To add a couple of details to my story, I did not take another promotion for the rest of my two years, still made $214.00 a month, before deductions, until my ETS in November of 1969. I had been to school before being drafted, so I knew a little about money. Most guys didn't know. During the time I was working for Sam, I tried to figure out how service men managed to do all the drinking and gambling I had heard about and seen in the movies. In our little group, it was a very occasional thing to go out on the town. The on post beer halls and outdoor beer gardens were very inexpensive. I never did experience the gambling. Car insurance was impossible for me. To register a car on post, you had to show proof of insurance, so I had to hide my car and keep moving it. Once, a tow truck driver came into our building to ask about a car in the parking lot with no registration. He had parked the tow truck behind my Volkswagen, blocking it against a barrier. Several of my friends picked up the car and moved it over the barrier. When the tow truck driver came out of the building, his truck was blocking an empty parking space. It's just what you had to do to make it on $214.00 a month, before deductions.
