Midnight had come and gone by the time I'd signed in. Three days late. Been there before back at Oakland Army Base and it'd worked out. Why not now? But I sure as hell doubted the coming morning was gonna be my friend.
'Course it wasn't. Made it to and through the mornin' formation in the hope no one would much care that I'd been gone a tad too long. My brain tends to work along that line. Like in the scheme of things I don't much matter and that it was no skin off the Army's ass I'd showed up a half week late. I was there, what more could they want?
That feelin' lasted just long enough for my platoon sergeant to let me know the Company Commander wanted to talk with me about something. Maybe let me know how proud he was to have a Vietnam vet in his company.
There's this scene in From Here to Eternity when Captain Holmes has his opening chat with Private (ex-sergeant) Prewitt. I learned a lot from Prewitt. Mostly in a negative sense. Learned that opening your mouth to explain yourself to The Man will definitely get your ass in a sling. The Man doesn't care about you in the least unless that carin' will move his career along. Havin' me on his morning report for three days was no doubt a problem for the man. Reflected on his ability to lead, inspire espirit d'corps and all that happy shit. Just how he was gonna deal with me I was quick to learn.
Our Company Commander was a Captain. Step up from the last time I was AWOL. Then it was only a Lieutenant who gave me the bad news.
I knocked, walked in, snapped to attention, fired a salute and said it be me who was there. Right off the Man said I wasn't alone in causing him misery. Most every 9th Division troop who'd gone on leave had come back late. And because of that he had a serious case of the royal ass. The others he'd let slide but I was the straw. And it was my honor to be made an example of. Said it'd make his day if I could've been tarred and feathered or at least court martialed. Three days late and the court would for sure give me 30 days in the stockade. But that'd look bad on his record and shine a light on all the AWOLs. What kinda leader of men would that make him look like?
So I got my second Article 15. Just like the one on my way to Nam. Only this time The Man could go the full distance. Suspension of a week's pay, two weeks confinement to the Company area, two weeks extra duty and a bust to PFC. The bust hurt. That was a loss of eighty bucks a month. And tough money times ahead for Lois and I.
He asked me if I had anything to say. Maybe if I told him I'd gotten married it might have made a difference. More likely it would have only given him the chance to say something about duty and the responsibility of being a married man. No matter what I might have said he'd have thrown it back in my face and tried to shame me with it. I seriously wasn't up for that kind of fatherly shit. Especially from a man only a couple of years older than me. So I said nothing. Sucked it up with a sharp, "No sir!" We saluted and I went back to happy land, none the wiser, not upset. I'd known what I was asking for goin' three days AWOL. So be it.
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