Friday, June 21, 2013

I camped out overnight in downtown Santa Barbara.

My Army unit was moving in a truck convoy from San Bernardino to San Luis Obispo.


This should be an easy one day drive. However the Army decided to stay overnight in Santa Barbara on the way. An excellent spot for some R&R and opportunity for public relations.


Look at all the bars and restaurants downtown. Nice hotels for the officers. We lined up our pup tents in a pretty park on Highway 101. After our K ration supper we could roam downtown.

Whoops! I pulled MP duty. I put on a MP arm patch, I strapped on a gun belt with a 45 caliber pistol and walked up and down Main Street and watched my comrades get drunk. I will have to admit that I thought I was pretty cool. I was 18.

Marines from a local installation and our guys had several fights. Top brass was writing letters of recrimination for several months.

After the war I would drive by the park and think back about my tour of duty as the Matt Dillon of Santa Barbara.



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