Show 7 lee here ariere private avate lff w bovel ty by marion hargrove sr THE STORY SO FAR private marion hargrove former feature editor of the charlotte N C news has been inducted into the army and completed the first few weeks of his training at fort bragg before getting into the army hargrove advises tees to paint the town red once in the first three weeks are the harde hardest sv so keep an open mind 11 hargrove Hare rove has had plenty ol of trouble learning the fundamentals of army life and as a result has spent a good share of his time on KP duty classified as a cook he thinks its good food experience his sergeant agree hargrove nar grove has learned a large portion of army slang and Is about to enlighten the civilian on this score CHAPTER VI when junior comes home from camp on furlough or for the week end he probably will throw out his chest pull his shoulders almost out of joint and speak a sort of jargon entirely unintelligible to you there is no cause for alarm junior is merely exaggerating to show off his familiarity with military life you will not be consoled by this knowledge when he begins speaking this unknown tongue in order to understand some of his conversation you might tear out this page and tuck it away in the drawer with your recipes and patterns goldbricking Gold bricking is an army term signifying in a word loafing in its I 1 strictest sense it means avoiding your fair share of the work thus making the load harder for the other boys when junior uses the term however it merely means hiding biding from the work in the first place or stretching an easy job out to make it last as long as possible batting the breeze is the military equivalent of bull shooting GI is short for government issue GI soap is the yellow laundry soap a GI brush is a hard bristle scrubbing brush and a GI haircut is the regulation styls style which sacrifices two thirds of juniors wavy locks to cleanliness and sanitation i the is the post exchange or canteen a operative cooperative co operate ve enterprise which sells practically everything the soldier needs the old man is the battery commander who may also be referred to among yourselves as the BC or the the skipper the top kick is a first fi sergeant the chief of the batt erys noncommissioned officers jawbone is an apt word meaning credit A jawbone cir corporal is an acting corporal who has neither the rating nor the pay of a corporal over the hill is an artistic way of referring to unauthorized absence this is another expression for AWOL food is chow or mess stew is slum or salt pork which you rarely see in the army 0 over the hill is an artistic way of referring to unauthorized absence AWOL 1 is called lamb chop they lam it against the wall to get the salt out of it and then they chop it up into the beans A yard bird is the lowest form ol of animal life in an army camp under the common law he is rated as one rank below a buck private the yard bird for this misdeed or that shortcoming spends most of his time in in menial labor about the battery area pa it was our afternoon off and we were lying around in our barracks too lazy to dress for a movie or a trip to the service club all of us were that is except private zuber with an enthusiasm and energy foreign to a cooks afternoon off zuber was applying a blinding glaze to his shoes this finished finis ged he connected an iron and began sharpening the creases in his trousers going somewhere I 1 take it asked private clarkin the jersey milkman private zuber grinned happily and nodded he donned his fresh clothing gave his necktie several i unnecessary tugs and combed his lair hair for the twelfth time private mcglauflin late of the minneapolis bar laid down his copy of the bartenders guide and sat up on his bunk you know he asked Zu dubers zubers bers girls come down from rochester going riding a fine thing crowed clarkin 1 I been for a spin since ive been here get your shoes on hargrove and straighten your name plate mcglauflin we must make a good impression on our guest 11 pa you sure are a pleasant surprise mam malm clarkin prattled on to 0 the pretty girl in the front seat fancy ben zuber even knowing anybody like you you should see the homely looking things he brings to the dances here she smiled a polite thank you at clarkin and glanced sharply at zuber 1 I never could even get him to the dances at home she said he even look at the girls at all would you dear no maam groaned the mar byred zuber who spent almost an all his evening hours writing letters to rochester just to look at ben said mcglauflin never think such a quiet seeming boy could raise so much devil it constantly amazes me private zubers dubers girl friends smile was not so spontaneous this time and there was a baleful gleam in her glance at poor benjamin what have you been doing dear she asked with terrible gentleness private mcglauflin went on glibly tell her about the time you got tight in fayetteville and tried to take the emans hat away from him benl ben the one girl audience was shocked her expression as she looked at zuber was one of anxiety and doubt clarkin began again and the terrible fight he had that time mcglauflin gave him a hearty dig in the ribs to make sure that it had registered and created sufficient horrible curiosity in the feminine mind he repeated it private zuber guiltless but helpless drooped his shoulders further a as s the terrible ride conti continued aued heres the service club dear he finally said shall we go in and have something to drink he gave the three of us a pathetically beseeching see ching glance mcglauflin took pity on the innocent zuber who was dying for a c cause ause he knew not well have to be going we have things to do and I 1 imagine you two young people want to enjoy each others company yes said zubers dubers fiancee slowly ben and I 1 have SO much to talk about private zuber shuddered and his shoulders slumped aped tragically we certainly have enjoyed the afternoon crowed clarkin lovely time pa IZ one of the first people I 1 looked up when I 1 went to charlotte on leave was ward beecher threatt who writes a column of sorts for the saturday edition of the charlotte news well hargrove began the postcard philosopher hows the army agreeing with you ive been aching to find out what youve been doing this was a subtle slam at my column well all things considered I 1 began nothing like the army said ward beecher 1 I take a million dollars for the time I 1 spent in it offer me a million anyway have you got a rating yet well I 1 began again lord did I 1 have my ups and downs got all the way up to sergeant three times and was busted three times for the good of the service he paused to light another cigarette and I 1 thought I 1 saw an opening let me tell you about the trip over I 1 said we left the we started a crap game on the train 11 said threatt and I 1 had to wire home for money before I 1 got to rock hill have you had a pa payday y yet well have one I 1 started on that ocean voyage he broke in 1 I went for fourteen days without a cigarette I 1 followed one man all around the boat waiting for him to throw away a butt instead of throwing it on the deck where I 1 could have scooped it he flung it over the rail I 1 followed another and just when I 1 thought hed be ready to throw it away I 1 asked him tor for the butt the son of a gun told me he had three different kinds of colds and he threw his cigarette over the side he have another he said we landed at brest he said and we had bad to walk up one of the longest berned hills ive ever seen before we could drop our suitcases the frenchmen swarmed around us selling everything from steamer trunks to fine toothed combs twenty of us boys pooled our pocket money to buy a pack of cigarettes for fifty cents what are you going to spend your first pay on oh I 1 suppose ill first payday I 1 had I 1 went out and bought myself a pack of cigarettes and lay awake almost all night smoking them best cigarettes I 1 ever tasted by the way hows the food at fort bragg 1 I find it very over in france we used to take our drinking water and swap it to the french for wine it was a tossup which tasted worse our water or their wine ali ah them was the days like your uniform 1 I think its very nothing like the ones we wore there we were in the hottest part of the summer with these woolen 4 N aver over in france we used to take our drinking water and swap it to the french for wine OD s russian high collars wraparound leggins and all the works how do you like my costume well confidentially this field cap aint the one they issued to me I 1 lost that one and had to help myself to this one I 1 tell you where I 1 got it I 1 used to get into more potato peel ing work for not getting this collar fixed right too looks right distinguished it I 1 looked at the modernistic clock on ward Be echers parlor table I 1 took my eyes off it quickly lest he tell me again about how he won it at the fir emens convention well ward I 1 said jumping desperately pera tely into a gap in the conversation bation ive enjoyed talking to you about my life in the army but I 1 have to get along uptown again ive got sure thing fellow said the man of letters it certainly is interesting to hear from a soldier in this army I 1 could listen to you for hours la when a sergeant tells you that its the little things in life that are important por tant hes not just saying it A sergeant who impresses that one corny slice of homely philosophy upon a rookies mind is giving him one of the most important lessons of his army life at retreat the afternoon inspection of the soldiers I 1 always check everything before I 1 fall out for the on ceover are my shoes shined Is my rifle cleaned and oiled Is my name plate pinned straight over my left shirt pocket can I 1 get by with this mornings shave do I 1 need a haircut are all my pockets buttoned when I 1 make sure that everything ery thing is as it should be I 1 sigh with satisfaction and fall out the battery assembles in a neat precise picture of mass formation the battery commander orders the top kick to prepare the battery for inspection the top kick opens the ranks and the lines straighten out to perfection from where I 1 stand everything looks perfect the battery commander begins his inspection until he gets almost to me I 1 feel almost smug to think that for once ive stood retreat and not fallen short somewhere to bask in ray my own perfection I 1 sneak a forbidden peek at my gun and uniform then to my horror I 1 see two shiny strands of stainless steel just below my belt the chain on that dad blasted dollar watch I 1 your whole day can be spoiled by doodads such as that marring the neatness and simplicity of your uniform back to the kitchens dulcye theres one good thing however about forgetting to take off your watch chain for retreat or to put on your leggins for reveille or to to straighten the shoes under your bunk after the first time you remember them I 1 TO BE CONTINUED |