to the next block of instructions, you could lose your life in Vietnam." After plenty of that I decided to go to flight school and became a helicopter gun ship pilot. The odds were much better than beating the bush as grunt lieutenant.

I've been a math teacher and math supervisor in my 30+ year career. As such, I've often heard people say that they didn't like math when they were in school, but later grew to understand its value later in life. I have such a relationship with history. It's not so much that I didn't "like" it when I was in school as much as I struggled to do well academically in the various history courses that I took--including in college. However, I have to say that I greatly enjoy listening to your videos recently. I stumbled upon your history of the screw a few months ago, and now I look forward to viewing your videos on various subjects from time to time in the same way I enjoy a good book or a good television show. Thank you for helping me to appreciate history.

@brucebennett7229

2 жыл бұрын

My HS history teachers are both great men but their approach to teaching it were so different. American history was all dates, names, and locations but not enough context or connections. World history was more like story time. What happened, who was there, why did it matter? Both are interesting and useful methods of teaching but I surely enjoyed being pulled into story time.

Another absolutely AWESOME program. Thank you THG!

One of my dearest friends and mentor was an OCS graduate. His name was Ltc. Abe Lowe. He was the youngest graduate in the U.S. Air Force at the time and was a navigator/bombader serving on a B52 durring the Bay of Pigs incident. Later he was assigned to the Pentagon for the early development of the Pentagon computer systems. He died from cancer about 6yrs ago..I really miss my friend.

@richdouglas2311

2 жыл бұрын

I didn't know your friend but I miss him, too.

12 years ago I entered OCS, today I am LDCR in the US NAVY, 5 ships later I have had the honor of leading and working along side hundreds of the finest sailors, and proud Americans, I have ever met.

Greatly enjoyed this episode. Thank you as always.

‘77 Ft. Benning OCS grad here. Thanks for shining a light on the history of the Army’s OCS program.

My Mother was among the first group of WACs to graduate from Ft. Des Moines in Kansas as a 2nd. Lt.

@mystery10man

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks to your mom for her service

@richdouglas2311

2 жыл бұрын

So, your momma actually DID wear combat boots? (Insert a ton of "your momma" jokes here.) Seriously, your mother's service distinguishes her as a patriot to America. God bless her!

My late grandfather was a WWII era OCS graduate. He ended up being a 2nd Lt in the Signal Corps serving in Fiji, New Caledonia, and Guadalcanal. I believe he was mostly trained at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey.

Thanks! I graduated from Oregon National Guard OCS, another route to commissioning. It was a good school, with very good instructors. I retired 25 years later.

For those who are disparaging "90 day wonders," about half my Navy OCS class were former enlisted. Some of them even showed up in their enlisted uniforms. So not all OCS graduates are inexperienced, just some of us.

@richdouglas2311

2 жыл бұрын

About half my OTS class of more than 200 officer trainees were prior enlisted (including me). Oh, my, was the competition intense!

Well Mr HG, I joined Magellan tonight because of you… My wife who also listens (she crochets, I watch) heard the name Dick Winters and said “sign up”!

Great work, HG!! Thank You!!

We should keep in mind how many of those young brave officers gave their lives in combat. The lifespan of a new combat officer was too often very short.

Obviously officers are necessary and many many served bravely and heroically. But as my dad and a lot of vets will tell you, "Sargeants run the army". Dad was a First Sergeant (E-8) in WWII. I managed to be a Buck Sergeant (E-5) in Nam and Europe in the 1960's. As he often said to me, and as I said many a time while serving, "Don't call me sir, I work for a living" LOL

@richdouglas2311

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, sergeants run things--on a tactical level. But officers determine strategy and, thus, outcomes. Oh, and we officers "work for a living," too. I've been both.

"How many drops is this for you, Lieutenant?" "Two.... Simulated".

I would love to see a segment on the Army Air Forces Training Command during WWII and how it trained thousands of young civilians to be pilots, navigators, and bombardiers.

Very interesting (if slightly convoluted)(I had to watch it twice). Thank you History Guy.

The initial surprise of a Kansas kid being assigned to the 10th Mountain Division is only eclipsed by this particular Alabama kid being assigned to the 10th- and then deployed to the middle of the Iraqi desert.

You need to add an episode on Port Chicago. It's history that really needs to be remembered and not forgotten.

THG has the best intros on KZread!!!

Very interesting. Thank you for the lesson.

Another great video!!!

After seeing this the day that you released the video, I figured you would receive ten thousand comments from the friends, relatives, descendants, and in a few cases the GI's themselves, about the heroism and service performed by these 90 day wonders. When learning to fly in the late 1970's I became acquainted with Lt Col Earnest (Earnie) Shelton (retired), who had enlisted in the Army prior to the beginning of WWII to escape the farm in NE Missouri. Eventually he was sent to OCS at Ft. Benning, GA, and then to Europe as a newly minted Lieutenant. He learned to fly in his spare time at Ft Benning and after leaving the service as a Lt. Colonel used his GI bill to gain his commercial pilot license and flight instructor rating, which is how I came to meet him. While He never talked of his time in combat, his friends only learned of his Silver Star citation after he passed away. Here is the text of the citation. The President of the United States of America, authorized by an act of Congress July 9, 1919, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant (infantry) Earnest A. Shelton (ASN 0-414503). United States Army, for gallantry in action as a member of the 315th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division, in an action against the enemy on 14 January 1945 in France. A strong enemy attack consisting of tanks, flame throwers, and infantry forced a penetration of friendly defense lines in Rittershoffen and caused a slight withdrawal. Realizing the importance of the lost positions, Lieutenant Shelton and two other men picked their way through the rubble of the town carrying a case of hand grenades. Finding the door of the house which formed the strongpoint of the enemy penetration barred, the three men tore it from its hinges and threw grenade after grenade into the house, killing seven enemy, capturing three, and forcing ten others to withdraw. This action enabled friendly troops to reoccupy former positions and prevent the enemy from exploiting the penetration. The courage displayed by Lieutenant Shelton reflects highest credit upon himself and the armed forces of the United States. Headquarters, 79th infantry Division, General Orders No. 70 (May 7, 1945)

I live in plattsburgh! Didn't know about this before.

Today the army has the same program, but it is referred to as “green to gold“ My grandfather who served in World War II used to comment about 90 day wonders. He would say ‘after 90 days, you wonder what the hell they are’. Lol I had a best friend that served in the Georgia Army national guard. Him and I were E4/specialists. Mid 90s, he decided to go OCS and went through the course in Macon, GA. He and I went different paths. I stayed enlisted while she went officer. During my last tour to Korea in 2011/2012, he was the officer that swore me in for my final reenlistment. He was a major at that time. I am honestly proud The officer that he became, knowing his background.

History that deserves to be remembered indeed

My Dad trained at Ft. Benning, and graduated about 4 months before the start of Operation Torch. He had enlisted in 1938, and made Sargeant by the end of 1940. During the War, he served in two different divisions, the Third and the Ninth, but I no longer remember which one he was in when he shipped to North Africa for Torch, as a 2nd Lt. He next went to Palermo, Sicily, for Operation Husky, as a 1st Lt., and on June 9th, he landed in Normandy as reinforcements began pouring in when the beaches were more or less secured. Due to a heated disagreement with a company commander in Sicily - "an incompetant blowhard that would have gotten us all killed" as my Dad put it - he had a black mark in his service jacket that kept him from making Captain before the war ended. He was finally demobilized and sent home in the spring of 1946 after having been part of the Army of Occupation, stationed in Brussels, Belgium for the last few months of his service. I still have his uniform, with it's Purple Heart, Fouragerre, and 6 service ribbons on the jacket, although the two silver bars of a 1st Lt aren't the original ones. He passed in 1997, age 79.

My father was a pilot during World War Two in the Navy. I have found his training records. They had an old men draft. My grandfather registered for the draft in 1942 BUT he was born in 1893.

My dad graduated from the OCS to become a P-51 fighter pilot in the USAAC who flew combat missions over Europe and who later was re-stationed in Hokkaido, Japan, during the postwar occupation. Sadly, he died at the young age of 46 in 1970, having had risen by then through the ranks of the U.S. Air Force Reserves to become a Major.

Can you do a piece on Sudetenland or on Neville Chamberlain? It seems like history needs to be remembered this week more than ever.

I think the thing about Dick Winters that doesn't get directly mentioned is his ability to go beyond simple leadership, to understand and employ each man's individual abilities-to "read" people.

Another wonderful episode, but it did leave unanswered one question that ran through my mind throughout. What was the highest rank achieved by an OCS grad? Did any of them ever become Generals?

@TheHistoryGuyChannel

2 жыл бұрын

www.part-time-commander.com/top-10-famous-army-ocs-graduates-of-all-time/

@richdouglas2311

2 жыл бұрын

Mike Boorda became the Naval Chief of Operations, a four-star rank. He was prior enlisted and an OCS grad.

@chuckwingo11

2 жыл бұрын

@@richdouglas2311 Wow. Another example of cream rising to the top.

In 1967 I received a brown letter that said either go to jail or become a slave. That is what the draft was. 3 years later I had been shot 3 times and was discharged at the pleasure of the military. Never go willingly to die for the likes of politicians or Brandon.

My uncle was a 90 day wonder in 1942. He had a HS Diploma and spoke English well. His entire application packet consisted of 1 page with the Regimental Commander's Endorsement. Very different era.

Cool intro THG!

I Love Butter Bars. They're so cute when they try to act all military and everything.

@popuptarget7386

2 жыл бұрын

Nothing is more dangerous than a Butterbar with a map and a plan.

@stevenwiederholt7000

2 жыл бұрын

@@popuptarget7386 I was a Security Policeman in the AF (back when dinosaurs walked the earth :-) ). We get 2 brad new LT's. 1, well he had watched waaay to many war movies and thought he was John Wayne on steroids . He lasted about 6 weeks, then went away. The other kept his mouth shut listened to the Flight Chiefs, ad turned out pretty good. By pretty good I mean he stayed out of the way.

@rbeard7580

2 жыл бұрын

LOL! It didn’t help that I actually looked like the “Lt Fuzz” cartoon character. But the senior NCOs were also happy to take us under their wings, if they saw we were willing to learn. Those Lt’s that weren’t willing had a hard time of it, and for no good reason that I could see.

@stevenwiederholt7000

2 жыл бұрын

@@rbeard7580 Some people seem to thik having a college degree gives them some sort of special knowledge. I don't know why they would think that, but it has provided me with hours of entertainment. One of my personal favorites is "Our Experts Say...."

@rbeard7580

2 жыл бұрын

@@stevenwiederholt7000 I agree. The rationale I was given was that getting a degree shows the ability to stick to a goal over a long period of time. So, yes, not any kind of special knowledge. In combat, especially in WWII, battlefield promotions to 2nd Lt were common. Why look for "determination" (or whatever) when it's been proven by direct experience? When I went through OTS, about half of the candidates (not me) were former NCOs. They all did much better than us outsiders, and almost none of them we're eliminated, as opposed to quite a few of us newbies. So experience triumphed over just having a degree by a long shot. What I learned from that was pay attention to what the NCOs had to offer once I reached my unit, as they were all pretty smart cookies. The AF also had a special pay chart for former NCOs. That was to try and make up for the perceived "demotion". Plus it was very easy to recognize a "prior service" 2 Lt after graduation. They had at least a half-dozen ribbons, if not more, while the rest of us might have one or two. (Two if you were rated "Marksman" on the 38 pistol, if memory serves me right.) Anyone who saw them knew immediately this was no "Lt Fuzz" newbie, so I don't recall their new status being seen as a setback.

Thank you.

I have read a book on the 761st, I think it would be a great topic for your show.

I had an uncle who was drafted as a private just before Pearl Harbor. He ended the war as a full Colonel. Obviously he had some unusual and highly desirable skills the army needed. He was one of the first Americans the British inducted into Bletchley Park, where the Brits broke and decoded German signals. Strangely enough, in view of this video and the post about Bradley below, he served as Bradley's signals intelligence officer at the time of the allied advance through Europe and he warned Bradley that the Germans were up to something days before they started the Ardennes winter offensive (the Battle of the Bulge). He never blamed Bradley for ignoring the warnings, because although Bletchley was singing from the same hymn sheet, my uncle's warnings, which he based on local German signal traffic, were founded on the fact that there wasn't any. A week before the German offensive, their signals traffic stopped. This was so unusual that it could only mean a German offensive was in the offing but where, and in what strength, the intelligence could not say. Since it was the generally held opinion throughout the allies that the Germans could not possibly have the resources to mount any major and sustained offensive at that stage of the war there seemed to be no point to Bradley in adopting a defensive posture for his forces, which was a perfectly reasonable view to take and which, eventually, turned out to be the case anyway. An interesting aside is that it is always claimed that the Germans never knew that the British were reading their radio signals traffic.... which rather begs the question: 'Why then did they stop using their radios a week before they started the Battle of the Bulge?' They obviously weren't quite so ignorant as the allies chose to believe.

@johnkidd1226

2 жыл бұрын

It wasnt just the content, it was the volume of signals that often gave the hint as to whrre and when an offensive might be staged.

Commissioned 50 years ago at Fort Benning, OCS. I swore an oath then and still believe in it.

I am enlightened once again

My nephew went in as a buck private. Was going to helicopter pilot training but washed out for medical reasons. They said "How about we send you to OCS instead." Came out a major.

I feel like Magellan TV has been your longest sponsor ever

@TheHistoryGuyChannel

2 жыл бұрын

They are- and we appreciate them.

90 Day Wonders were also a part of the Vietnam War manning. After a year of pilot training my first assignment was in Vietnam.

Charles Whittlesey was a hell of a leader. I wish he could have overcome the horrors of war to see that he left a great legacy. I am a proud OCS graduate.

I graduated form the National Guard OSC course in Washington State in 1972. It was grueling, not from the course itself but it was a 2 week training period then 12 weekends (one a month) then a final 2 week training then graduation. The phycological stress was the issue because you never knew your class standing and could never hide from your TAC officers. There were only 25 of us and 6 of them. Spent the next 22 years in the National Guard and then the Army Reserve. Selected to serve in Team Spirit 88. Retired as a LTC.

@richdouglas2311

2 жыл бұрын

Sounds like you had a wonderful reserve career. But I would suggest that a weekend-based program is nowhere near as intense as a 90-day immersion. But ultimately it doesn't matter. You served well and honorably, and this nation thanks you for it.

My father had something "select" to say about 90 day wonders! He was part of the regular army.

My parents were in the army reserves. They met at Ft. Benning, Ga.

My father left college to join. For months he remained an enlisted man, during which time he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, an award reserved for enlisted men. Later, he went through OCS, and entered the Army Air Force where he became a navigator on B24's. After the war he finished college, got married and then was called up for Korea. After Korea he continued to serve I the Reserves, eventually flying in Vietnam. Oddly to some, among the medals he was awarded, he was most proud of was hid Good Conduct Medal.

My dad was a 90 day Wonder in the Navy. He took a break from Vanderbilt in order to serve.

I'm 70 and knew many men who served in Viet Nam. They referred to officers coming out of OTS as "Shake and Bake" officers, referring to Shake and Bake, a quick way to serve crispy chicken and pork chops.

FYI the documentary is still available for free viewing as of Mar 7 (in Canada at least). Having watched BoB many times and read the book just as many times I found the documentary very moving.

Had my late half brother always call me a ‘90 Day Wonder’ even thoughI was commissioned through ROTC in 1980 & served in Desert Storm. He was much older than I & grew up during the Vietnam days. Because of knee problems he never served but I never let it bother me. We were never that close anyway

My grand was a chief warrant officer in the Coast Guard bwfore WW2. During the war, the Navy plucked him from the Atlantic and put him in the Pacific for the duration. After the war, he returned to the Coast Guard, where he retired. When my father completed OCS, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lt in the NJ National Guard, my grandfather referred to him as "a gentleman by act of Congress".

My Dad was selected for 90 Day Wonder training. He refused. He told me that he couldn't be responsible for other guys lives. He said he didn't want to die with any kind of warped conscious about an action he chose.