I did not have a choice?

NOTE: In several passages I refer to someone in perjorative language.

They told me I did not have a choice. My Company Commander had told me that when I got out of the DeWitt Army Hospital at Ft.Belvoir. My operation had been a success except for a hitch or two.

Apparently I had told a dyke of a Major, in no uncertain terms, that she was a bully who I did NOT respect. Then there was the candy bar. The wounded were rolling in from Vietnam, and my surgery was considered either elective or non-fatal, so after they cleaned out my alimentari system I was without food for 72+ hours. It was tough but I was not told, not to eat. I ate a candy bar, and aspirated it during surgery, damn near died the surgeon said.

So on the joyous occasion of returning to my unit, Company D, Officer Candidate Regiment, I was ordered into the CO’s office. He was a frog from West Point, and just loved telling us what he would do if he were a commander in Vietnam, and we snickered behind his back. “Candidate, you have no choice. You will be confined to quarters until you sign off on this UCMJ Field Grade Punishment.” “What does that entail, Sir?” “For you, with your bad attitude it will be 6 mo’s confined to quarters, 6 mo after confined to base, and forfeiture of ¾ of your pay and allowances for 9 mo.”

“Is that all, Sir?’ “ See troop, that is exactly the smart mouth that got you into this jam. It is really symptomatic of your bad attitude, troop. Your alternative is to face a courts martial review of officers board, colonels or higher. They will probably recommend a year or two in Leavenworth and a dishonorable discharge.” “Really, that sounds a little harsh sir, when so many are casualties.”

I hated being confined to quarters, isolated. My buds in the regiment waved as they went by.

Two or three spoke to me quickly. The platoon sergeant actually sat me down for a talk. “Capt. Frog is probably as full of it as he is of himself. From the evidence, you did not disobey orders. None were given. When you told Nurse Major Dyke she was a bully, and cursed her, you were under anesthesia, and so not responsible. Personally I’d feel a lot better going before the Board, rather than blindly signing off. I’v been in seven years and I don’t think they will be harsh, and if convicted you will probably lose a month’s pay, and get out for time served. The board panels officers have seen lots lots worse. Take the board, Capt Frog is being an S.O.B. Maybe its cause your short and Italian, and he is not.”

Two days came and went and two MP’s hauled me before Capt. Frog. “Well troop, you need to sign off, as you have no choice.” “ Choice I have sir, I want to be tried before the Board.” “Troop sounds to me you have been given bad advice or want to visit Leavenworth. Sign this now !”

“No Sir, this is my life, my pay, my reputation, so I shall go before the Board without your browbeating.” “MP’s take this prisoner back to his barracks, he is still confined to quarters except for the prisoners section in the mess, for his meals.” I saluted him, but as arrogant as he was, he never returned my salutes, ever.

Time can be a real drag like this. I scrubbed the barracks, cleaned the latrines, raked the company street where formations were held. I was not excused from physical training, nor boonie runs at 2 am. My Tactical Officer (mentor) said nothing to me about this and treated me as one of the troops, no different. It was a week in barracks, that seemed like a year, before an MP delivered me a summons to appear before the Board of Review in 2 days time, to answer charges of disobeying orders, and verbally assaulting an officer. Shaken, and shaking like a leaf, but sure in my determination to tell my case before some seasoned officers, not some frog from West Point.

Two days later I was escorted into Command HQ by two MP’s, in my Class A uniform, shined shoes and determined. Six of them, there they were. Medals of service, Medals for Valor, more than I had ever seen. Standing at attention, all 5’2 of me.” Trooper Candiate ‘M’ reporting as summoned, Sir’s” The clerk, a sergeant, read off the charges. “Do you understand the charges, Trooper?” “Yes I do.” How do you plead to the charge of disobeying orders?” “I plead Innocent.” “How do you plead to verbally assaulting an officer?’ “I plead Innocent.” The Chair of the Board “ Very well troop, please take a seat.” “Yes sir.’ “Your commanding officer has preferred these two charges against you, and you have pleaded innocent, correct ?” Another colonel, reminding me of my grandfather, started out:”

Well son, you are accused of disobeying a lawful order. Did you?” “ No sir I did not. No order was ever issued for me not to eat anything. The wounded were coming in from Vietnam and my surgery kept being postponed, in order to treat them. After my surgical prep and sedative, I was without food for 72+ hours and I figured, wrongly so, that a candy bar would not matter. I was wrong and extremely sorry for the trouble I caused, and extremely grateful to be here today to testify before you.”

“Trooper, how did you come to this decision?” “ In readings of military history, read that Napoeon once said ‘an army marches on its stomach’, and I took that to mean I should eat, Sir.”

The Chairman tapped the gavel and called for a 15 min recess and ordered the sargent to provide me a pitcher of water and a glass. In 15 minutes the board members filed in. I was still scared but not shaking and determined to tell my story. “We are reconvened, let us proceed.” Sergeant Major with overseas bars and hostile fire bars covering both sleeves spoke: “ What is relevant about the 2nd charge of verbally assaulting an officer?” “SGT Maj, by that time I was fully under anesthesia, can recall nothing at all. However the surgical assistant was smiling, and when in recovery I asked, why, what had happened, and he related this to me:” You were out cold, and Major Nurse Dyke was mad because that aspirated candy bar made it slow for them to aspirate it out of your lungs, and she was yelling at you for eating it, and when i told he to stop yelling at me, she said “ You have smart mouth on you!” Apparently you felt bad and told her, “Your a bully, and your fucking right I have a smart mouth.” “She was really pissed off after that, and was talking to your CO, still mad.”

The LTC on the panel:” did you say that Troop M?” “No sir, I cant recall it, I was so far under anesthesia, I don’t remember anything after I went under, until the recovery room, Sir, so no I cannot say I said that, I remember nothing under the anesthesia. Sir. I found out when one of the surgical assistants told me as I awoke in the recovery room.’

The presiding colonel called for a 30 minute adjournment, and so all the board members filed out to their conference area. Now I was scared. You never know what panels or juries will decide.

The sargent ordered me to stand as the panel filed back in. The Chairman spoke: “Trooper, the charges against you are dismissed with prejudice. No action may be brought against you for the specified actions.” I could feel Capt Frog and Major Dyke looking daggers at the back of my head.

“You are hereby assigned to the Convalescent Unit at Dewitt Hospital for no less than 60 days, with all pay and allowances for E5 Cadets in force. You are hereby dismissed and to report to the Hospital Unit today. I thank the board members for their service and Trooper M for his cooperation.”

Long story short, I got three repeats of convalescent leave, all at cadet pay and allowances, and then dropped out of the Officer Candidate Regiment. Had I stayed, a 2 year enlistment, getting commissioned left me in the Army for 3 yrs 10 mo’s. Not happening, given my opinion of the Vietnam war, I had just under 17 mo’s to serve, so eligible for draft to Vietnam for 5 mo’s, which I thought I’d gamble upon. Leaving the OCR, I was reduced to Pvt E-1, and in the assignment pool. Being an Engineer soldier, I was assigned to the 31st Engineer Battalion, a self contained unit, that could be shipped anywhere, en bloc. Standing before the E-8 Company First Sargent, I was not relaxed as he read off my service record aloud. “You enlisted Sept ‘67’? Graduated Basic Oct ‘67? You graduated Combat Engineer Ft.Leonard Wood Jan ‘68? University Degree BS June ‘67? No disciplinary infractions, punishments or Article 15’s UCMJ, Trooper?” “No Sargent, none” “Then please educate me, you’re in this man’s Army almost a year, and you are still Pvt E-1? What in the Wild Wild West is going on here, TROOP?” He obviously looked out for his men, and I could see his blood pressure turn his bald head red. “Yes Sargent, I spent 8 weeks as an Officer Candidate, was injured, hospitalized and operated up, and served 6 mo’s in convalescence and when I dropped the Regiment, I was busted down to E-1 from E-5, as I am now.” I thought his eyeballs would do a 360 degree turn over in his head in exasperation. “Troop, drag your silly carcass over to S-3, tell the clerk to turn you into a E-3, Private First Class, on my orders, pronto. I will not have my men abused in such a manner. Report to me as soon as he accomplishes it. Dismissed!” He was pissed off and I was glad it was not at me.

I returned forthwith, feelings of gratitude overwhelming me. “Troop, your not everyone’s cup of tea, so I see by your service record. Few ‘get’ you. You are assigned here at the 31st for billeting and military justice. Your daily assignment is to the Base Replacement Depot. Right now the Rhine River Engineer companies are extremely under strength, and will be levying troops from Stateside to fill the vacancies in the bridging companies. You will have a 90% chance of being drafted to Germany for that. Here are your assignment orders. Report to S-4 to get your barracks gear, uniforms and sleeping gear. You are dismissed.”

Long story short, again. Next day while I sat in the bleachers, awaiting assignment under the blazing Virginia sun, I heard my name called, and I went to the desk. The usual questions, some redundant, some relevant, name, rank, serial #, education, military specialty, allergies(drugs), and so on. “Pack your duffel, the interviewer said. Here is your port call, and your assignment orders. Give them to your platoon sargent so they don’t report you AWOL. You are assigned to the 57th Replacement Depot at Rhine Main AFB as of 2 days from now. Be at the tarmac transfer facility on base NLT(no later than) 0800 hours, 2 days hence. Question, Troop ?” “No. Thank you sargent.”, I saluted, turned away and walked back to my barracks assignment at the 31st Engineer Company compound.

Details: I served the rest of my tour at HQ 7Army and Europe, without incident. Major Dyke, I never heard of her again. Scuttlebut among the Engineer Soldiers in my class was that Capt Frog either got killed at Dak To, or was in a field execution by Viet Cong, for allowing his troops to carry dum-dum bullets, violating the Geneva Convention. Never heard anymore.

Me? I got divorced, lived in a tipi for a few years, then left for Alaska, living as an adventurer for 20+ years before retiring here to the ‘States. A full life, I can say.