Now it can be told (continued)

But this did not deter me in the least. Having been a middle child, I was used to forging my own path, and had never been one to shrink from a challenge. I hesitated not for a moment and the recruiting officer moved with the speed of light in signing me up.
Did I not consider the gravity of my decision? Did I realize that with this one step I was changing the whole course of my life? I gave it not a thought. I stood out there on the sidewalk for a minute, reveling in the excitement of the moment, and thinking that the recruiting office was small and cluttered. There was only one soldier in view, and I walked in with no trepidation whatever. When he asked me if I wanted to enlist, I replied, “Yes, sure. Why not?” I wasn’t frightened in the least, and thought the whole idea was a lark. I was young and adventurous and eager for a change in my life.
He asked a few questions, I remember, and then a door in the back of the room opened and another soldier came in, this time clearly a doctor. “Oh, no!” I thought. “I’m not ready for an examination.” I almost turned and walked out, not relishing the idea of donning a white cover. Weighing only 101 pounds I just barely passed.
“What?” You might well ask. “You weighed 101 pounds? Look at you now. Do you expect us to believe you were underweight when you were 21? “ Yes,” I reply. “I was a depression kid. I grew two inches and gained ten pounds in the army. Everyone gained weight in the army. We were eating at last.”
It was hard to keep my enlistment secret, but I carefully set the stage for my big announcement. I had two weeks before I was scheduled to ship out to boot camp, so I waited until my cousins and our friends were all together at the bowling alley, and then I hit them with the big news. “I’ve enlisted in the army,” I announced casually. My news was received with skepticism and indifference. “You’ll never do it,” proclaimed my cousin Ruth. “You don’t have the nerve.” My cousin Joyce looked at me with disbelief, but made no comment. The other two members of the team were busy adding up the scores and paid no attention whatsoever. So much for my big surprise.