We have been learning about Marland Burckhardt, who grew up in rural Russell. He lived with his paternal grandparents while he completed school, graduating with the Russell High School class of 1959.

Marland enrolled at the University of Minnesota, but his first college experience did not take.

“I was burning the candle at three ends, working too much to pay for college and attending too many parties, which didn’t go well with studying or work. After fall quarter of ’60, I traveled to Los Angeles, where my Dad and brother were. I thought about going to school there, but didn’t have a job. My prospects weren’t good.”

He chose another direction entirely.

“I enlisted in the Army to go to Germany. If you were drafted, you were in for two years and the Army said where you went and what you did. If you were willing to enlist for three years, you had a choice of either a job or a location. I said I wanted Europe.”

Marland’s life began changing quickly in January 1961.

“I enlisted in Los Angeles and rode a train overnight, disembarking near Fort Ord (California) in the dark. It was chaotic because you had drill sergeants there to get us off the train; into buses; and into barracks. They were shouting at you; taking no guff; and you did what they told you as quickly as you could.”

Marland described his basic training barracks and daily schedule.

“It was WWII wood: two-story barracks with open bays. You were up early and had breakfast, physical training (PT), and morning formation. After formation you went to training, which could be anything from classroom to rifle training. (They trained with WWII-era, M-1 Garand rifles) The classrooms were nearby, but we had to march a couple miles to the rifle ranges.”

Marland shared the part of basic training that stayed with him.

“One important thing was the different kinds of people I met. I was a white, farm kid from Minnesota. There wasn’t a black or brown face anywhere near. When I got to basic training I was thrown in with lots of Mexican-Americans. I got to know a fellow who was from a family of migrant farm workers. There was a kid from Louisiana who was so Cajun, I never did understand his dialect. (Marland laughed) Meeting people who were different from me was an important part of my education,”

Marland was assigned to Advanced Individual Training (AIT) as a clerk/typist.

“For that particular MOS, most training was in the classroom, slogging through regulations you had to know. There was a lot of typing, which was challenging for a lot of us. You still had to pass your PT test, so we had PT formation every morning.”

The most important part of AIT was not the what, but the who.

“I got to know Montz Culkin from Winatchee, Washington, in AIT. He was a good friend until his death 20 years ago. He and I both went to Italy. He’s where I got the name for my son, Montz.”

Marland’s adventures continued after completing AIT.

“My first airplane flight was from San Francisco in a Super Constellation, a four-engine, prop airliner. We flew to Fort Dix, New Jersey before flying to Frankfurt, Germany. We spent a couple days in Frankfurt before they put us in an Alitalia, two-engine, airliner that flew us to Pisa, Italy. That was an exciting flight (Marland chuckled) because as we came in to Pisa, the pilot spiraled down to the airport. I got to Italy in the early part of July, 1961.”

Marland described his unit of assignment.

“I was going to the 8th Logistical Command at Camp Darby outside Livorno, Italy. We were only about 10 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea. We had a theater, a PX, a commissary, and an Enlisted Club. We had our own, little stretch of beach on the Med with a snack bar. It was darn good duty.”

He explained his unit’s mission.

“Camp Darby was a big, logistical depot. We were the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, the people who supported the 8th Logistical Command headquarters. Then there was an MP company that guarded the Special Weapons storage area, and a Signal company. We had an Italian workforce of over 1,000 people who could rebuild trucks, engines, and other stuff in the maintenance facilities. We also had a port, Leghorn Port of Embarkation. (Marland chuckled) We had a company of stevedores down there. After I made E-5, (a promotion) I worked at the port in charge of administration. That was interesting. Ships came in and they used J-boats to go out to the ships and unload.”

Marland began his tour of duty as a clerk-typist in the 8th Logistical Command’s S-2/S-3 office (Intelligence, Plans and Operations). Marland worked hard and was promoted. He also continued his college education.

“They had University of Maryland courses you could take at Camp Darby’s Education Center. I took Italian, Italian history, a speech course and others. The Army paid for most of it.”

Marland also corresponded with someone special back home.

“Barb Livingston was a grade behind me. Her brother, ‘Buzz,’was my best friend. We were in the same high school group and then dated after high school. We wrote letters back and forth when I was in Italy.”

Marland and Montz left Europe in April 1964, but chose another adventure as they returned to the States.

“Montz, and I had never been on a ship. So, we volunteered to come back on a troopship.”

That adventure had its highlights and low points.

©2025 William D. Palmer.