ELVIS in ARMY

Information about Elvis as a soldier in the United States Army.

(U.S. 53310761)
Elvis was drafted into the United States Army on December 19, 1957, by the Memphis Draft Board # 86.He asked for and received a 60 day deferment to finish his work on the motion picture King Creole. Elvis, who reported for duty on March 24,1958, traveled from Memphis to Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, on a Greyhound bus with twelve other recruits.

After just four days at Fort Chaffee, Elvis and the other recruits were bused to 
Fort Hood, Texas, to begin basic training.

There had been pressure on Elvis to become part of Special Services, but Colonel Tom Parker (Elvis'manager) 
was not going to let the Army have his client perform for them for two years free of charge; so he flew to Washington, D.C., to visit with Lt. General William H. Arnold, the commander of the Fifth Army. He explained that Elvis wanted no special treatment and just wanted to be an average soldier.

At Fort Hood, Elvis was assigned to "A" Company, Second Medium Tank Battalion, Second Armored Division. He earned $78.00 per month, down from the $400,000 a month he was earning as a civilian.

On September 22, 1958, Elvis and his fellow soldiers left Brooklyn, NY aboard the USS
General Randall for a trip to Bremerhaven, west Germany. Elvis was stationed in West
Germany for the remainder of his time in the Army. During November of 1958, Elvis and other members of the 32nd Tank Battalion took part in maneuvers close to the
Czechoslovakian border. It was in the Army that one of Elvis' sergeants gave him and other soldiers Dexedrine pills to stay awake at night while on guard duty. This was Elvis' first exposure to drugs.

Elvis achieved the rank of private first class on November 27, 1958, 
and rank of specialist fourth class 
on June 1, 1959.
He was discharged on March 5, 1960, holding the rank of buck sergeant, but he wore an extra stripe on his custom-made uniform giving himself the rank of staff sergeant.