A Trip to the Past - Fort Stewart (Part 2)

(Click on any picture to see a larger version of it)

In order to enter Fort Stewart as a civilian with no military-affiliated ID, one has to go to the Visitor Center which is right beside the main gate in Hinesville, provide a photo ID, car registration and proof of insurance. A quick background check is done and temporary passes issued. We were asked how long we would be there and I said only for the afternoon. The passes they gave us were good for a week.

Upon entering the main gate, the highway runs to the left of Division Headquarters. This is how it looked 30 years ago.

 

The building has since been rebuilt and has a more modern presentation in Greek Revival.

 

Take a right at the intersection like you are heading towards the old 124th area. On the left beyond 3rd Div Headquarters is a large brick building. It sits on the spot where the smaller Welcome Center used to be. Beyond that is the SCIF. Or what used to be the SCIF. It's still a secured building with fence and concertina wire around it.

And then after that is the barracks that everyone used to be very familiar with. They looked like this.

 

But as Rolf pointed out earlier in 2016, they have changed a bit. Now they look like this.

This used to be MJ's room. Her window was behind the bush on the left. There were no bushes when we were stationed there.

 

I spoke with a soldier who had come out the barracks while we were standing in the parking lot and he told me that these were now where in-processing soldiers stayed. In other words, the former 124th MI Bn is now the Welcome Center.

I took more pictures of the battalion area.

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see from these older pictures, the structures still remain but there are significant differences.

 

 

 

The last picture is looking across to the mess halls. This is how it currently looks.

I don't know what that large brick building in the center is. I didn't check it out.

There is a new PX/Commissary building. I didn't photograph it. Here is how they looked 30 years ago.

 

Now that entire building complex is some sort of strip mall.

 

The National Guard barracks look pretty much the same as do the motor pools and the hospital. This old wooden building where we used to play basketball is still there.

The theater remains as does the Burger King that was established when we were there. It is probably what put the off post Burger King out of business.

I did find one place where the 24th Infantry Division was mentioned. That was at the Desert Storm memorial across from the new PX. Here are some pictures of it.

I didn't go to Desert Storm. I was 4-5 years into civilianhood when the war started. But because I wore the 24th Infantry Division hat, I had MJ take my picture next to the memorial.

 I considered doing a Part 3 which would have included pictures from Savannah but I didn't get many. So, I'll end this blog post with pictures I took of River Street. 

 

And because it's one of my favorite places - and it still exists....

Kevin Barry's Irish Pub.

Go back and see Hinesville: Trip to the Past: Hinesville

A Trip to the Past - Hinesville (Part 1)

33 years and two months ago, I entered Fort Stewart, Georgia, home of the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and began my permanent duty assignment at the 124th MI Bn. 

30 years and one week ago, I married MJ Nanney. We met in 1985 when she arrived to Fort Stewart from 2-1/2 years of schooling to be an Arab linguist and intelligence analyst. 2016 marked out 30th anniversary and, to celebrate, we made the journey back to where we met and started our relationship.

As you can well expect, a lot of change takes place over the course of 30 years. It was with this expectation that we flew into Savannah and drove to the Clarion Inn on Abercorn Street where I had reserved a suite for the week.

The day after we arrived in Savannah, we went to Hinesville. We had to go south on I-95 to the intersection of 84 (Oglethorpe Highway) to get there. Driving up 144 through Fort Stewart would not be possible as it is now a closed post and the only way to gain entrance is through the main gate in Hinesville.

The 24th Infantry Division was deactivated in 1996 and the post was reflagged as the 3rd Infantry Division. It became a closed post after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

We drove around Hinesville a bit, ate lunch there. Very few of the businesses that existed in the town in 1983 are there now. The Western Sizzlin' is gone as is the Golden Corral. The Shoney's down on 84 has been replaced by another hotel.  The Burger King on General Screven is Shane's Rib Shack.

This used to be the TG&Y.

And this used to be the Winn Dixie.

Where the Walmart used to be is now a PetSense. Walmart has moved out to 84 west heading toward Jesup.

And this, this right here....

.... is the building where the WhyNot used to be. We went in and I told the woman behind the counter that it was the WhyNot back in the day and she replied that she heard that all the time. What used to be the Oasis is now a Korean church. I didn't get a picture of it.

McDonald's is still where it was. Next door to it is Bojangles and I'm thinking it used to be up on General Screven, but I couldn't find anyone who could confirm that.

Still, there are some old stalwarts remaining in Hinesville. Here are couple you may recognize.

When I got out of the Army, I stayed in Hinesville for a year. MJ still had to finish out her enlistment. I lived in the Sandy Hill Trailer Park for several months. It was owned by Carl Dykes - then mayor of Hinesville. This is what it looked like then.

And this is what it looks like now.

The number of pawn shops in the area has dropped drastically. One guy in Super Pawn on General Screven told me there used to be 16-18 pawn shops in the area and now there are only about 5 or 6. This pawn shop may or may not be the one where I bought MJ's engagement ring. If it isn't, it's close to where it was.

There are some new roads in Hinesville, but I didn't drive down them. I just stayed on the roads I knew. There seemed to be a lot more traffic than when we were there thirty years ago. There are definitely more shopping plazas/strip malls around the area. It appears that Hinesville has grown quite a bit. 

Part 2 will cover going on post.

You can read about it here:  Trip to the Past: Fort Stewart

Kevin McLain

I didn't recognize the face.

Just the name.

There were too many years in between connections on this flight called life.

I had tried to find him. A passing effort to be sure. It was more from curiosity than a real need to see him.

Unfortunately, long after my search was over, I discovered I had misspelled his last name. A quick look up in the yearbook would have corrected that.

Didn't even think about it.

In searches for others, I had discovered that some people just don't have a detectable internet footprint. For whatever reason, there are those of my generation who haven't totally bought into the techno-lifestyle that seems to pervade the culture.

More power to them.

But perhaps I was unable to find his footprint because of the misspelling.

Doesn't matter.

He's dead now.

A mutual friend posted his picture and a sad statement. She remembered how to spell his name correctly. That's how I found out.

And I considered writing a nice eulogy.

But I scrapped that idea.

I didn't know how to spell his name for way too long.

Getting Real

My wife did some modeling in the distant past.

It was only for a short while, but she still has a modeling portfolio stashed in her closet somewhere.

I am reluctant to tell anyone this because I know looking at us now, it would be hard to believe.

She also used to wear a bikini at the beach.

We haven't been to a beach in over 20 years. She has taken the kids to a beach for swimming lessons, but for as long as I can remember, she and I haven't lain on the hot sand and baked in the sun wearing as little as possible with an occasional dip into the ocean to cool off.

The days of sexual tension and anticipation have faded back into the stretch of time past. At some point, it seems like this stretch will eventually snap back and catapult us into the next life - one which necessitates the use of walkers and hearing aids, Ensure and Melba toast. 

We're not there yet, so we continue to try to regain youth in the bedroom.

It's not the same.

It's not like it used to be.

The heat doesn't rise, the breath doesn't quicken outside of the strain of effort. We no lnoger feel like taut, leonine desire cased in smooth sweat as bellies slap together with urgency. 

No, we feel more like lumps of clay - not unpleasant, but not stimulating beyond all senses either.

I guess even the attempts will end one day. And it won't be because we are unwilling to give it a go. It will most likely be due to disinterest and the knowledge that we are no longer fooling anyone.

We will be elderly.

If I had one thing to tell young people these days, it would be this.

Revel, no exult, in your hormonally-driven opportunities. Do it in the context of marriage for that is where the real freedom is. Make love often. Make babies. That is your birthright, that is your legacy. There is so much more wrapped up in this than you can realize through hook-ups and one night stands. And remember this.

Champagne will hold its sparkle for only so long.

Once the bubbles are gone, it's nowhere near as enjoyable.

And you will miss it.

The Mystery of Mystery

I watched the season finale of Stranger Things on Netflix last night. This was after binge watching the majority of the show's run over the course of two days.

I had heard good things about the series so decided I'd take a peek. My interest isn't grabbed easily and not always quickly - I have shut off shows after about 10 minutes of viewing and never revisited them. But Stranger Things was sufficiently interesting to keep me going and actually desiring to see the next episode after the current was finished.

Like any learning experience, it took a while to get into the rhythm and understanding of the show. Characters have to be learned, and if they aren't strong portrayals then they aren't easy to remember. But I ended the season knowing everyone's names and what their function was in the storytelling.

The biggest strength of a good story is the mystery it constructs, building question upon question and dispensing small clues along the way. Stranger Things did this. It wasn't until the final episode that the monster was totally revealed.

It almost becomes anti-climatic to finally see the villain in any story because when flesh, mass and weight are added to the mystery, it is no longer a mystery. But, of course, any story has to eventually get to that point. It cannot remain a mystery in perpetuity.

The Stand by Stephen King was like that for me. The first half of the story was very mysterious with the pandemic outbreak, then the visions the survivors had of Mother Abigail and Randall Flagg. What were they actually being compelled to do? The first half was shrouded in questions and the doubts of the players only reinforced that. Then when they all traveled west and settled in Boulder, Colorado, the story kind of flat-lined. The final standoff with Randall Flagg was a strong point, but the select few had to leave Boulder and travel to Las Vegas to do that. And it turns out that Randall Flagg, though still imposing, had lost a bit of the mystery that made him seem like a terrible boogeyman.

Mystery is a spice.

Those who are married can remember back to the days of dating and the mystery that wove through the relationship-building process. Will she marry me? Will he agree to commit to me for life? It's all so very heady.

And a certain amount of mystery, in my opinion, is necessary for good storytelling. When the end of the story can be seen early on in the telling, then the rest of the story becomes pointless.

Stranger Things built a strong sense of enigma and wrapped it all up with a mostly satisfying finish. I say mostly because it dangled a few loose threads at the very end as a hook to a possible second season.

If it comes, I'll watch it.