If you started work in the 50s, then you are probably not a Boomer. If you started in the 60s, then unless it was the late 60s (or mid 60s if straight from high school) then you are not a Boomer. What you describe is the Silent Generation, like my dad.
Born 1946. In the 50s life was tough here as a kid, no jobs paid more than .25 Cents and hour. That is Agricultural minimum wage for adults. I graduated in 1964 and all to be had was low paying agriculture jobs. Drafted in 1966 and got away from it all. 1956-1966 were the worst years of our lives.
Of course there are some folks who did not have it easy during the go go years of the 50s and 60s. But I still maintain that for many, acheiving the basics such as home ownership and a steady income was essentially a no brainer. Even in your case, the military provided the ticket, albeit via the challenges of the Vietnam Era.
I base what I write I what I’ve seen. The people I’ve worked with who were 10 - 15 years older than me acheived certain levels of comfort very early in life. I’ve had to claw my way to get there and even then, arrived only during my 30s (versus my workplace Boomer peers arriving in their 20s). Xers who have not clawed as I have will never get there, they will retire with many years left on their mortgages, assuming they ever really retire and do not simply work until they kick the bucket.