Carl Virden was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1967. Anza Valley Outlook/Courtesy photo
Carl Virden grew up in Redondo Beach. When he was 19 years old, he was drafted into the Army Aug. 8, 1967.“I had just been married July 8, thinking the draft had missed me,” he said.After only one month of wedded bliss, Virden was off to boot camp. His basic training was at Fort Ord, which closed in 1994 due to base realignment and closure action.“Before I was drafted, I had been working at North American Aviation in a warehouse filling parts orders for the space program,” he said. “After basic training, where I learned that I could endure much more than I ever thought possible, I got orders to report to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for on-job training in company supply with the 132nd Armor.”Shortly after his assignment, he received a two-week Christmas leave. The plan
