The Ely miner., 1943-09-23
CHAPTER X

There was one Sunday evening
when Sher started a letter to his
family and found, after a couple of
paragraphs, that there was nothing
for him to write about. Here, Jun
ior," he said. write letter for
your old daddy. Give them the old
Hargrovian schmaltz."
Since Junior was in a devilish
mood, he sat down and wrote long
and inspired letter to the Shers of
Columbus, Ohio-telling them how
their little Maurice was falling be-
hind in his class by goldbricking and
hanging out late at the Service Club,
entreating them to return him to his
true career, the Army. ! finished by
saying, "You see who's writing the
letters; you should know where to
send the cookies. Forget that bum
Maury."
Several days later-after I had
swapped in skillet for a typewriter
and had moved to Headquarters Bat
tery-I came by Battery A to see if
I had any mail from my nonwriting
friends in Charlotte. There weren't
any letters, but there was package
which looked about the size of
steamer trunk. There were enough
cookies inside to feed a small regi-
ment for three days.
The card inside read: Dear Har-
grove-We think your idea about the
cookies is superb. Give Maury one
or two; he's a good boy when he
wants to be. Why don't you come UP
to Columbus on your furlough?"
It seemed that this beautiful
friendship-with all its fragrant
memories, its happy hours and hell
raising, its beautiful cigarettes,
cookies, and Samaritan relatives
was destined to end with the clos
ing of the basic training cycle here.
I had already left Battery A for
another residential section a half
mile away. We managed to get to-
gether three or four times week
for a movie, a trip to Fayetteville,
or a pleasant evening of bull-shoot-
ing at the Service Club. But even
this was to pass.
Sher's own thirteen weeks were
drawing to a close and he was slat-
ed to be assigned to a permanent
station as cook. With sinking
hearts, we watched group after
group leave for camps in Louisiana,
Georgia, Missouri, New York and
Michigan.
And then pleasant news came over
the grapevine telegraph. Private
Maurice Sher, by reason Of skill,
application, and neatness, had been
assigned as a cook for the Center
Headquarters officers mess.
It's only latrine gossip, but if it
comes through it means that Pri-
vate Sher will be transferred to
Headquarters Battery and the team
Of Hargrove and Sher will ride
again.
The old gang, which has lived and
worked and played together for over
three months and has grown into a
close and sympathetic brotherhood,
is dissolving now. The training cy-
Gle is being finished and already the
old ties are loosing.
The student cooks whom I grew
to know and feel a fondness for
during those months are not so for
tunate as some of the other soldiers.
The Charlotte boys who were in
Quoted with me and who went
through their antitank training to-
gether will go together to Fort
Knox and will continue to be with
each other for at least a while long
er. On the other hand, these stu
dent cooks of Battery A will not go
out together. No Fort is going to be
sent a whole battery of cooks. One
cook will be needed here, another
there, and the old third platoon will
be scattered from he'll to breakfast.
An old thirty-year man, with five
or six hash marks on his sleeve,
will tell you that no matter how
long you stay in the Army, you'll