Training and thoughts of the future

After a slow road trip of more than 2,000 miles, men and equipment of the future 440th Signal Battalion reached Geiger Field, near Spokane, Washington. It was late January and the country had been at war less than two months.
Young men were joining the services at such rates that the lines formed at recruiting stations would sometimes stretch around the block!. Draftees, young recruits and men from National Guard and Reserve units from all over the United States were pouring into training camps and centers by the tens of thousands every week. The 'Texas Group', as they sometimes called themselves, set up training schedules from the moment they arrived in Washington. The group soon began to grow and within a matter of days raw recruits were filling the barracks.
Basic Training normally required 8 to 10 weeks of learning what it meant to be a soldier in the Army. The training was tough and a few did not make it. For the men who did survive the seemingly endless hours of marching, close-order drill, KP, rifle range, overnight training exercises and a hundred other skills to learn, eighteen hour days came to an end when 'Boot Camp' was finished at last and the men were sent to schools for specialized training.
Most of the men who took basic training at Geiger Field, would remain there and take additional training is some specialty within the Signal Corps. After completing another 8 to 10 weeks of training, they were ready to be placed in a battalion that would - for the most part - become their 'home' for the duration of the war. So urgent was the need in the field for men with signal skills, many were unable to return home to family for even a short leave.
There was little time for much of anything after graduation from a specialty school: men were issued orders to report to various units around the nation. For the 440th, it's total of officers and men were still not up to full battalion strength and it became necessary to fill many holes in the unit. A half-dozen officers were rushed in from the Signal Training Center, Fort Monmouth, NJ, and a large number of enlisted men were found from around the country.
Now, all the efforts of the battalion was focused on one goal: all was made ready to proceed to a west coast port for the long voyage to the Pacific war. There was, however, always time for thoughts and reflection on the future. Most of the men in the 440th were young. And with youth, comes immortality. Most of their thoughts were of home and the family, the fathers and mothers and sweethearts they had waved to from a bus or train window. Few of them had any thoughts of what could happen.
On June 15, 1942, the 440th Signal battalion boarded a long troop train and began a two day trip to San Francisco and a date with a ship.