From Here to Eternity_ The Restored Edit - Jones, James [261]
“In garrison,” Slade said enthusiastically. “That’s a good phrase, you know it? That sounds like soldiering.”
“Yeah?” Prew said. “It does? Well, you see the CC and get his permission to put in for transfer to his compny and then you see your First Sergeant and give him the letter from the CC and put in for it. Thats all.”
“Is that all there is to it?” Slade said. “I thought it would be hard. You know what I mean, complicated.”
“Me too,” Friday said.
“Hell,” Slade said. “If I had known it was that easy, I’d have done it before now.”
“What’d they do?” Prew said, “screw you out of your rating?”
“Ahh,” Slade said disgustedly. “They’re nothing but a bunch of goddam civilians in uniforms. Why, hell, when I got out of recruit drill and they gave me my classification interview I——”
“Your what?” Prew said.
“My classification interview,” Slade said, “I put in for armament school so I could be a gunner. So what do they do? They send me to clerical school at Wheeler Field and as soon as I graduate they put me in a regular goddam office. Desks, filing cabinets, and all.” He looked at them indignantly.
“Oh,” Prew said. “I see. And they cut you out of the rating that went with it, is that it?”
“Rating hell,” Slade said with outrage. “I didn’t stay long nough to get any rating. I quit and went on the guard. Hell, I could have stayed at home in Illinois and worked in a goddam office, or mowed yards. Without having to enlist in the Army and come to Wahoo to do it.”
“But how come you to pick the Infantry?” Prew said. “From what I hear, most guys in the Air Corps dont think so much of us Infantry.”
“I’ve always liked the Infantry,” Slade said eagerly. “In the Infantry they’re soldiers, not goddam civilians in uniform. They have to soldier in the Infantry.”
“The Infantry’s all right,” Prew said quickly. “If you like it.”
“Thats what I mean,” Slade said enthusiastically. “The Infantry’s the backbone of the Army. The Air Corps, the Artillery, the Engineers—all they are for is to assist the Infantry. Because, in the final analysis, its the Infantry that has to take the ground and hold it.”
“Thats right,” Prew said.
“They have to be soldiers in the Infantry,” Slade told them. “The Infantry hikes and fights all day, and then goes out and drinks and dances with the women all night, and then hikes and fights all day the next day.”
“Sure,” Friday said happily. “Thats a man’s life.”
Prew moved his head. “Where’d you learn all this anyway?” A mosquito trapped itself inside his ear and he smashed it and dug it out.
“I don’t know,” Slade said. “Read it somewhere I guess. I use to read a lot when I was younger, in high school. But what the hell good does reading do you?” he demanded angrily. “The thing is to live, act, do. You read all your life and what have you got?”
“I dont know,” Prew said. “What?”
“Nothing,” Slade said. “Thats what. Not a damn thing. I envy you fellows. I’ve been watching you ever since you first moved in here and started putting up this barbed wire. You guys are experts at it.” He took hold of one of the long pickets and shook it vigorously. He kicked one of the short pickets. “I wish I could handle barbed wire as expertly as you fellows do.”
“There is an art to it,” Prew said.
“Sure there is. I watched you putting it up. I wish I could do it.”
“It takes practice,” Prew said.
“Sure it does. You know, I’ve been wanting to come over and talk to you fellows ever since you first moved in. You have a swell camp over here, and you all have such a good time together. Always laughing and singing. You work hard and you play hard, thats the kind of an outfit for a man to be in. I didn’t know it was you two,” he nodded at Friday, “until he told me, that play those guitars. It sounds really fine from over here at night on the road. Do you always take them out in the field with you like that?”
“Sure,” Prew said. “When we can.”
“Guy never hears anything like that at Hickam,” Slade said.
“We’re going to play some tonight,” Prew said, “as it happens. When our buddy gets here from the CP. How would you