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Yesterday's Weapons Forums • View topic - Reality sinks in...

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 Post subject: Reality sinks in...
PostPosted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:44 pm 
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Теперь предлагаем бесплатную ежедневную маммографию!
Теперь предлагаем бесплатную ежедневную маммографию!
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Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 9:04 pm
Posts: 11655
Location: On the couch a lot now that I'm retired
Preppy daughter left her facebook account open on the home computey & I took the opportunity to look up some people... HS gfs mostly. But for some odd reason, I thought of someone from my company 1st tour & typed his name in.

Seems he passed away not long ago - or so his daughter posted on his page. Well, that happens. But I got to thinking about the last time I saw him.

After 1st tour, we came back to a base in California. Not much was going on - n00bs did all the nasty work & the rest of us took it easy before going on leave.

After inspection one morning, five of us were messing around and heard the food was good at a navy mess hall. And that's where we went for lunch. We got right in line - no problems that way. Even though we were kinda swaggering. I mean we were fresh from Viet Nam! Gen-u-ine bad-a$$es! Sun-bleached utilities - but all starched up for the inspection - soft cover was starched and hand ironed - jungle boots spit shined. We were squared a-WAY!

And I'm sure we did a bit of posturing when the fleet boyz came in for lunch. Who didn't pay a bit of attention to us. But we were the real deal! It had not been a great year, but we had survived the worst Uncle Ho's boyz could dish out & dished out plenty ourselves. Ha! Didn't even register.

We already had a table & were watching the navy guys. It surprised me how small some of them were - submarine candidates one of our group said. Maybe so. Someone said they were all going to their A schools. Anyway, they were acting like a bunch of high school kids - cutting up & playing grab-a$$. Being loud & having fun...

"Look at 'em," a Cpl beside me said said, "Acting like a bunch of damn teen age kids! He**, they look like freaks to me!"

One of our friends who had just made E5 hadn't been saying much but slowly turned to the Cpl... "So how old are you, John Wayne?" He was 19 - just like the rest of except the E5 - he was the geezer of our group @ 21.

Then it hit me like a Louisville Slugger knocking one into the cheep seats... those navy guys... were still normal! They could still cut up & goof around... they could still laugh...

WE were the freaks! We were the same stinking age but changed forever and not for the better! They could still act like teenagers but we were old before our time! It hit me so hard, I couldn't finish my lunch. Seems like it affected everybody else the same way, too.

"Oh, look at the time! Gotta go." The lunch group broke up. Forever. I caught a ride back to base with the guy who just passed away and mentioned I should just as well sign up for a second tour. They were saying people who did 2 tours would get an early out. ( it turned out to be true)

"Yeah, I should too. I guess we ain't good for much else." I didn't think we were, either. So we stopped by the company office & signed up. He left on leave the next day & me the day following. We were assigned to different battalions & I never saw him again.

Just as well - there really wouldn't have been much to talk about.

Rest in peace, Ron. I hope all of you made it back & part of you isn't still out there somwhere humping the bush. SW


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