Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-03-06
The COMPLETE BEST SELLER
No Time for Sergeants
By MAC LYMAN
copyriEht, 1854. by Mac LYMAN
CHAPTER XXI

went and crawled in the back of the plane,
and when it landed, we crawled back out,
and never had anything to say to anybody
except sometimes when Lieutenant Bridges
would call back to see if anybody else was
around and I was kind of enjoying it. And
then one day I happened to meet the co-pilot
up in Operations. which was right peculiar
thing because we was just standing there
talking together and his voice sounded famil-
lar and he said mine did too, and finally we
found out we was on the same crew together.
His name was Lieutenant Gardella and he
seemed like a real nice fellow, and when I
asked him what they done up in the front
OF the plane, he said, Nothing much. What
do yall do in the back?"
So told him about the checkers and
the cards that we played sometimes and he
said that sounded mighty good to him and
that he would come back and play with us
sometimes, and I told him I would like to
have him and that wanted him to meet
Ben besides. asked him what his job was
and he said. "Oh I do different things
Mainly, I just let the wheels up and down
and I stick to that pretty much as I don't
care to take on anything more right now"
How long you been letting them up
and DOWN."
"A pretty good while" he said. "About
six weeks now, ever since got out of cadets
Next time we fly I'm going to let the flaps
up and down too. Say, why don't you come
up front and fly with us next time? Why
don't you ask Bridges about it?"
well, that's mighty nice of you I'd sho
Like to see you let them wheels up and down."
Sure" he said. "1'll show you all about
It,"
He was a real obliging kind OF fellow
that way and you wouldn't think he was an
officer at all just to look at him-he looked
like he was only about thirteen years old
and you would probably think he was Boy
Scout instead of an officer if you seen him,
only he always had this big cigar in his mouth
and usually didn't seem real sober neither,
which of course amt like most Boy Scouts
as they usually seem right sober most of the
time.
Ask Your Own Pilot
So I went out and finally found Lieu
tenant Bridges in the BOO and he was lay
ing down on his bunk and had to stand
around while before I could tell whether
he was asleep or awake with his eyes half
open the way they always was, but finally he
set up and looked at me, and told him what
I wanted. And he said, Look here, you cant
just go around flying here and there. Why
don't you ask your own pilot?"
And I told him he was my pilot, and so
ne looked at me for a while and finally
said, oh, yeah, I thought I had seen you
around somewhere before. What did you say
your name was noW?'
So We talked for while and he said I
could ride up front with them on the next
trip. and then I asked about Ben, and he said,
Ben who?" and explained to him that Ben
was another one of his gunners, and he said
II was all right by him, that it didn't make no
adherence to him one way or the other.
But when went back and told Ben about
It, Ben said. mo, I'll stay in the back where
I'm supposed to stay. never seen officers
care as little about things as this bunch does
wish we had never got off the other crew
myself"
So told him would ride in the back
too, but he said, mo, there amt any use in
that. After ALL the pilot is in charge of the
plane ana what he says goes guess even if
ne don't seem to know what he is talking
about half the time"
But they warnt all that bad 1 didn't
THINK, and I really enjoyed watching them
work when flew up front. We took off that
day about dark and Lieutenant Bridges got
the plane off the ground real good and Lieu
tenant Gardella let the wheels up and done a
right good job of it, too, right smack In in
the sides like he had been horned doing it.
we went skimming out over the end of the
runway and then Lieutenant Gardella got out
cigar and stuck 1t in his mouth and rared
back and begun reading a magazine. while
Lieutenant Bridges flew back over the field
propped his feet up and leaned his seat back
to go to sleep. watched it all and it seemed
ike they done right good, and then I went
back to talk with Lieutenant Kendall. the
engineer. only he said he was sleepy and was
getting his parachute under his head and
sticking his feet out in the aisle trying to get
comfortable So finally went back and set
IN the radio operators seat. because he hadn't
showed up. and watched Lieutenant Cover
bn
wished Ben could have seen because he was
probably the Understanding man ever
seen In my life.
Busiest Man Aboard
He was bounding all over the back of
the plane navigating even before 1t was over
the end Of the runway, peepng down tubes
and looking out the window and writing
things down on maps that he had scattered
all over the desk then grabbing up one of
them three watches that he had scattered
around and checking his time, and writing
that down, and then taking this camera
looking thing he had and running back to
the dome and pointing it out at the stars
that was just coming out, and then running
back to write that down too He wrote so
fast and so hard that twice the lead flew off
the pencil and tipped across the plane and
nearly hit me in the eye; and another time
he snatched up map that had this weight
on 1t and that sailed across the desk and
caught me right beside the head; so I got up
and moved down ways after that as it did
seem right dangerous being close to him
working that hard but still watched him
good while and got kick out of it.
Anyhow, I wished Ben could have seen
1t the way he went at things; he was so busy
most Of the time he wouldn't even talk to me-
Most people that work hard usually like to
talk about 1t a good bit, but when I asked
him where he was navigating to, he snapped
real quick, Biloxi, Mississippi. Don't bother
me. I'm busy" and wouldn't even look at me.
After little bit. we was we'll on the way
and 1t was dark and the plane was quiet the