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" for all.
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 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
When I decided to join the Army, I didn't tell anyone because I was afraid some would try and talk me out of it. On my way to the Recruiting Center on passing by a pool hall Abel and I frequented, I saw Abel and stopped to at least tell him where I was headed. He said, "You have gone completely out off your head, don't you see what's going on there, there's a war going on, dammit Bill what the hell are you thinking". I left him cussing and continued on.
During the first week we got to know each other as we were issued our gear and assigned lockers and beds all lined up side by side in the open. Even the toilets in the shower rooms were all side by side in the open. We learned right away that from now on there would be no privacy what so ever in everything we did. And oh yeah, even our heads were all but shaven and we all looked alike each other. I guessed that it was a condition of being a "Buddie".
On the last day of the week, I was taking a break leaning over the balcony from the second floor looking down at a bus unloading new recruits unto a newly formed Company barracks when this guy walks over to me a says, "Hi, I'm Leroy, what's your name?" I answer, "Bill" without turning my face as I recogniozed one of the new recruits, Abel, Abel my cousin and started to excitedly scream, Abel!,,, Abel! is that you?? and he looked up at me and said, "Hi Bill, thought I'd join you......keep you straight and out of trouble". I said "shit, I don't believe you, ha ha". Leroy said "Your cousin?, that's cool bro" and we both cracked-up laughing.
The second week of training saw us as friends going everywhere together and on one evening at the Beer Garden Abel gets in a fight with another disrespectful, cocky recruit and knocks him on his ass, Leroy tells me, "I want to share your cousin, he's kinda good to have around".
In our new home we all got acquainted, Leroy was the most aggressive, making sure he got everybody's name right and making the introductions. I won't go into all since there were not only the original 30 or so volunteers but about 50 or so draftees who were inter mingled with us in 1st and 2nd Platoons. I will however mention Joe for He became part of our group who joined us whenever we went out to the Beer Garden or Service Club. Joe came from Maui and was a musician who played the Banjo and any guitar while Leroy had a strong voice and crooned almost as good as Perry Como, I'm serious, he had a great voice. on the contrary, I loved Country and when Leroy found out He called me, "a square".
Each day after training we, developed a "rest and recuperation" routine that included, first a trip to the service club where we hung out with our "girl Betty Lou, she made us hamburgers and milkshakes, we shot pool, played pingpong and listened to Leroy and Joe's music talent. After that we would jug-along to the Beer Garden and drank beer until they announced closing "time", about 10 pm and we would stagger back to the barracks and immediately went to sleep because 4:30 am would come fast as our Field First Sgt. would enter our domain screaming, "Get up you sleeping beauties, it's time to play again".!!! At breakfast each morning Joe made sure He sat next to me so we could exchange, My Toast for He's Hashed Browns, it became a routine. The whole post was surrounded by Pineapple fields from the Dole Pineapple Company.
The Field First Sgt. was another story, an amazing guy, He had a room at the back of our barracks where there was a bunch of rooms designated for N.C.O.s only where our cadre (Instructors) all had their own quarters. They used the rooms to store their gear and rested from time to time. The Field First was the only N.C.O. Cadre that actually lived in his room, the rest had Family quarters on or out of the Post so they went home each evening. The Field First must not have had any Family. We never knew, He was a strict professional who kept to himself and never made any personal conversation with anyone. Each day after training around the same time every day, He would walk pass our line of beds and lockers, clean shaved and all dressed up in sharp starched uniform out the door disappearing. And each night after 10pm He would return walking in a slight stagger back the same path to his room, always without a single word. In our new Home, He was our Mother, Father and Big Brother, (using his own words) waking us up each morning, marching us to and from our exercises, meals and all training activities, He also instructed us all in dressing and military courtesies and constantly observing our behavior during all these activities. We all loved and respected him for his professionalism, knowledge and guidance yet we all was deathly afraid of him, yet feeling sorry for what we thought of, He not having a family and all. Another cadre Sgt. once told us all in formation, that, "the Field First Sgt. was the kind of guy I would want at my side in a combat situation" and we all believed him.
