At last, it is announced at Monday Morning Training formation that, starting this Saturday morning, there will be an Inspection every Saturday morning which will include; personal, weapon and barracks after which for those who pass, a weekend pass all the way to 0500 hours the next Monday morning.
OK, the Field First Sgt. tells us, this means every "Friday night G.I. party" everyone restricted on Friday night to preparing which includes scrubbing clean, the walls and floors and all personal belongings including ones self, to be ready for Saturday Morning.
I couldn't help but notice Leroy who always was ahead of everyone else in well organized foot and wall locker layouts, well starched uniforms, shined shoes, brass and clean rifle and too, was always helping
the others who lagged behind in their preparation, shining their brass and shoes all
with a smile on his face. That was Leroy was always helping someone or picking up
trash throughout our area of responsibility.
And on Saturday morning, of course, everyone passes, we'd kill anyone who didn't,
because if one failed, the whole squad would be restricted and "no pass" too.
Thanks Leroy, you are quite a guy. After every Friday night barracks clean-up,
Leroy would walk through out the whole place cleaning little spaces that was missed
or or overlooked, never complaining or critisizing any one, just picking up and
looking after the rest of us, always with a smile on his face, that was Leroy.
1949 Cadillac
Friday G.I. Party
The following week after a full three days of jungle training in the Wahiawa Mountains and returning to our barracks with all our gear wet and full of red dirt-mud thus spending the better part of the evening washing and cleaning the gear we are told to expect an "Alert Exercise" which means, when the alarm is given, we will get in full Combat dress including ammo belts, rifle and helmet and backpack with all our underwear and toilet articles.
The alarm was given and we were loaded on trucks and driven to an Airfield named "Hickam Air Base" about 20 miles down the road toward Honolulu. There we were unloaded unto a unused Air runway or "Tarmac as it is called, in Unit groups supposedly awaiting to board an Airplane assigned to fly us to an unspecified location. This was the first of what would be a routine that went on approximately four or five times throughout the rest of our Basic training course. Each time we never knew what to expect or where we would be going and in all cases we would be returned to our barracks in most cases too late to get any sleep before the four thirty AM Reveille formation as it's called.
After Basic Training more of the Alerts were called, we were dizzy from going back and forth to Hickam Field.
So here it is again a call to "Alert" and this time at the Tarmac, Abel excuses himself to go to the Latrine
and instead finds a payphone and calls his Mom's boy friend to come to the Hickam Field Main Gate and have four Aloha Shirts in the car. You guess it, we were not going to lay on the hot tarmac for five to six hours doing nothing and getting bored. So we sneaked pass the Guard at the main gate who had all his attention towards the many cars coming into the Base, stopping and checking their I.D.s. We put on the civilian shirts over our fatigue trousers and boots and took off to Hotel Street. Upon heading to our first Bar a place called, "Kauhane's" loaded with hula girls and a Hawaiian band playing music, the Security Guy at the door stops us and asks for IDs, we are not supposed to be allowed on the premises because we all were under age only Abel was 20 years old and had an ID so he shows it and tells the Guy, "this is my squad and we are on our way to Korea, we're boarding a plane tonight and I wanted to buy them all a beer before we leave, you can see from our combat boots where we're heading to, Korea, OK?, you going to stop us?" and with that the guy says, "go go and don't make any trouble".
After a couple of beers Leroy wants to go to Ratskeller's the Bar on King Street where he could sing. So we went there and the piano player was delighted to see us, he liked Leroy, but than who didn't. We ordered drinks and Leroy goes up to the piano and after a few seconds start to sing, "How much is that doggie in the window", I couldn't beleive it, he was again singing country for me, what a guy and all the time smiling, he sure was an entertainer, he just didn't belong with a bunch of soldiers he belonged with that piano.
Anyway it was all short lived, we had to go back before someone started looking for us.
As we get to the Main Gate the Guard looks us over and asks, "You guys belong to that group of soldiers on the tarmac? if you are you better take off, they're boarding". We took off throwing our shirts back to the car driver and putting on our fatigue shirts as we ran towards the group and approached our Plt. Sgt. and started to explain, he said, forget it, get your gear and go join your group pointing to a group loading on a Pan American Airplane, Yep, we just realize this was no training exercise, it's the real thing, we are really deploying, grabbing or helmets, gear and rifle we hurriedly boarded the airplane.
