"BACK TO BASICS'" and some notes on this subject

[P3D Bill C Walton <bill3dbw3d@xxxxxxxx>]

I have produced a stereo picture book "BACK TO BASICS which
covers the One Station Unit Training Program (formerly known as 
basic and advanced individual infantry training) at Fort Benning 
Georgia, "Home of the Infantry"

It shows some of the "activities" of this 13  week long program that 
converts young men to "flat bellied, hard -charging infantrymen"  It is 
almost impossible to capture the excitement and enthusiasm of this 
program in a picture book.  But I am presenting an overview that will
hopefully please young soldiers, bring back memories for the old ones
and appeal to stereographers world-wide.

There is a story connected to the production of this book which may or
may 
not interest you.  For me it was the most frightening experience I have
ever had.
After I retired from 30 years active duty in the U.S Army I worked in the
Public 
Affairs Office at Fort Benning.  Part of my duties included making photos
of 
most of the Infantry training which goes on night & day.  I always took
my 
Realist with me on all my assignments and after shooting for my Uncle Sam
I
would take a couple for myself.  Consequently, I have more soldier
stereographs
than any other subject.

About 1986 I got the idea of doing a 3-d picture book of One Station Unit
Training,
because (1) The training is so exciting & intense that it makes for
wonderful stereographs,
(2) Nothing like this had ever been done concerning Infantry training.  I
talked to my boss and he 
was quick to see the potential for some good Army publicity and told me I
could shoot 
the pictures I needed while on duty, as long as it was on a
non-interference basis and 
did not take up a bunch of time.  

It took almost another 2 years to get the stereographs I wanted as I took
them 
when I went on an assignment and sometimes it took a long time before I 
went to a certain range or training area. In November 1987 everything
came 
together. I had the "dummy"  book of 42 stereo images finished, had a
price 
quote on printing it, had several boxes of the required lorgnette viewers
and 
everything was looking good

Then in December I contracted oyster poisoning (the bacteria Vibrio
Vulnificans)
and almost died.  I was in the hospital three times, suffered a severe
bout of 
depression  and do not remember much about the next two and one half
years.
I could not work anymore, so I resigned my civil service position and
accepted a 
disability retirement in 1990.

Stereoography was at the bottom of my list of priorities during this
period as I 
was to uncoordinated to print or mount stereographs and could barely
operate
a camera.  I stayed in the SSA postal folios, using old stereographs, but
I 
had to resign my ten year old position as SSA Print Folio Secretary .

This was an expensive little episode.  Blue Cross & Blue Shield spent 
over $244,000.00 for my medical expenses and my aforementioned 
job resignation cost me $34,000 a year.  But what the heck I did survive.

In May 1991 my world "came in to focus" and everything straightened up.
Then I thought about my book.  And I discovered that during the time  I
had "been out to lunch" there had been some significant changes in 
Army uniforms & equipment, some subtle, some quite remarkable.
The most obvious change was the helmet.  The World War II era steel
helmet had been replaced with one made of Kevlar, shaped more like 
a World War II German Army helmet than anything else.

This had the effect of making  about 75% of the stereographs in my book
obsolete, at least obsolete to young solders.  So I trashed the original 
book, received permission from the Department of the Army to take 
training stereographs for my book and started from scratch.

I shot 35 rolls of 36 exposure PlusX film in two months. From these 
870 or so negatives I printed 175 Stereographs that I really liked and
then
picked 73 from that to put in my book.

It won't win a Pulitizer, but I am proud of it .  I sell it once a month
at the 
troop PX in the Infantry Training Brigade area and the young soldiers 
seem to like it.  It is also being sold through the National Infantry
Museum
at Fort Benning, the 3-D Museum in Dinkelsbuhl Germany, Reel 3-D and 
and Cygnus Graphics.

I also sell it by mail order from my home.  If you would like a copy send

a check for $11.50 ($10 for the book plus shipping) to:
Bill C Walton
3739 Meadowlark Drive 
Columbus, GA 31906

ONE LAST NOTE - TAKE MY ADVICE AND STAY AWAY FROM RAW OYSTERS.

George if this should have gone in Sell-3d I am sure you will let me
know.
Bill3dbw3d@xxxxxxxx
MUSCOGEE 3-D 


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