To the Last Man - Jeff Shaara [243]
The lieutenant was a tall, thin man, older, hard dark eyes. He stared past Temple, said, “I’m aware of that, Private. Nothing we can do about it for now. If General Bundy says we’re to wear army khaki, then we’ll wear army khaki.”
“Yes, sir.”
He boarded the bus, saw an open seat, sat, and the man beside him said, “You know what all this is about?”
“No. Don’t think I’ll ask.”
“I figured out they’re gonna disband the Corps. I bet the British told Pershing they won’t let Marines fight over here. They’re still pissed about how we kicked their ass in the Revolution.”
There was laughter behind him, and a hand slapped Temple’s shoulder.
“Don’t listen to this dumb Italian. Hey, Guido—”
“It’s Gino.”
“Yeah, Gino. We’re changing uniforms so the army boys won’t be intimidated by us. The Second Division’s got a lot more army boys than Marines, and General Bundy doesn’t want the rest of them to feel inferior. I figure the general don’t want the infantry whining all the damned day. Those boys might do better to follow us anyways.”
“Some of you are dumb as tree trunks.” The words came from the lieutenant, who stood in the front of the bus. “Ballou, where’d you get your little gem of intelligence?”
The man behind Temple said, “Um, sir, I just heard—”
“All right, shut the hell up. Ballou, Scarabelli, all of you. General Bundy doesn’t feel the need to confide in every one of you, but I will. If nothing else, I won’t have to listen to all these rumors, and find out just how dumb you are. We have been ordered out of our Marine uniforms because they bear a very close resemblance to what the Germans wear. Their gray looks a lot like our green from a distance. Now, unless some of you think it’s a good idea to confuse our allies any more than they’re already confused, why don’t we just obey General Bundy’s orders?”
Temple weighed the officer’s words, heard Scarabelli muttering beside him.
“Better not disband the Corps. I’ll make a stink. General Bundy will hear from me, dammit. My uncle knows a senator.”
The lieutenant was up again, looked at Scarabelli with disbelief. Temple could not help smiling. The lieutenant said, “How did you make it into my Corps, Private? We need to find something for you to do that doesn’t require you to think.”
THEY HAD BEEN IN FRANCE SINCE JANUARY, REINFORCEMENTS FOR the Fifth Marine Regiment, men who had come across the Atlantic with the first wave that followed Pershing. Temple and his squad had come not to fill holes in the ranks, but to add strength to the regiments, the Fifth and Sixth now making up the Fourth Marine Brigade, which had been assigned to the AEF’s Second Division, commanded by Major General Omar Bundy. The veterans had never expected they would be on the ground in France. Most had assumed that if the Marines were to fight, they would be sent to those places Marines were accustomed to going, naval engagements, or assaults against shore targets. But the war in Europe offered no opportunities for deployments like Cuba, the Philippines, or Panama, where most of the veterans among them had gained their first real experience.
The suggestion to combine the Marines with the army troops had come from their commandant, General George Barnett, and Pershing had agreed. With the Americans scrambling to put trained men into the field as quickly as possible, it made perfect sense to incorporate the seasoned Marine veterans into one of the earliest front-line units to be deployed. With the Second Division now prepared to enter the line, the Marine Brigade received another surprise. On May 5, they had a new commander, James Harbord, the rugged no-nonsense officer who had been Pershing’s chief of staff.
The men were to be bivouacked around the village of