U.S. Army Basic Training Yearbooks (1950s–1980s) — Fort Dix, Fort Benning, Fort Jackson, Fort Campbell, Fort Knox & Fort Leonard Wood
Review & Summary — U.S. Army Basic Training Yearbooks (Index)
This index is a time machine through the Army’s training pipeline from the 1950s to the 1980s—linking directly to unit yearbooks with rosters, portraits, leadership pages, and unique training features. It’s not just memorabilia; it’s structured evidence for teaching the Cold War and Vietnam eras, tracing individual service, and documenting how the force modernized and diversified. 🧭
Why this index matters
Breadth at a glance ��️ — One page surfaces key yearbooks by decade (Fort Knox, Fort Dix, Fort Jackson, Fort Benning, Fort Campbell, Fort Leonard Wood), so users can jump straight to the company and date that matters.
Names + faces + dates �� — Every item promises rosters and portraits with a precise training window—gold for genealogists, historians, and veterans.
Era-by-era change 🔄 — You can watch the Army move from draft to volunteer force, and from Vietnam tactics to Cold War readiness.
Most interesting highlights (and why)
Fort Benning 1967 (Company A) — Features Earl Woods, Vietnam veteran and father of Tiger Woods; a rare personal link that hooks students and casual readers alike. ⭐
Fort Jackson 1969 (Company B) — The illustrated Bau Bang training hamlet shows how stateside training mirrored Vietnam realities—fantastic for lesson plans on counterinsurgency. 🗺️
Fort Dix 1960 & 1961 (Companies L & N) — Early-Cold-War rosters (incl. Berlin Crisis timeframe) with wide ethnic representation—great for discussions on service and citizenship before Vietnam escalated. 🌍
Fort Dix 1971–72 (Company E) — A transitional draft-to-volunteer snapshot, with notes on unidentified/not-pictured recruits—transparent archival practice students can analyze. 📝
Fort Knox 1977 (Company D) — Post-Vietnam, pre-Reagan era: tight rosters and dates help families nail down timelines in a quieter but important readiness period. 📆
Fort Dix 1979 (Companies B & C) — Early All-Volunteer Force with visible diversity and gender integration—ideal for civics and social-history units. 👩✈️👨✈️
Fort Benning 1982 (Company C) — Mentions Drill Corporals alongside Drill Sergeants, a structural detail historians love for tracing training doctrine. 🛠️
▓▓▓ 1950's ▓▓▓
Fort Knox 1956 Basic Training Yearbook – Company D, 15th Battalion, 5th Training Regiment
Roster, portraits, and leadership for Company D, 2nd Battalion, 1st Training Brigade—153 recruits graduating 16 Sep 1977 under CPT Barry Shelton Sprouse. A resource for veterans, families, and researchers.
▓▓▓ 1960s ▓▓▓
Fort Dix 1960 U.S. Army Basic Training Yearbook – Company L, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Training Regiment
Explore the 1960 Fort Dix Basic Training Yearbook for Company L, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Training Regiment. Includes rosters, photos, and leadership profiles of 206 recruits in the Cold War era. A valuable resource for genealogists, veterans, historians, and military archives.
Fort Dix 1961 U.S. Army Basic Training Yearbook – Company N, 4th Training Regiment
Explore the 1961 Fort Dix Basic Training Yearbook for Company N, 4th Training Regiment. Includes rosters, photos, and leadership profiles of 190 recruits graduating during the Cold War and Berlin Crisis era. An essential resource for genealogists, historians, veterans, and military archives.
Fort Jackson 1963 U.S. Army Basic Training Yearbook – Company A, 3rd Battalion, 1st Training Brigade
Explore the Fort Jackson Basic Training Yearbook for Company A, 3rd Battalion, 1st Training Brigade (1963). Featuring 242 recruits with portraits, leadership profiles, and rosters, this record highlights Cold War–era training and the Army’s growing diversity before Vietnam.
Fort Jackson 1964 U.S. Army Basic Training Yearbook – Company E, 1st Battalion, 1st Training Brigade
Explore the 1964 Fort Jackson Basic Training Yearbook for Company E, 1st Battalion, 1st Training Brigade. Featuring 185 recruits with portraits, rosters, and leadership details, this historical record highlights Cold War–era training before the Vietnam buildup.
Fort Ord Basic Training Yearbook – Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Training Brigade, 1965
Explore the 1965 Fort Ord Basic Training Yearbook for Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Training Brigade. Includes full recruit roster, photographs, leadership profiles, and record-setting training achievements. A valuable resource for veterans, historians, genealogists, and military researchers.
Fort Benning 1967 U.S. Army Basic Training Yearbook – Company A, 6th Battalion, 2nd Training Brigade
Explore the 1967 Fort Benning Basic Training Yearbook for Company A, 6th Battalion, 2nd Training Brigade. Includes rosters, photos, and leadership profiles. Features Earl Woods, Vietnam veteran and father of golf legend Tiger Woods. A valuable resource for genealogists, historians, veterans, and military archives.
This 1967 Fort Campbell yearbook captures a full eight-week cycle of U.S. Army Basic Combat Training during the height of the Vietnam buildup. Company E trained from 3 January 1967 to 24 February 1967, under a detailed leadership roster that reaches from brigade command down to cooks and the armorer.
Fort Benning 1968 U.S. Army Basic Training Yearbook – Company A, 6th Battalion, 2nd Training Brigade
Explore the 1968 Fort Benning Basic Training Yearbook for Company A, 6th Battalion, 2nd Training Brigade. Includes rosters, photos, leadership profiles, and rare autograph pages. A valuable resource for genealogists, historians, veterans, and military archives during the Vietnam War era.
Explore the 1968 Fort Campbell Basic Training Yearbook for Company C, 4th Battalion, 1st Training Brigade. Includes rosters, photos, and leadership profiles of 216 recruits who trained during the Vietnam War draft era. A valuable resource for genealogists, veterans, historians, and military archives.
Explore the 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Yearbook for Company B, featuring 192 recruits, leadership portraits, and the illustrated Bau Bang training hamlet used to prepare soldiers for Vietnam. A rare Cold War–Vietnam transitional record.
▓▓▓ 1970s ▓▓▓
Fort Dix 1971–72 U.S. Army Basic Training Yearbook – Company E, 1st Battalion, 2nd Training Brigade
Explore the 1971–72 Fort Dix Basic Training Yearbook for Company E, 1st Battalion, 2nd Training Brigade. Includes rosters, photos, and leadership profiles of 196 recruits graduating in February 1972 during the final years of the Vietnam War draft. An invaluable resource for genealogists, veterans, historians, and military archives.
Fort Knox 1977 Basic Training Yearbook — Company D, 2nd Battalion, 1st Training Brigade
Roster and Photos for Recruit Company D, 2nd Battalion, 1st Training Brigade for 1977, United States Army Basic Training, Fort Knox, Kentucky. Company Commander: CPT Barry Shelton Sprouse. 155 Recruits Graduated on 16 September 1977.
Fort Dix 1979 U.S. Army Basic Training Yearbook – Company B, 1st Battalion, 3rd Training Brigade
Explore the 1979 Fort Dix Basic Training Yearbook for Company B, 1st Battalion, 3rd Training Brigade. Features rosters, photos, and leadership profiles of 227 recruits during the early All-Volunteer Force era. A valuable resource for genealogists, veterans, historians, and military archives.
Fort Dix 1979 U.S. Army Basic Training Yearbook – Company C, 1st Battalion, 3rd Training Brigade
Explore the 1979 Fort Dix Basic Training Yearbook for Company C, 1st Battalion, 3rd Training Brigade. Includes rosters, portraits, and leadership profiles of 238 recruits during the early All-Volunteer Force era, reflecting the Army’s growing diversity and gender integration.
▓▓▓ 1980s ▓▓▓
Roster and Photos for Recruit Company C, 7th Battalion, 1st Infantry for 1982, United States Army Basic Training, Fort Benning, Georgia. Company Commander: CPT Dennis J. O'Driscoll. 158 Recruits Graduated on 15 July 1982.
Fort Leonard Wood 1986 Basic Training Yearbook — Company B, 3rd Battalion, 4th Training Brigade
Company B, 3rd Battalion, 4th Training Brigade—107 recruits graduating 11 Jul 1986 led by CPT Cynthia Staley; drill cadre includes SFC R. Flowers. Full roster, portraits, and leadership from the Cold War era.
Special Features
Companies B & C, 1st Battalion, 3rd Training Brigade
Graduation Date: 8 August 1979
Explore the Fort Dix 1979 Basic Training Yearbooks for Companies B & C, 1st Battalion, 3rd Training Brigade. Featuring rosters, portraits, and leadership profiles of nearly 500 recruits, these records highlight the U.S. Army’s diversity and gender integration during the all-volunteer force era.
Who will benefit (and how)
Teachers & students ✏️ — Primary sources for the Cold War/Vietnam timeline, rank structure, and social history. Assign photo-analysis or chain-of-command mapping.
Genealogists & families �� — Confirm service with names, faces, and dates; connect to hometown newspapers or obituaries for life stories after training.
Historians & military archives ��️ — Comparable company-level snapshots across decades to study doctrine, demographics, and cadre roles.
Veterans 🎖️ — A bridge back to the training cycle—unit pride, cadre, classmates—useful for reunions and personal narratives.
Quick research tips 🔎
Cross-reference roster names with unit histories, local newspapers, and valor databases for deployments, awards, and later careers.
Use graduation dates to anchor searches in the National Archives or state repositories.
Leverage leadership pages to trace NCO development and changes in training roles over time.
