Know it’s a long shot — I love this man, he figuratively and literally picked me up off the ground- I was running, exhausted, pain in my left side, I grabbed it to stop the hurting, more laps, then my right side cramps up & I grab a hunk of my skin there so I’m running off balance with both arms down squeezing opposite sides of my gut. Then I went flying, falling face down in August on a gravel track in Missouri. I got up and tried to keep going. Sgt. Davis (permission to speak drill sergeant. Speak) says that’s enough Heldman and walks me off the track. A drill Sgt. saying that’s enough to an E nothing in basic training is unheard of. There supposed to be torturing us, pushing us past torture. And this was old school, corporal punishment, no nets under 50 foot obstacles, no safety at all 1984.

Drill Sgt. M Davis, 1984 , Fort Leonard Wood Missouri, D-1-3, First Battalion, Company D, 3rd Platoon. I had nothing and nobody at 18, out of sleeping in the street and drug rehab/reform school at 18. Hope he’s still alive. I love him for what he did. No other DI there did anything like that. He was a great man to me. thanks sarge– Heldman, ugly motherfucker from New York who you used to tease on obstacles — come on Heldman, should be no problem for you climbing all those fire escapes to break into houses in NY. I was scared shit and clueless but I just jumped for the rope or the next log treetop high, rather fall and die than disappoint Davis, played it off like he was right- smiled, said fuck it and just jumped.

Thank you Sarge.