Evening star., 1943-04-14
INSTALLMENT xxi.

was dawdling over huge choco.
late nut sundae the other night al
the Service Club cafeteria when
Johnny Lisk walked in with some
one who was dead ringer fol
Simmons Jones of the Charlotte
News staff. Any one who is dead
ringer for Simmons Jones can't be
anybody but Simmons Jones, de-
cided, so I gave the low whistle
The two saw me and came over.
1t was Simmons, all right. He
looked as if the two things he
needed most at the moment were q
haircut and kind word of SYM
pathy. He had the look of utter
futility known only to those who
have been in the Army for less
than 10 days. Poor Simmons was
in bad shape.
"Well, boy" I asked him, "how
do you like the Army? And you
don't need to lie about it."
Il don't think I'll ever get used
to it," he said. 1--WE been pushed
and crowded and yelled at for a
week now, and it doesn't get any
better. Maybe I was just born to
be civilian"
you should have seen Johnny
and me when we got in told him
That's been only four months
ago, and here we are being conde-
scending and fatherly already
Them were the days, wernt they,
Johnny?"
Lisk sighed deeply. Simmons
don't know the trouble at ALL" he
said. when Hargrove and I had
been in three or four days, they
slapped us on KIP and almost killed
us first thing. Then, the next day,
they put the two of us to cleaning
and painting CT cans until past
supper time.
Simmons knocked on wood. well,
they must have forgotten me. I've
been in the Army a week already
and I haven't been on WP yet
You will. brother" said Johnny.
"You will"
"Hargrove," said Simmons, will
you please stop looking at my hail? ?
I can't go 10 feet without being
reminded to get haircut. AS soon
as I can find a minute, I'll. get 1t
cut"
Are you really having a hard
time of it?" I asked him.
Prepared for Hardship.
well, after that talk I got from
you before I was inducted, ]
thought I would be going through
hell for the first three weeks. The
way you talked was terrifying, to
say the least. So I prepared myself
for much rougher time than I'm
really getting.
The drilling isn't bad at all.
I suppose my dancing has helped
me there. Anyway, even surprise
myself at it.
But the getting up and dressing
in 10 minutes! I'll never be able
to do it. Everything is all right
until 1t comes to the leggins I
struggle with those things until I'm
limp, and I never do get them on
in time. Yesterday just tied them
on for reveille and sneaked back
and put them on properly later
I've tried every way possible, but
I Just can't get anywhere with
them"
How are the fellows?" asked
him. Nice bunch of boys?"
Il was surprised at them" he
said. People I've never seen be-
fore, and they all go. out of their
way to help each other. When we
were first inducted, there were a
lot Of fellows I'd seen possibly once
or twice before in my life and we
all acted as If we'd known each
other since we were babies.
Then, too. I've already run across
some of the boys I know. Johnny
here is attached to our battery for
rations and quarters. and so Is
Buster Charnley. They do as much
as they can to show me the ropes
and help me along during this
awkward period"
well, Simmons" Johnny said
dts like they told you before you
came in. The Army will certainly
make man Of you. Look at Har-
grove there. He'd never done a
good days work in his life before
he got into the Army. Now he's
the potato-peeling champion OF five
regiments"
Private Lisk," I said coldly. 'let
us not bring personalities into this" :"
Fortunately, Miss Scarborough,
senior hostess Of the Service Club,
passed by and I was able to yank
her into the company. The dis
cussion was avoided.
MulvehilPs Whirling Dervish.
Reading through the camp news
paper the other day, I noticed sto-
ries written by Pvt. T. Mulvehill,
Private. Thomas Mulvehille, Pfc.
Tom Mulvehill, Thomas Mulvehill
(pfc0, and various other authors
whose names bore startling resem-
blance to Thomas Mulvehill, Pvt. or
Pfc.
The collection of literary and
journalistic contributions to the
Fort Bragg Post were all marked
by the same flair for rhetoric, the
true gift of CAB, and a certain rich
and gorgeous sentimentality. In the
midst of factual story about a
group of college girl choristers COM
ing to Fort Bragg for a concert
the steady journalistic strain would
suddenly burst into brilliant and
majestic phrases such as "Th<
Blankth Battalion recreation hall
will burst into golden sound next
Thursday night when the angelic
voices of 80 lovely zilch College
young ladies present recital -
or "the generals little 8-Year-old