It Don't Mean Nothin'

This manuscript may not be reproduced in any form. This manuscript is in draft form and not intended for reproduction. All rights belong to the author. All characters are from the imaginations of the authors and do not represent any persons living or dead. Any similarities between real persons and the characters in this manuscript are a coincidence.

CHAPTER 1

“I am dying, but I ain't dead yet. No, not yet.” The prostrate figure in the hospital bed said as he opened his old and tired eyes. Michael noticed the old man was wired to various machines and monitors, all of which must serve some function. All the wires reminded him of an old Frankenstein movie he had once seen. There was a tube coming from the old man's nose and another one coming from under the light blue blanket. Michael loved the old man with all of his heart. The old man was his grandfather.

“Are you comfortable grandpa?” Michael asked with concern in his voice.

“Of course not Mike. I am dying and comfort ain't part of the agenda.” Michael noticed the old man's eyes dancing at his own humor.

“Is there anything I can do for you grandpa?”

“Yep, Mike there is. I want to talk to you son. I want you to hear a story I have to tell.”

Michael pulled up and chair and made himself comfortable. He knew the old man could get long winded at times, but this could be the last conversation he would ever have with him.

“Mike, many years ago I experienced something that changed my life forever. Because of that experience, I will die a rich poor man. Confusing son? I remember.....

The air brakes gave a loud hissing sound as the driver slowed the bus down and then came to a complete stop in front of a well lighted brick building. A large red sign with white lettering read “Welcome to Fort Leonard Wood.” The front door of the bus opened with a similar hiss and a huge black man walked in. He stood unmoving and unspeaking next to the driver. I noticed he was wearing a green uniform, very shiny boots, and had a hat on that reminded me of a state trooper.

What initially caught my attention about the man was the sharpness of his clothing. The shirt and trousers were starched to firmness that only a military man can appreciate. The sleeves of his shirt, with his five stripes, appeared sharp enough to cut an apple with. On the left side of his shirt, above the pocket, was row after row of multi-colored ribbons. I counted five rows of three medals each.

He held a clipboard in his left hand as he screamed in a loud voice, “Welcome to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. On behalf of the Fort Commander, I welcome each of you. It is now zero four hundred. When I tell you to move, you WILL all exit this bus! On the pavement outside the bus you will find yellow footprints painted. You WILL stand on a set of footprints and wait for further orders! NOW MOVE!”

For the first time in my eighteen years I felt real fear. Not a fear of being hurt, but rather a fear of the unknown. See, my early years of life had been well established with a gentle routine. Less than twelve hours earlier I had been living at home with my parents on a small dirt farm. There was a war was going on and I wanted to be part of it. You just didn't get much excitement on a farm. I had grown up hearing my Grandfather talking of his combat experiences in the Spanish American War, while my daddy told his tales of World War One.

I grew up hearing how my great great grand dad was killed by the Sioux Indians in Montana. My family was an old family of soldiers. I was old enough, in my mind anyway, to move off the farm and on to better things. As I moved as quickly as I could from the bus I wondered if I had not made a serious mistake. I soon found a pair of painted yellow footprints and stood in place.

“Good morning girls. My name is sergeant Williams. I am your drill instructor. I am your mother, your daddy, and your girlfriend for the next twelve weeks. But, if you try to kiss me or screw me, you will regret it. You WILL all call me sir! The first and last words out of your mouth will be SIR! When I say move, you will MOVE! I will.....” Suddenly the sergeant quit speaking.

I felt myself tremble as I watch him moved toward me at a rapid rate. Now, I ain't much of a praying man, but when he moved toward me I prayed he had another victim in mind. He stopped in front of an overweight black man beside me. I watched as the sergeant placed his hands on his hips, leaned forward until the edge of his hat was on that young boy's nose, and then I heard him scream.

“Where are you from boy?” The sergeant yelled in a deep loud voice.

“I, I, I...I am from Arkansas Sir.” The overweight kid stammered out. I could see his whole body tremble as he spoke.

“You come all the way from Arkansas to be in MY Army boy?” The sergeant screamed a question once more. I noticed the sergeant's face was red and tobacco juice ran down the side of his mouth. I was listening closely to the conversation. Whatever the fat kid had done, I wanted to avoid doing it.

“You mean, I got up out of bed at this time of the morning,showered, shaved, came here to meet my new men, and they sent me a fat boy from Arkansas? Did you come all the way from Arkansas just to piss me off boy?” The sergeant yelled again.

“Sir! No, sir. I want to be a soldier. My daddy was a soldier, sir.” The fat boy responded with a shaking voice. I honestly thought the kid was going to cry. His eyes watered and he was shaking, but he stood firm.

“Boy, you have caused me to be seriously upset. Nonetheless, I promise you and any other ladies I find here, you will soon be at home tellin' yer folks how you got thrown out of MY ARMY! Now, step ON the yellow foot prints, not beside them. NOW!”

As soon as he had spoken, the sergeant walked to the front of the group and gave us instructions on how to walk to the barracks. We turned to the right and made our way a few blocks towards some old wooden framed buildings. As we walked in a light misting rain, I wondered about the fat kid. What had he done to be singled out? I was too tired to think much about it, but I was concerned. No, I did not think I would be hurt here. Despite everything so far, I did want to stay in the Army if I could. I would face a lot of shame back home if I did not make it.

“Listen up ladies. Inside you WILL find a bed. You WILL get into that bed and go to sleep. I will NOT be in to tuck you in. I do not want any joking or grab ass played. I WILL be back to wake you gently in a few hours. NOW MOVE.” The sergeant was screaming again and much louder this time. As I ran up the stairs and into the barracks I could still hear him yelling, “Move, move, move.”

The inside of the barracks was drab. There were no curtains on the windows, no furniture except for metal bunk beds with large wooden boxes in front of them. The building was divided into two floors. I was moved along with my part of the herd to the first floor. I thought “herd” as we moved because all of this reminded me of moving cattle.

I picked a bed and undressed. I immediately slid between the sheets and remained absolutely still. I watched twenty other men on my floor undress and get into beds. After just a few moments, the sergeant suddenly appeared at the doorway and said in a low voice, “Good night girls. Sleep well” The light went off and I was asleep instantly.

It felt as if I had just closed my eyes when he light came on and a loud banging sound filled my ears. I awoke with a start and looked around me. It had not been a dream. I was at Fort Leonard Wood and in basic training. I quickly climbed out of bed and stood beside it feeling dumb. I did my best imitation of standing at attention. Sergeant Williams had a trash can in his left hand and was banging the inside of it with a night stick.

What was I expected to do now? Would I unknowingly break some written or unwritten law? I glanced at my watch and noticed it was six in the morning. We had received just about two hours of sleep.

“I hope all of my precious little ladies slept well. Now, LISTEN UP, people. You WILL shower and shave. I want ALL facial hair removed. That means beards, mustachios, and sideburns off. Sideburns off to the top of the ears! You have twenty minutes to do this. NOW MOVE PEOPLE!”

All twenty of us moved quickly toward the bathroom. Since there were only ten sinks, ten of us should have showered while the other ten shaved, but it did not work that way. All twenty of us attempted to shave at the same time. I was lucky and got a position in front of a sink. Two guys shaved behind me and would occasionally lean over to rinse a blade in the hot water. Not a word was spoken as we shaved. It was as if we were avoiding anything that might draw attention to ourselves.

As soon as we shaved we undressed and went into the showers. The showers were in a large room with about twenty showerheads. There was no privacy as all of us stood naked under the running water. I do not think our nudity even entered our minds at the time. We had only one thought in our heads, to be done within the twenty minutes the sergeant had given us.

I quickly dried off and redressed in the same civilian clothes I had worn the night before. I moved to the side of my bed and stood there. I was hungry, but also more than just a little scared. What was next? As I glanced around I saw many bloody faces from the quick shaves.

“Are my girls all clean and ready to start a busy day?' The sergeant asked in the same kind voice my mother often used with my sister.

I cringed as he moved to the front of me. His hands were on his hips once more and his uniform was perfectly pressed. His right hand came up with his index finger extended. He poked me on the right side of my chest and screamed, “What is your name boy?”

“Sir! Willie…William D. Moreland, sir.” I was able to stammer out. I was scared, tired, and unsure of myself.

“Well, Mister Willie D. Moreland. You are an idiot! Are you an idiot Moreland? Did I not tell you I wanted all hair off of your face?”

“Yes sir, you did. And, no sir, but I am not an idiot, sir!”

“You callin' me a liar boy?” His head had jumped back as if he had been slapped by my words.

“Sir, no sir!” I responded quickly.

“Ok, then we both agree that you are an idiot. Now, I know why I still see a hair on your upper lip boy! Get back in that latrine and shave it off, NOW!” As he screamed his left hand, holding his clipboard, motioned the way to the latrine. I moved as quickly as I could, but it was obviously not quick enough as I heard, “Move it boy...move! Move! Move!”

After I had removed the lone hair on my upper lip, I started the busiest day of my life. Blood was flowing from more than one cheek as the sergeant marched us, or rather we stumbled to a barber. The sergeant said we didn't know how to march and he was not sure we could learn. He said we walked and pranced like a bunch of schoolgirls in front of a school full of football players. In less than a minute all of my hair was removed. Then, still wearing our civilian clothes we were taken to eat. A place the sergeant called a mess hall.

“Ladies, you WILL EAT. ALL of you WILL EAT. You will drink TWO glasses of water as well. Take what you want, but eat what you take. When you reach the mess sergeant give him your last name first and your first name last. Let's hurry girls, you have twenty minutes.” The sergeant then moved over to another group of drill instructors.

As I went through the serving line I was surprised by the food. There was bacon, sausage, ham, eggs, gravy, and potatoes. I requested bacon, eggs and potatoes. They were dumped with little ceremony on my tray by another skin headed young man. I placed two cartons of milk, as well as the required water, on my tray and made my way to a table.

As I approached I noticed the fat boy was there, along with two others I did not recognise. Once I had reached the table we all sat down. While the three of us were wolfing the food down, I watched the fat boy lower his head in prayer.

Now, I had been exposed to church and religion at home. We all attended regularly actually. But, during the last year or so, I had decided it just was not for me. I rationalised that since God had been forced on me during my youth and I had a right to decide if I wanted to accept him or not. Did I believe in God? Maybe. I see myself as a free thinking man. I look at things from all angles and look at the variables before I decide things. I saw no need for religion as long as I was a good man.

I ws a man that helped others, watched my language, and did what I thought was the proper things in life. Besides, with all the religions in the world, it could get confusing to a young man like me. It was easier just to ignore it and live my life. Nonetheless, I did stop eating and lowered my head as fat boy prayed. Old habits are hard to break.

The rest of the morning was spent getting issued our buying toiletry items, eating a nice lunch at noon on the dot, physical fitness, and to learning how to make our beds. A new sergeant taught us how to stand at attention, how to salute, and some basic facing movements. I found it all interesting and boring at times.

At four o'clock we were all marched to dinner at the mess hall. The meal was good, fried chicken, pork chops, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, bread, milk and dessert. Well, they may kill me here, I thought to myself as I gulped down the remainder of my milk, but it won't be by starving.

The next morning was a repeat of the same, except at five the light came on as sergeant Williams came in with a hand full of post cards. The front of the card had the picture of an infantryman in a bayonet charge stance with the words Fort Leonard Wood above him.

He handed each of us one as he spoke, “You will take a post card, sit down with the card on your foot locker, and await my dictation.” He handed out all the cards and walked to the front of the platoon.

His hands were on his hips and he was standing ramrod straight as he started speaking, “Dear mom and dad. I am at Fort Leonard Wood. I am safe and I am healthy. I enjoy army life. All my love, then sign your names.” As soon as he had spoken the last word he had moved forward to collect the cards. That was it. I could see letter writing could be a real problem in the army. Well, I guess there was not much to say anyway at the time. We were all tired and scared.

After Sergeant Williams had collected the post cards we were marched to the hospital where we lined up and received shots. As I neared the medics giving the immunisations I noticed they were using an air gun of some kind. It made a slight psst sound as it was fired. When it was my turn, I was instructed to stand relaxed and to let my arms hang freely. I felt a slight pressure on both of my arms and heard the medic say, “Next.” The man behind me fainted.