There Comes a Street Car

Feb 18, 2019, 8:32 PM

I think I have posted this before so it it's old stuff, you may want to go read the comics.

Most of my first two years in the Army during WW2 were spent going to school. I went to several on-base schools but most of my time off base was in Athens, GA and Pittsburgh, PA. In Pittsburgh, I was in the ASTP (Army Specialized Training Program) attending Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie/Mellon). The ASTP was to speed up a four year degree to 18 months, There were several areas of interest but those of us at Carnegie Tech were all engineers. When we arrived at Carnegie Tech those of us who were NCOs were demoted to Private.

The program was abandoned after several months because it was draining men from some of the military units in need of specific training. We knew we were being rushed in our schooling because in reports before a Congressional Committee, it was reported by a West Point officer our courses and time constraints were more stringent than those at the US Military Academy.

We went to class all day, Monday through Friday, and mandatory study hall every night. Saturday morning was Military Training. After that, we were eligible for a pass if we had enough energy left to leave our dorm.

One Saturday, three other GIs and I decided to attend a dance at McKeesport, a Pittsburgh suburb. We had heard there would be a lot of beautiful young ladies attending the dance. We boarded the street car, which was free to all Military personnel, and off we went. The rumors were true, there were a lot of beautiful young ladies there and we had a grand time.

Finally, it was time for us to make the return trip to the campus. At that hour the street car schedule was anything but frequent, but luck was with us. A gentleman stopped and asked where we were going. We told him "Carnegie Tech". He said, "jump in, I'll take you there". We jumped in and off we went. It soon became obvious he had enjoyed a few drinks at his favorite bar. Traffic was very light at that wee hour so we felt relative safe with his driving.

The street car line was in the middle of the street for a long distance before the street veered toward the left. Our driver did not veer with the street but continued down the street car line. The rough ride was not the worst part at this time. Coming at directly at us was a street car. The four of us were ready to jump out of the car but our good Samaritan stopped the car, threw the gear in reverse and made a hasty retreat back to the street were it veered to the left.

It was a nail-biter for awhile but we finally arrived back at the campus in one piece, but a bit shaky. We had a big laugh when we got back to our dorm and shared our story with the other guys.

(Our dorm did not have individual rooms. All of us were in one huge room in Thistle Hall)

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There Comes a Street Car

Re: There Comes a Street Car

Yeah - I often think.... I coulda been ....

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