Cutthroats by Robert Dick

Author:Robert Dick
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780307414878
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2007-12-17T16:00:00+00:00

26

Something entirely unexpected took place sometime during the next week. The majority of the original Southern National Guard members, including the first sergeant and his brother, were rotated back to the States on a new points system. I never did find out how many points were necessary or how you earned a point, but I did know that those guys had been away from the States for many a month, and if anyone was due for a break, it was certainly them.

About then I received a very high honor, one that even today as I write this makes me very proud. It happened suddenly, with a runner dropping by our tank and telling me that Captain Garner wanted to see me at the orderly tent, pronto.

He was waiting for me, and as soon as I reported, he asked me how I felt about receiving a field commission.

“You mean me, sir?”

“Yes, Sergeant...wouldyoube interested?”

“Yes, sure...I’ve never thought about it, but... yeah, I think I’d like that.”

“I thought you might. I’ve forwarded your name, and a truck will be here within the next half hour to take you to the promotion board. I’ve requested that you be assigned back here to my company. Is that okay with you?”

“Absolutely, sir...I look forward to it.” I sort of laughed, and then said, “It wasn’t too very long ago that I asked you to take my stripes, and now you’re getting me promoted!”

“Well, I thought of that,” and he laughed, too, “but, I won’t be promoting you ...just recommending you. I understand that there are, I believe, nineteen men, including yourself, from the 96th Division who have been put up for field commissions at this time. Nineteen out of sixteen thousand men is not bad, Sergeant.”

Within the next half hour I managed to get together a halfway decent uniform, shaved, and was up waiting by the orderly tent when the truck arrived. It was full of infantry guys, all of them sergeants, and you could see that they had all been in combat. Something about the way they held themselves, looked at you, just a feeling I got. They accepted me very well, even if I was a no-good tanker, and it looked like we were all going to get along just fine. Soon we pulled up in front of the field hospital. We were told that we’d receive a quick physical and to return to the truck as soon as we were free. One of the guys muttered, “Watch out for the shrink.... They have one that will check us out, to see how nutty we all really are, I heard.”

I followed along from one doctor to the next and all seemed to be going well. And then I came to the last one. He was the guy who would take my blood pressure reading. I’ve always had problems with this procedure. As soon as the cuff is installed, my blood pressure goes sky-high. I think it’s because I’m afraid it’ll do just that, go sky-high, and then I’ll fail it.

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