Demolition Training

I joined the Engineer Corp after that and I thought I could jump around from this corp to the next, but apparently the engineers were a senior, senior corp so I was stuck in that, Combat Engineer Corp, so well, that was alright. So we had to clear this place at Vedder’s Crossing. There was nothing but bush and tremendous big stumps and things like that. So well we, we went in there and everybody had an axe. There was trees falling, not big ones but, every direction and people getting hit in the head. This one kid he, apparently, I don’t know, he got a little tree over his head and he died right there. He apparently had what they call an eggshell skull or something. And well, then after we got this thing all cleared, and we had these humongous big stumps. So after we’d done a lot of training with demolitions and stuff they give us each a stump to blow up. So I asked, “How much dynamite can I use? ” cause I knew all about dynamite. My grandfather, he used a lot of it, so he... I said “How much dynamite can I use? ” He says “That’s up to you.” “Okay.” So I was watching these other kids. They were taking a handful and putting it under these big stumps. I knew that wouldn’t do nothing. So I took four cases and I planted it all around. Okay, everybody got back in their trench and everybody set off their charges and you could hear a big bang and a little bit of bark fly off. There came my turn, I told them, “Well, you better get your heads down, it’s gonna be a big bang!” Okay, everybody ducked in and boy when that went off it busted windows in some houses across the street. Oh, really, just a big hole, no stump, nothing left. “Okay, you qualify. You’re finished.” Okay, that’s good.