The drills got to talking, then got to telling stories, then got to telling ghost stories about the base. My drill (Pereda, a male), told the story of the first female drill sergeant on Fort Leonard Wood. Can’t remember when it was (70s, 80s), but it was decades ago. Apparently she faced a lot of pressure and harassment, as you can imagine. It was unrelenting and harsh, and apparently she couldn’t take it. She’d hung herself from some exposed water pipes, using her belt. A few years later, they’d plastered over the exposed pipes.
So they could mount speakers there.”
14. CHASED BY A BEAR
“I used to work as a security guard at a shipping depot where semi trucks came in and out all times of the day. Due to bad management and favoritism I got moved to the night shift that is 9 PM to 6 AM. The depot is out in the middle of nowhere with a large woods near it where deer and other animals were often spotted.
One night I was doing my patrol around the building it takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes with proper door checking on foot. Normally We take the squad car to do our patrols but I refuse as it’s disgusting as hell thanks to the fat slobs who worked there always eating in it and whatever else they did to make it smell like shit.
Well I about 40 minutes into my patrol on foot, it was around 1 AM at night and for some reason the lights on the part of the depot I was patrolling were not working. I’m walking by semi truck trailers that are backed into the building doors for loading in the morning when I hear some weird noises. I assume its just a trucker who has wondered from the parking area to do some exploring or to try and steal some stuff.
I shine with my phone light to see who is out there only to see a large black bear eating what I think is a rabbit or something. The bear immediately stops what its doing and starts walking toward me. At this point I don’t know what to do; I am an unarmed guard and it is nothing but open ground and a completely locked building that I have no keys to. So I frantically start to run, I bolt to the closest door on the building which is up a small set of metal stairs which is at the same level the truck unloading bays are at. I climb up on the arm railing to gain some height and try to reach for the top of a semi trailer to get on top but it is to far by about two feet. Meanwhile the bear has started to make noises and is running toward me. I frantically jump in attempt to get on top of the trailer and grab one of the open trailer doors. The bear at this point is where I was 10 seconds ago and reaching its paws out at me. I manage to pull myself up on top of the trailer out of reach of the bear.
I searched my pockets for my phone to call for help only to realize it was on the ground under the stairs I jumped from light still shining. The bear attempted to climb the trailer in multiple spots as I sat in the darkness fearing for my life. There was no point of screaming for help as the closest human being was well over 20 minuets of walking to get to me.
I was stuck up there for at least 1 hour before the bear decided I was not worth its time and head back into the woods. Too afraid to come down and head back to the guard shack in case the bear was still around I Waited on top of the trailer until the other guard came down in the squad car 2 hours later trying to figure out where I went. I shortly quit that job 2 months later due to many other problems but that encounter really pushed me to quit.”
