www.elvis.com |
Elvis and the U.S. Army
On
January 19, 1953, like all young American men of the time were required
to do at age 18, Elvis Presley registered for the U.S. Selective Service
System. Under the draft system, young men of good health were expected
to be available to serve in the military for two years of active duty
and then four years in the reserves. (This system continued until after
the Vietnam War when the U.S. went to a voluntary military system.)
Elvis received his Selective Service No. 40-86-35-16. He then went on to
finish his senior year at L.C. Humes High School and, soon after
graduation, he began what would soon become his illustrious career as an
entertainer. By 1956, he was as superstar of recordings,
films and
concerts.
On January 4, 1957 Elvis reported to Kennedy Veterans Hospital in
Memphis for an army pre-induction physical. On January 8, 1957, his
twenty second birthday, the Memphis Draft Board held a press conference
and announced Elvis would be classified 1A and would probably be drafted
sometime that year. At the time the U.S. was not involved in any
conflicts or wars. With the news of Elvis's forthcoming induction, the
Navy and the Air Force offered bids for his services - the Navy offering
to create a specially trained "Elvis Presley company" and the Air Force
thinking it would be good for him to tour their recruiting centers.
Elvis turned down their offers, not wanting any special treatment. He
was going to serve like a regular G.I.
On December 20, 1957 Elvis received his draft notice. In a letter dated
December 24th he formally asked for a deferment to finish filming the
movie he had already in the works. On December 26, 1957, the Memphis
Draft Board granted Elvis a deferment until March 20, 1958 so he could
film "King Creole".
On Monday, March 24, 1958 at 6:35 AM, Elvis, accompanied by his parents
and a group of family and friends, reported to the Memphis Draft Board.
From there, he and twelve other recruits were bused to Kennedy Veterans
Memorial Hospital. There, Elvis was assigned army serial number 53 310
761. After being processed and sworn in, Elvis said his good-byes and
Private Presley was bused with the others from Memphis to Fort Chaffee,
Arkansas for further processing. There, he received his famous G.I.
haircut and coined the phrase "Hair today, gone tomorrow," in a comment
to the news media. He was assigned to the Second Armored Division's
"Hell On Wheels" unit (formerly led by General George Patton) and was
stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. Within days, Elvis's manager received
5,000 pieces of mail sent to Elvis at Fort Chaffee and mail continued to
pour in for the famous soldier.
On furlough after his basic training, Elvis came home to Memphis and
enjoyed some time with family and friends. He managed to squeeze in a
quick Nashville recording session, his last session until the spring of
1960 after his discharge from active duty.
On June 14, 1958 he returned to Fort Hood for ten weeks of advanced tank
training. His mother and father moved temporarily to Killeen, Texas near
the base. Elvis applied for and received permission to live off base
with them - off-base living being an option any G.I. had the option of
applying for.
It was during the next month that Elvis's mother Gladys became seriously
ill and had to return to Memphis for treatment. Later, Elvis went home
to Memphis on emergency leave to visit his gravely ill mother. She died
on August 14, 1958 at the age of 46.
When he returned to Texas, Elvis was assigned to the Third Armored
"Spearhead" Division, whose motto was "Victory or Death". His unit was
stationed in Friedberg, Germany. His troop train left Fort Hood for the
Brooklyn Army Terminal where, on September 22, 1958, Elvis boarded the
U.S.S. Randall and sailed for Germany. Upon arrival he was assigned to
the Ray Caserne barracks. He served in Company C, a scout platoon.
After a news conference he was declared "off limits" to the press (at
least for a while).
In Germany, Elvis served as any other soldier. However, as in Texas, he
chose to take the option of living off base. His wealth afforded him the
ability to lease housing and to bring his father and grandmother to
Germany to stay with him. Friends from back home also spent time there.
Elvis went on maneuvers and performed all the regular duties as
required. (Some say he did more than what was required to ensure that no
one get the idea that he was getting any special treatment or had a
"star" ego.) One maneuver took his unit to Grafenwohr, near the Czech
Republic border, for field training and weapons proficiency tests. While
serving in Germany, he earned medals for marksmanship and in February
1960 he received his sergeant's stripes.
Elvis completed his 18-month stint in Germany and arrived back in the
U.S. in March of 1960. At Fort Dix, New Jersey he was honorably
discharged from active duty on March 5, 1960. He received his
mustering-out check of $109.54 and Elvis Presley, Sergeant E-5 returned
to home the life and career he had left behind. His fans' wait for new
music, new movies and new performance appearances was finally over.
Just prior to his return, in an interview in Germany for Armed Forces
Radio and Television, Elvis was asked about being in the field rather
than entertaining in a service club. His response was, "... I was in a
funny position. Actually, that's the only way it could be. People were
expecting me to mess up (laughs), to goof up in one way or another. They
thought I couldn't take it and so forth, and I was determined to go to
any limits to prove otherwise, not only to the people who were
wondering, but to myself." |
