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When you are in the military, you don't ask questions. But, when you are working with concrete in hot weather, you had better know the answers. Back in June 1966, my buddy Sammy and I were assigned to pour some concrete near the Danang Air Base to provide a base slab on grade for a military field hospital. Sammy and I were 23-year-old Seabees attached to Mobile Construction Battalion 5 (MCB-5) and were from the same neighborhood in southern Westchester, N.Y. We were both 2nd class petty officers. Sammy had never poured "mud" before, but from doing summer work with my Uncle Joe back home, I did have some experience in placing flatwork. So when we were told by our commanding officer to pour a slab in hot, windy conditions, I was a little skeptical since it was about 115° F—in the shade! We were using a mix with local stone and sand—some of the fines were from the beach. Since I was the only guy with any concrete knowledge, I was the lead man. I had to train our crew as we poured: the epitome of on-the-job-training, courtesy of the U.S. Navy.
