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Note: The 1930s and early 1940s were active years for the United States military. Our country was in the midst of a depression and a world war was on the way. Many men enlisted to help defend their country. Some of these men found themselves stationed at Fort Ethan Allen located in Colchester and Essex. When people picture life on the Fort they may imagine an isolated military base where fun and frivolity were out of the question. Life on Fort Ethan Allen was actually the opposite. The soldiers and families were able to enjoy many social events such as movies, concerts and dances. During the mid 1940s, the military declared the Fort inactive and within the next twenty years a new life would be brought to the Fort by civilians. Fort Ethan Allen was so much more than just a military base. It was a home for families and friends with many stories to be told.
In 1933 Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal marked a new and contributing role for Fort Ethan Allen. The Fort was made the headquarters for the Vermont Civilian Conservation Corps until 1938. Even though the Country was in the middle of a depression it did not stop the residents of the Fort from having a good time. Pearl Milisci who lived on the Fort during this period when her father was stationed there as a Noncommissioned Officer recalls sleigh rides with her friends during the brisk and snowy months of winter. When the warmer weather arrived they enjoyed horseback riding as well as many other sports. One could always try their luck at one of the slot machines in the Officer's Club while enjoying a drink with a friend. These happy days turned into months and then into years. The 1930s came to a close and as the old familiar era slipped away a new and unknown era crept in and with it came war.
Before there were Navy SEALs or Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) or Naval Combat Demolition Units (NCDU), there were Scouts and Raiders. Formed as a joint Army-Navy beach recon unit eight months after Pearl Harbor, the first S & R boat crews underwent intense training at Amphibious Training Base (ATB) Little Creek in Virginia before deploying to North Africa where they earned eight Navy Crosses. This was just the first of many war-time missions for the versatile Scouts and Raiders.
In January 1943 the Scouts and Raiders School moved to Fort Pierce, Florida. Until December of 1943 when the school became all-Navy, the instructor cadre and the trainees were both Army and Navy men. The training course included running, swimming, obstacle course, log PT, hand-to-hand combat, and classes in Signaling, Radio, Gunnery, etc. According to John "Barry" Dwyer in his comprehensive book SCOUTS AND RAIDERS, "When LT Draper Kauffman was sent to Ft. Pierce in July 1943 to form the first NCDUs, he adopted and condensed the S & R PT course in what his men called "Hell Week", which evolved into the physically and pyschologically demanding ordeal known as BUD/S, Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL Training, which must be survived by anyone wishing to become a Navy SEAL."
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