I was sent to Fort Dix for a physical examination and there was a Lieutenant and a Sergeant who saw my finger. The Lieutenant said to the Sergeant, "This man wouldn't be able to shoot a rifle with that finger." But the Sergeant contradicted him by saying, "Would you stand in front of him while he has the rifle in his hand?" The Lieutenant's answer to me was, "Mr. Muxo, you’re in!!" I would have been happier if the Lieutenant had won.

While we were in Fort Dix we did a lot of military training and helped out in the kitchen. I went home on leave and visited my wife and the rest of my family. We had to be sure to be back on time. Then we were sent to Camp Benning, Georgia. My wife came to visit me. On her stay, we went to town which I forgot the name. We did some shopping and returned within a week. After that she went back to New York. I didn’t see her for six months.

In 1944 we were getting ready to move. They started by laying all the clothing on the field in front of all the troops where we were standing. Looking at the clothes, we could tell where we were going. We had to guess since we weren’t told at first. Later we found out we were going to Europe because of the heavy winter underwear we were given. When it was time to leave, we all got on the busses to the train, and then we got to the docks in New York. We never knew where we were since the entire docks was closed to the public hidden with plywood. It was understood that there was a war going on. I remember traveling by ferry when we saw the Statue of Liberty. For me it was nothing new, but there were boys who lived in other states who were so happy when they saw it.