Before and after

Isn't the internet a wondrous place? I did some brief skimming around after posting yesterday, and I ended up finding one of the guys right off the bat! I knew it was him because I saw a recent picture on a website, and saw the face of the young soldier I once knew, looking right back from this old guy in the pic! A reply from him confirmed what I suspected. I found another name that might have been a possibility, and he emailed right back as well. Another bingo! Hopefully, we can get a line of communication going, this person can contact this person, blah blah blah, and we might just have ourselves a reunion someday!

For starters, I was hoping anybody who's been found will be willing to submit a recent picture of themselves, so we can start some "before and after" pics, and maybe give a brief synopsis of what they've been doing over the years. I'll start:

NAME: Jim Racine
Before: 1987
After: 2003

That's the most recent picture I was able to do right now. It's from three years ago, but I look pretty much the same, except for the beard. It was just something I was trying out at the time, but I thought it would be a good contrast to the young, clean-shaven soldier in the "before" pic.

As for what I've been doing...well, I've done several things, most of which can be summed up briefly in this post from my other blog. Right now, I work as a department lead and forklift trainer in a catalog distribution warehouse. Our company is owned by Deutsche Post, which also owns DHL. We handle a ton of big clients like Victoria's Secret, L.L. Bean, Scholastic, Land's End, Staples, etc.

I'm single (in the "been-there-done-that" category where marriage is concerned), no kids, and I enjoy life the best I can. I have a great cat to keep me company, and a ton of DVD's to watch on my HDTV (with surround-sound). Life is ok.

NAME: John Mozurkewich
Before: 1987
After: 200?

"Life is good for the most part. I am a database administrator. I went to CMU after I got out of the Army and got a degree in computer science. I am currently working on getting a MBA from the same university. I am trying to get a job there, as it is in my home town, where I currently have to drive 35 minutes to work everyday.

I was hosting an event every year for a while called Michigan Clave where people from all around the country would come to fly fish for steelhead in Michigan.

I am married with three kids one from the first wife and two from the second. I got married not too long after I got home from the first gulf war, and after six years it came to an end."

The search is on...

From September-December of 1987, I attended Army Basic Training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and made great friends with a small group of diverse and exemplary individuals. We came from different walks of life and different backgrounds, yet we had so many things in common, and it's the perfect marriage of both these common and different things that allowed us to make it through the toughest experience we had chosen to partake at that point in each of our lives. We learned from each other, and I'd like to think we took a little of each other home with us, along with the life lessons we had been given in our short time together. It's sad that we've lost touch over the years, because I know these could have easily been the best friends I would ever have. But, when we parted after graduation, we slipped back into our individual lives, as opposed to the common ground we shared there in good ol' Fort "Lost In The Woods". We traded addresses, and a couple of us exchanged phone numbers, but there wasn't much communicating after Basic. It's hard to be close to people so far away...something I know from experience. All in all, once we were back in our own worlds, the common ground was lost.

So, here we are. Next year will mark 20 years since we were all together, helping the Army hold down the earth with non-stop pushups and all our marching around everywhere. I'd like to see this blog result in our getting back together for a reunion of sorts, but if not that, I'd just like to get back in touch with everyone and catch up a little on what we've been doing over the years. Hell, we've lived an entire lifetime since then!

Let's meet the guys:

NAME: Matt Perry

NICKNAME: "Bunk"

LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Ohio

NOTES: Matt is the only one not shown in the picture at the top of this page...something I've always regretted. He was running an errand for one of the drill sergeants, and since everyone was getting ready to leave after graduation, we had one chance to get as many of us as possible in the picture.

NAME: Larry Neal

NICKNAME: "Syko" (doesn't every squad have one?)

LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Texas(?)

NOTES: Swatted and killed a moth in the barracks one night, then picked it up and ate it. If we ever wondered how he got his nickname, those wonders were laid to rest that night.

NAME: Steve Osborne

NICKNAME: "Steve-O", "Oz"

LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Illinois

NOTES: Steve is the only one I've actually talked to on the phone, and within just the last few years. I knew Steve the longest, since we arrived at the base early, before everyone else.

NAME: John Mozurkewich

NICKNAME: "Zurk", "Alphabet"

LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Michigan

NOTES: Zurk made the mistake of leaving his locker open one night while he was in the shower. One of the drill sergeants came in, went over to his locker and calmly threw all Zurk's clothes and stuff all over the floor, then just as calmly left. Zurk came back and instantly knew what had happened, and just cleaned it all up.

NAME: Richard O'Shogay

NICKNAME: n/a

LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Wisconsin

NOTES: Quiet guy who seemed to get his biggest kicks out of watching us be jackasses. Liked to hold his hand in front of your mouth while you were in the middle of a nice big open-mouth yawn, with his fingers circled like he was holding...well, you get the idea.

NAME: Mark Pelfrey

NICKNAME: "Tinks"

LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Ohio

NOTES: Another one of those unassuming guys who never really started anything, but readily jumped into the fun every chance he got. At least, that's what I remember of him. Good guy.

NAME: Albert Besson

NICKNAME: "Buzzy"

LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Louisiana

NOTES: Buzzy came to us from another company in the middle of Basic, which is why I don't have a picture like I have of the others. This guy is one crazy Cajun, and I had the honor of calling him my "battle-buddy".

NAME: Jim Racine (me)

NICKNAME: n/a

LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Indiana

NOTES: I look at this picture and wonder, "Man! Was I ever really that thin?" I'm not huge or anything, but I definitely have one or two more layers.

Bonus Pictures!

I've felt kind of bad over the years about having the first three pictures in my possession. They're one-of-a-kind shots, and the other guys haven't seen them in almost 20 years. I took them, probably with the promise that I would make copies, or something like that. It's something I always intended to do, but like I said before, we went our separate ways, and communication just no longer held the same priority over the years. I happily share them now with the guys, and with the rest of the world.

Just being goofy around the barracks. Eight weirdos all decked out in their Army-green underwear.

Don't look too closely or you'll see something trying to creep out of someone's shorts.

I warned you, didn't I? But you just had to look.

When we took the last picture, someone got the idea to implement a great deal of shaving cream and let history know exactly who we were.

The "+1" guy in the front is from another squad. His name is James Jones, and since he was from Ohio, he was friends with the Ohio guys in our squad. He was always hanging out in our room, so it seemed fitting to include him.

That's Neal in the back on the left with his head partially cut off. Sorry, Syko, that's how the picture came out.

More goofing off. That's me, Osborne, Besson and Pelfrey all piled on James Jones from the other squad. Told you he hung out with us a little too often.

All this craziness kind of makes you wonder just when the hell we did any Army training! Believe me, times like these were few and far between, but when we got them, we enjoyed them.

And last, but certainly not least, our fearless leader and platoon sergeant, SFC Garrison. There were other drill sergeants around, but this guy was all ours. He was the proverbial example of "tough but fair", and even though he was in our face yelling and cursing up a storm, he made sure to get to know a little of each of us, and that we got to know just a little bit about him. All I remember is he was from Nebraska, but just knowing one thing about a man like this is pretty special. Thanks for everything, Sarge.

Well, there you have it! The men of 4th Squad, 2nd Platoon, Company B, 31st Engineer Batallion, 132nd Engineer Brigade, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, 1987. Some of them may still be in the Army, more may not. For all I know, some of them may not even be alive anymore. I certainly hope that's not the case. If you've seen any of these men, or if you are any of these men, please leave a comment below, or drop me an email and let me know what's going on!