Elvis Presley - Military Service and Mother's Death Elvis Aaron Presley (Tupelo, January 8, 1935 – Memphis, August 16, 1977) was an American singer, musician, and actor. Nicknamed the "King of Rock and Roll," or simply "The King," he is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. With a series of successful television appearances and chart-topping hits, he became the leading figure in rock and roll. On March 24, 1958, Presley was drafted into the United States Army at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. His arrival was a major media event. Hundreds of people approached Presley as he stepped off the bus; photographers accompanied him to the installation. At the time of his enlistment, he was widely considered the most recognizable name in entertainment. However, before joining the Army, Presley caused national outrage with his rock and roll. Many parents, religious leaders, and teachers' groups welcomed his military enlistment. Despite being offered Special Services enlistment to entertain troops and live in priority housing, Presley was persuaded by his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, to serve as a regular soldier. This earned him the respect of many of his fellow soldiers and people in the United States who previously viewed him negatively. Between March 28 and September 17, 1958, Presley completed basic and advanced training at Fort Hood, Texas, where he was temporarily assigned to Company A, 2nd Medium Tank Battalion, 37th Armored. During the two weeks of leave between his basic and advanced training in early June, he recorded five songs in Nashville. In early August, Gladys Presley fell ill. She was an alcoholic and had begun using diet pills to try to lose weight. This, coupled with a poor diet, led to the deterioration of her liver function. Presley was granted emergency leave to visit her and arrived in Memphis on August 12. Two days later, she died of cirrhosis at age 46; her official cause of death was listed as a heart attack, but the Presleys refused to perform an autopsy to confirm this. Presley was devastated and was never the same; their relationship remained extremely close—even in adulthood, they used baby talk with each other, and Presley called her affectionate nicknames. His mother had always been the most important person in his life, and now he felt as if everything he had worked for had been for nothing. Elvis and Vernon were devastated by her death. Her funeral was held on August 15, and Presley broke down in grief several times before, during, and after his service. Presley's leave was extended by five days on August 18, and when he finally returned to Fort Hood, he left instructions that nothing in his mother's room was to be disturbed. On October 1, 1958, Presley was assigned to the 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32nd Armored, 3rd Armored Division, at Ray Barracks, West Germany, where he served as an armored intelligence specialist. On November 27, he was promoted to private first class, and on June 1, 1959, to specialist fourth class. During maneuvers, Presley was introduced to amphetamines and became "practically evangelical about their benefits," not only for energy but also for weight loss. Karate became a lifelong interest: he studied with Jürgen Seydel and later included it in his live performances. Jürgen Seydel (September 12, 1917 – August 3, 2008) was a German martial artist. Some consider him the father of karate in Germany. Fellow soldiers attested to Presley's desire to be seen as an ordinary, capable soldier, despite his fame and generosity. He donated his Army pay to charity, purchased television sets for the base, and bought an extra set of uniforms for everyone on his team. Presley was promoted to sergeant on February 11, 1960. While at Bad Nauheim, 24-year-old Presley met 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu. Bad Nauheim is a town in the federal state of Hesse and in the Wetteraukreis district of Germany. Bad Nauheim is a spa resort famous for its saltwater springs, used to treat diseases of the cardiovascular and nervous systems in "effervescent" baths (with carbon dioxide bubbles). Presley and Priscilla would marry after a seven-and-a-half-year courtship. In her autobiography, Priscilla said that Presley worried that his 24 months in the army would ruin his career. In Special Services, he would have been able to perform and remain in touch with the public, but Parker convinced him that to gain popular respect, he should serve as a regular soldier. Media reports echoed Presley's concerns about his career, but RCA producer Steve Sholes prepared carefully: armed with a substantial amount of unreleased material, he maintained a steady stream of successful releases. Between his induction and discharge, Presley had ten top 40 hits. RCA also released four albums compiling previously released material during this period, the most successful being Elvis' Golden Records (1958), which reached number three on the LP chart. Elvis Presley and other young men swearing in the US Army. Alex