Show to e H e r e hargrove y marion hargrove SE THE STORY SO FAR private marion hargrove former feature editor ol of a north carolina newspaper has been inducted into the army and Is near tho the end ot of his basic training at fort draff bragg lie ile has been classified as a cook and in addition his failure to master some of 0 the fundamentals ol of army life have resulted in considerable extra KP duty thus he is thoroughly familiar with ith the company kitchen and its workings he has also learned the finer points of gold goldbricking bricking 11 ile he Is editor ol of a section of 01 the camp paper As we pick up the story hargrove Is entertaining entertain lne the redhead at dinner she is having trouble getting the waiter to bring her a glass of 0 water and hargrove speaks CHAPTER XV A ahem licin I 1 said he stopped humming bumming a little tune with which he had engaged himself and he looked at me with kindly curiosity ahem I 1 repeated are you the waiter with the water for my daughter he turned on a tight polite little smile the water monsieur will be forthcoming I 1 have sent my friend charles for the water the japanese attack on pearl harbor this afternoon came as stunning news to the men at fort bragg the men who heard the news announcement no over the radio this afternoon at the service club were for v z I 1 I 1 1 As an enlisted man ive done more KP HP than any man in this room said the major the most part new to the army with less than a month of training behind them their first feeling of outrage gave way to the awful fear that they would be sent away green and untrained and helpless within a week the rumor mill began operation immediately new york and fort bragg will be bombed within the month the rumors said probably by that time all of us will be in hawaii or russia or persia or africa green and untrained and helpless this business of teaching a man for thirteen weeks in a replace ment center will be dispensed with now that war is upon us youre youe a i civilian one day and a rookie mem her ber of a seasoned fighting outfit the next except for a few for whom the radio held a terrible fascination the men thought first of communicating with their families their friends their sweethearts they immediately went for writing materials and for the two public telephones of the club almost all of the men of fort bragg were trying to reach their homes through the eight trunk lines which ran out of the pitifully overburdened little telephone exchange in fayetteville miss ethel walker who was acting as senior hostess for the replacement centers service club had planned an entertainment program for the evening but when she looked out at the tension in the social hall she despaired she telephoned her boss major herston M cooper the special services officer theres no use trying to put on the show tonight she said shall I 1 cancel it and may I 1 turn off the radio it its a good program keep it said the major and by all means leave the radio on just hang on ill be there in five minutes the major a former criminologist and schoolteacher in birmingham was a lean and mischievous looking infantry officer with a gift of gab and a camaraderie with the enlisted men he sauntered into the Service club noised it about that he be was going to talk and hooked up the public address microphone here it comes said an unhappy acting corporal here comes the higher brass to tell us the worst the major cleared his throat and looked over the crowd which gathered about him 1 I know that this Is your service club he said and im a staff officer barging in on you before I 1 was an officer I 1 was an enlisted man and as an enlisted man ive done more KP than any man in this room A little of the tension passed and the major lapsed into one of his conveniently absent minded rambles in fact I 1 went on KP every time they inspected my rifle keep the thing clean he paused the mam main thing that has us worrying this afternoon is the very same thing were being trained to protect its what they call the american way and they spell it with capitals 1 I have my own ideas about the american way I 1 think the american way is shown in you boys whose parents paid school taxes so that you could know what it was to cut hooky its shown in the men who pay two dollars to see a wrestling match not to watch the wrestlers wrest lers but to boo the referee its the good old go to hell heli american spirit and you cant find it anywhere but here you and I 1 both when we were called into the army brought our homes with us weve been thinking less about war than about getting back home after a while back to our girls and our wives and our civilian jobs well we know now where we stand and we dont have to worry about whether were in for a long stretch or a short vacation that should be cleared up now we know that weve got only one job now and we time to worry about the one at home youre worrying because youre not prepared soldiers youre not ready to fight yet when the time comes for you to go be ready have your fundamental training before you leave the replacement center spending your duty hours at work and your leisure hours at worry no good what the enemy wants for you 1 I guess all boys tie turned to leave the microphone but returned as if he had suddenly remembered something the regular variety show will go on tonight at eight he said ta they come and they go from the replacement center more quickly now or perhaps it merely seems that they do the training cycles have not been cut down much but the turnover of men seems greater perhaps its just that we notice the arrivals and departures more now that war has given them grimness there was a group ot of new men coming in this morning down at the railroad siding their new uniforms hung strangely upon them conspicuous and uncertain and uncomfortable new uniforms on new soldiers they were frightened and ill at ease these men A week ago they had been civilians and the prospect of the army had probably hung over some of them like a sword they had been told by well meaning friends that the army WO be so bad once they got used to it the army will make you or break you they had been told the army really as bad as its painted they had heard all of this in a diabolically suggestive way had opened conjectures to terrify the most indomitable this morning they still had time to get over their fears they still had no idea of what army life was going to be like 1 most lost of au all and first of all they wondered what sort of place is this were coming into their spirits were still at their lowest point past present or future the replacement center band led by wizened little master sergeant knowles was there to greet them with a welcome that might dispel from them the feeling that they were cattle being shipped into the fort on consignment first there were the conventional but stirring military marches the caisson song and all the rest and then there was a sly and corny rendition of the tiger rag a friendly musical wink that said take it easy brother just as their arrival marks an emotional ebb their departure is the flood tide the men who came in a few weeks ago green and terrified leave now as soldiers the corporal whom they dreaded then is now just a jerk chos bucking for sergeant although they are glad that they have been trained with other men OR on the same level here the training center which was first a vast and awful place is now just a training center all right in its way for rookies they themselves have outgrown their kindergarten the band is at the railroad siding this time to see them off with a nourish flourish they pay more attention to the band this time they know the caisson song they know their own replacement center marching song composed by one ot of their number a quiet little ex music teacher named harvey bosell they hum the tune as they go aboard they see the commanding general standing on the side lines with his aide he is no longer an ogre out of washington who might for all they know have the power of life and death over them to administer it at a whim he is the commanding general a good soldier and a good fellow and it was damned white of him to come down to see them off they board the train and they sit waiting for it to take them to their the ax permanent army post and their par part t in the war As a special favor and for old times sake the band swings slowly into the song that is the voice of their nostalgia the sidewalks of new york yankee or rebel hebel minnesotan or lavadan Na vadan they love that song with the music still playing the train pulls slowly out and sergeant knowles waves it goodby with his baton an old sergeant kept in 6 the replacement center to train the men whose fathers fought with him a generation ago stands on the side and watches them with a firm proud look give em hell bell boys he shouts behind them give em belli THE END |