Crawley reflects, "I joined the Army after graduating from high school and was sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey, for Basic Training. After graduation from basic training I was sent to Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, to take a 26-week course, training to be a Fixed Station Carrier Repairman. I graduated from this course and was assigned to the Chief Signal Officer's section of the U.S. Army. This section is housed at the Pentagon. After two weeks of leave, I had to report back to Fort Dix for my duty assignment.