He always got a big laugh out of the Gomer Pyle USMC episode where Sgt. Carter puts a bucket on Gomer's head...he said they really did this in his boot camp. I don't think they made them sing with them on, but I suppose it was some sort of universal "shaming" for D.I.'s to do to boots. Sgt. Carter also referred to it as Gomer's "thinking bucket" at a later point for punishment, so maybe that was their use in WWII as well.
At some point during boot camp, one fellow was being especially stubborn and not showering or keeping clean and would fail inspection on a regular basis. This incurred the wrath of the D.I.; but, not just for the one person...for the entire platoon of future Marines. This would cause (as Daddy recounted previously in his interview) punishment for all of them to have close order drill on the beach with their full packs and weapons at 2AM! After getting tired of being punished for this one person's laziness and uncleanliness, a group of them held the poor guy down one night and scrubbed him raw with a wire brush. Daddy always claimed his innocence to being a part, but did say that the guilty party stayed clean the rest of the way through boot camp...
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