Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-03-14
By MAC HYMAN
Copyright. 1854, BY Mac lyman
CHAPTER XVIII

until we figure something out. I'm telling
you. Tom. If the General gets up there and
gives them medals -
''Well, come on" the Captain said Lets
get something done about it. :"
Then he went out and the Lieutenant
started to shut the door, but then he looked
back at us and yelled out again, IF you move
from there I'll have you shot" and slammed
the door, and Ben turned white as a ghost
again.
Look" said Things will be all right
once they calm down bit. Maybe We'll get
to see the General and I'll talk to him
and ;. :"
IT wish had never got off that plane"
Ben said. 81 wish I'd stayed on it even if it
killed me-" He sat there with his face in his
hands. then set up blinking his eyes while
outside in the other Office they kept going
at each other. running around and angling
doors, with Ben jumping every time one
banged. and it got right tiresome after
while. We set there and listened, and then
I rolled a cigarette and smoked it, and then
there was some more talking, and after
little bit heered the front door slam again
and the Lieutenant say, What did the Gen.
eral do?"
And then heered Sergeant Kings voice
say: "Sir, reported to the General and in
formed him as to the situation and advised
him that under the very unusual crcum-
stances that he desist in presenting post
humously the medals to the supposed de-
ceased as it had been found out that COM
pletely contrary to all intelligence reports to
the contrary, that :. ~
by God!" the Lieutenant said. Answer
my question! Has he already presented the
medals or not?"
"Yessir," Sergeant King said. "He had
already done it,"
Lord" the Captain said "Lordy Lord
What did he say them"
"He said he would be right down. sir.
He said for you to hold the men and not let
anybody else know about it. :"
What else?"
HE went on to say, sir, that if the news
did leak out and he had presented medals to
two airmen for bravery beyond the call of
duty when those two airmen were sitting
right up here fat and healthy in this Orderly
Room, he would court-martial every man he
could get his hands on in this squadron. :"
And he amt kidding" the Lieutenant
said. HE would eat us alive. Did he add
anything further. Sergeant?"
HE said so help him, God! sir"
"And may the same be applied to you.
Sergeant" the Lieutenant said eff you have
an excuse, I would advise you to start work.
ing it out fully right now" @
And they fused and fumed some more
like that in the next room, so finally took
a seat in the Captains chair and smoked an
other cigarette; and then in a little bit 1
heered this car outside and got up and went
to the window in time to see the General
come busting out of the back seat, heading
for the Orderly Room. Then heered the
door slam again and heered him stomping in
saying, What do you mean, they aren't
dead!"
Sir" the Captain said. There's been
slight mix-up and. -. :"
Slight Mix-Up?
"A slight mix-up." the General beloved.
"You mean I'm in position where two pri-.
Yates have got me over such barrel that
all they got to do is open their mouths to
somebody or just show themselves in public
and I'm made the biggest joke in the Air
Force and you call it a slight mix-up Where
are they anyhow? 1t would be right interest
ing Just to look at two people who practically
hold my career in their hands and make me
look like the biggest fool that ever graduated
from the Point-where are they anyhow"
They're in the next office sir" the Cap
tain said. 1--WE kept them hid back there"
And then the door opened and the
General stood there and looked at us
minute. and then the door slammed again.
and then they started going through the
same stuff again with Sergeant King talking
and the Captain talking and the Lieutenant
talking, until they finally quoted down bit,
and the General said. Sergeant, see if you
can get General Pollard on the phone for me.
I've done him many favor and maybe this
time he'll help me out. because God knows,
this is one time I'm going to need it. If we
can just handle this thing night, we might
be able to work out of it somehow . at
least, we better and I'm telling you all that.
Get General Pollard on the phone and I'll
talk to him. and then if these boys are willing,
think I might handle it . Step on it,"
he said, We've got to move fast"
So they talked while longer and then
the General went to the phone up in the
other side of the building where we couldn't
hear him and talked up there, and after bit
they quoted down some. So then we didn't
hear nothing but mumbling for while, and
then all OF a sudden the door started opening
real easy and soft which made Ben jump
even more than when they was sammng as
I guess he had got kind of used to the noise
by then; and the General come in with some
overcoats over his arm, the others following
behind, and he seemed just as pleasant as
you could ask. He come in smiling and saying,
We'll, boys. it looks like we had a little mix
up, doesn't ito" and then he chuckled little
bit, and said it again. and chuckled some
more; and then he said "Yessir, we sure did,
but l guess we can straighten things out,
cant we? You can straighten most things out
If everybody co-operates-that's all we need
really, just little bit of cooperation, isn't it."
Cooperation, Or Else
Then Ben snapped out, "Yessir," and the
General said, well. I'm mighty glad to hear
you feel that way about it because if you
didn't, there could be all kinds of trouble
You boys could even get court-martialed and
sent off to prison, and neither one of you
would like that, would you? No sir, so that's
MAR IN
out I'm going to cooperate with you and
you're going to cooperate with me-"
"Sho,' said. "And I'm mighty glad you
feel that way about it because everybody has
been arguing and taking on so much you
couldn't make much sense out of them :"
We'll, Of course they were all right sur
prised and happy too having you boys back,
and they Just didn't think how you boys
might feel about it. you know"
..XasSir said t.rIhatIc iIIct rlaat