4 of 6

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 2

he hastily strolled out of the mess hall. The rooms were very quiet, then officers began filing out of the mess area. I guess they lost their appetite. After that, not one officer spoke to us personally. We were the Captain's pets. Mac continued bringing in trophies for the Captain and the rest of us continued working in the motor pool.

We had to pull Guard Duty and K.P., same as everyone else. When the ordinance men were on field maneuvers, we had to go also, but only as a repair crew in case a generator or some other equipment would break down. We had a white flag tied to our truck to show that we were not involved in their field exercises. One time in the two weeks that we were in the field we did have a machine break down. That was a road grader that had a transmission problem. We sent it to first echelon where they had professionals to do the repair. The rest of the time we just laid around all day.

The Company Commander did have to discipline Ed and I one time for not getting up one morning when called. This happened before the Sergeant Bellaway incident. Our barracks were set up to accommodate two men per room. Ed and I shared a room, it was like the odd couple. Remember the old television show? I was Felix and Ed was a slob. My shoes shone like glass, uniforms neatly hung in the wall locker and everything in place. Ed was always failing inspection for untidiness. One morning, the both of us overslept. We heard the orderly call us, but we went back to sleep. Next thing I heard was "Are you guys sick" It was Sergeant Bellaway. We answered with a negative as we jumped out of the bunk. He began yelling for us to see the C.O. right after breakfast.

We went to the Captains office. He invited us in, looked at us and made a comment about oversleeping in which we replied with a yes sir. He said " I have to reprimand you with a court-martial." That scared me. He continued " I'm going to sentence you to a section (he gave number) seven and two. Do you know what that is?" He asked. "No Sir." we answered. "That's two hours extra labor for seven days." He said that after dinner, starting tonight we were to spend two hours at the Motor Pool cleaning up, sweeping the floors etc. What a relief that was, when he said court-martial I thought of stockade.

The first couple days we spent in the shop. No one came by to check up on us. The EM (Enlisted Men's) Club was just on the other side of the fence so we slipped over there and had a few beer. The rest of week found us over there for a couple of hours. At the end of seven days our court-martial was completed.

As I look back on my experiences in the Army, I can see how fortunate I was to have a C.O. like Captain Spry.

Learn more about this author, Donald Courtney.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2

Add your voice

Know something about Army life recommended?
We want to hear your view. Write now!