3.Catholic Schools and Military

After attending a catholic grammar school called Holy Rosary, my grandpa, Jim Eggleston attended an all men’s catholic school named Aquinas Institute. With a very strict disciplinarian it was impossible to get away with anything. Since the dress code was enforced, being caught without khaki pants, a collared shirt, a tie, or a nice pair of shoes would result in a punishment. Aquinas was a very strict school and a disciplinarian who took nothing lightly. Being an x-marine his punishments were very harsh. For something as simple as walking down the wrong side of the hallway, a student would receive a punishment. These punishments usually consisted of either a hit on the back and backside with a hose or getting smacked on the knuckles and wrists with a meter stick. Starting in grammar school Catholic schools were a very popular place for my grandpa to go. So ever since he met a camp counselor at his neighborhood playground that attended the University Of Notre Dame which is also a private catholic school he was determined to go there. After being accepted into this University he was very excited to attend but then financial problems stood in his way. With four younger sisters in his family they did not have the money to afford a college like Notre Dame. So after he denied their acceptance he decided to attend St. John Fisher College which at the time was 400 dollars a semester. While attending fisher he decided to rent an apartment with a few of his friends. His first week at fisher during orientation, the freshman had to face a challenge. The upperclassmen placed a hat at the top of a tall 20-30 foot poll and challenged the freshman to climbing it and retrieving the hat. After they greased the poll the freshman would climb while the upperclassmen tried knocking them off the poll by throwing tomatoes at him. After leaving Fisher before graduating he enlisted in the army reserve in order to avoid the draft. At this point he had to attend basic training in Fort Dix New Jersey. After Basic Training you went to Fort Gordon in Augusta Georgia. Here he went to a teletype school where he learned how to type. He had to take tests and he learned to type 92-100 words a minute. He remembers taking another soldiers test for him because the other man could only type about 25 words a minute. After about 10 weeks he went to Camp Drum in Watertown. Here my grandpa was the head of payroll; he would have to attend weekly meetings in order to keep the payroll in order. This camp is now Fort Drum, which is one of the largest military bases in the country. After serving in active duty for six months and going through physical training every day, he learned how to shoot, throw grenades, and fight. After becoming a three stripe sergeant, he left that part of the military and to become a reservist for 5 five and a half more years before leaving. During these years my grandpa was used as a transportation solider. He was in charge of transporting colonel and captains to different bases along the North Eastern Coast.