Evening star., 1941-12-28


of you before you got In the Army?"
The corporal had approached and
he came up to me.
Yeah" he chorused. who the
hell took care Of you?"
They went off shaking their heads
sadly. The sergeant got some han
gars fer me to put nv blouse end
overcoat on. Then the corporal
yelled out:
Everybody get into your fatigue
c,cthes. We're going to police up
around the barracks"
The Old Army Game.
Every one started to change and
about the time they had finished
the sergeant appeared again.
Never mind" he said. Get into
your o. DIS"
So every one changed back. Since
I had left my fatigue clothes be-
hind. l was relieved. I didn't want
to invite any more comments from
the sergeant. When we had changed,
the lieutenant began to check up on
our clothing sizes to see that every
thing fit.
While we waited to see the lieu
tenant about this. the sergeant be-
gan to talk quietly to all of us. He
didn't talk tough, but there was an
air of authority and assurance about
him and he got over with little diff
flculty the idea that he was the boss.
Looks like we got some good men
in this platoon. We're going to
make it the best platoon in the
battalion"
He stopped for while and looked
around.
Anybody had any military ex-
perience?"
Il served two enlistments," said
one man.
"Where?"
Fort Myer. Nothing but funerals
Funerals in the morning and fu-
nerals at night. And parades."
The sergeant puffed on his pipe
We're going to have a good pla-
toon. You got good bunch of cor
porals. You do what they tell you
and you'll get along all right"
A Maxim Enunciated.
He paused and puffed.
I'VE don't want to have no trou-
bic with nobody"
/ I looked around, buE I didn't see
any candidates for trouble with the
sergeant. Then the sergeant talked
on, telling us that we'd better get
up when the bugle blew in the morn
ing and we'd better keep ourselves
neat. The corporal chimed in.
You guys keep your uniforms
buttoned up when you go out for in
spection on Saturdays. The colonel
said next time man showed up for
inspection with button unbut-
toned. he was going to cut the but
ton off,
And you all know what that
means" he added, looking around
ominously, when an officer cuts
your button off"
Everybody nodded solemnly, indi-
eating that, yes. indeed, we knew
what it meant. I thought Of Danny
Deever and concluded that they
hanged you when they cut buttor
off.
What's it mean, when they cut 6
button off? What's it mean?" th'
kid next to me whispered.
Il don't know" I said. Appar.
emily, neither did any one else.
I never did find out.
For an hour or so. we sat around
Everybody was very quiet and
guess they were as scared as was
Late in the afternoon, we wer'
ordered into fatigue clothes again
Just as every one-except this mis-
creant-had changed, we wer'
ordered back into uniform. I gues
you get used to that in the Army
A Trash Picker of Parts.
They told us to get out ant
police up around the barracks. !
couple of corporals followed behirc
They told us to pick up all tn
cigarette butts and string and othe
trash we found on the ground.
hunted like a hawk, since l wa
already in so much trouble with tn
non-comS, and I was picking u
trash like vacuum cleaner.
A newly promoted corporal-h
hadn't even bought his chevrons-
followed behind me. Every thre
or four steps he would call me bac
!; and point with his toe toward
. spot of ground I had gone owe
Piece of paper" he would sa.
or: Cigarette you missed
He called me back a dozen time
=, I guess. Finally the other corpor;
edged up to me, while I was huntir
. for some microscopic pieces of tras
that I had passed over, and sale
Don't bother with that. G
ahead"
!, The first call for supper soundt
: and we went back to barracks. V
r, marched to the mess hail and We,
;. eating dinner, When a fret lientcI
ant called us to attention. Ic ga
us a talk, lasting e1out Is mint,
, On what was expected Of us at 10
Belvoir.
e While He Spiels, Food Congeals.
It 1t was a good talk, but 1 ke
looking at my half-finished supp
IS and wishing he would quit. VIII,
o he concluded. found the meal W
! cold and didn't finish it. Meth
q did the rest of the boys.
e AS we filed out, I heard some
them talking.
le This doesn't look like such a b;
IS place." said one.
1T might be all right" conced
a second.
re Wait while, and we'll see"
II When I get back to the barrac c
I TIE sergeant Ta5 pac.nG u 6,
n down. I-e stop>cd and { 7---,--c,, 7~,-cc
- nc a couplc of t.-,.e-. - - 60
i mt that he had decided v1s &c.
. o - a problem child.
l. N|Ecn he wasn't looking, 7 crab,
ry Ccat and departed. I had be
,r assigned other quarters. earlier
ID The day, and decided that I wol
= get to them, but quickly.
i. There was an empty bed in t
,e barracks that night, when the 81
geant made his check at taps.
T fancy I heard him screaming ha