Eddie Nickels

Marine Corps Draftee: a Vietnam Era Draftee's Personal Experiences of Parris Island and Infantry Training Regiment Eddie Nickels

In March,1966, eighteen year old Eddie Nickels was struggling to support himself and his young wife in a depressed area of Appalachia when he received his draft notice from Uncle Sam. Reporting to the Induction Center,he was surprised to find himself drafted into the Marine Corps. He was sent to the extraordinarily tough Parris Island Boot Camp where he came face to face with the intense discipline and incredibly difficult physical and mental requirements of the Marine Corps training regimen. The training was so overwhelming at times that he doubted his ability to withstand the shock of transforming from a green recruit to a combat ready Marine. His frank portrayal of his personal experiences of Marine Corps training during the Vietnam War is an outstanding narrative of the difficulties of earning the title of United States Marine.