Memorable Memorial
Author's note: All typical disclaimers are in effect, don't own, don't sue.
"Thanks for coming with me to help get everything, Amy," Face said as he kicked the car door shut, "Between you and me, I prefer when I don't have to take Murdock grocery shopping with me because he gets it in his head we need at least two of everything. And with the way they've got everything on sale right now, we'd be there until Wednesday."
"No problem, Face," Amy replied as she helped him haul the groceries up to the house he'd scammed them for the time being. Nothing fancy, just a nice sized two story house with a large yard that was half gated off from the other yards on the block, with a swimming pool in the side yard, and an extensive backyard for company. "I'm just surprised that you guys are here for the day."
"Huh?" Face asked as he set a bag of potato chips and hamburger buns down to fish out his house keys.
"I mean," Amy told him, "I'm surprised Hannibal of all people would go for something so trivialized about today."
"Oh you mean staying here and barbecuing?" Face said as he unlocked the door and kicked it open, "Well, we didn't really have much choice. Lynch and the MPs are bound to figure out any cemetery where any of our friends are buried, and stake them out for the day, same with any of the local Veterans' memorials, and they'll be lying in wait for us, so it just makes more sense if we stay home today and disappoint them. Besides, I'm sure all the guys would appreciate the sentiment, back in the Army there wasn't anything they loved more than a good barbecue, which are hard to come by in Hanoi. You ever try grilled goat?"
"Once," she answered, and when he looked at her she explained, "On assignment."
"Oh," he replied as they headed to the kitchen, "Well then you know what I mean."
"Ah, yeah," she remarked mockingly.
They left the groceries on the table and headed out the back door where they saw Hannibal and Murdock standing by the large barbecue barrel grill with a roaring cloud of smoke pouring out of the top. As the Lieutenant and the reporter headed over towards the grill, they realized Hannibal and Murdock seemed to be in disagreement over something.
"Murdock, if it's not even then there'll be something left over for later," Hannibal said.
"But Colonel it's just not right," Murdock said, and waved his hands over the grill, "11 hot dogs and 10 hamburgers, it'll throw everything out of whack."
"Murdock, it doesn't matter how much chicken we have in the grill, or how many ribs are in this slab, so why does it matter what the hot dog to hamburger ratio is?" Hannibal wanted to know.
"Because they go together," Murdock answered, "If you were making sandwiches you wouldn't have 7 pieces of bread with peanut butter on them and only 6 with pickles on them, would you?"
"Fine, I know a simple way to resolve that," Hannibal turned his head and called, "B.A.!"
The Sergeant came up to the vicinity of the barbecue and asked, "What is it, Hannibal?"
Hannibal stuck the prongs of a barbecue fork into one of the hot dogs that was just about on fire and held it out to B.A. and told him, "Eat this."
B.A. pulled the hot dog off the fork, the excessive heat not bothering him whatsoever, and immediately chomped it in half. Amy watched with eyes wider opened than usual. These guys would never cease to amaze and amuse her.
"Hey Face," Hannibal turned back and saw his Lieutenant, "Where've you been?"
"Where have I been?" Face repeated, his eyes as wide as they would go and he felt like he was about to drop on the ground from disbelief, "Where have I been?"
"Well?" Hannibal asked.
"It's just like Christmas," Face told him, "Everybody smart already has all their grocery shopping done for Memorial Day, only the idiots are out and about now…and that grocery store was a madhouse, people pushing, shoving, kicking, biting, and it took about half an hour just to get to the front of the checkout line."
"Did you get everything, Faceman?" Murdock asked.
"We got the corn on the cob, the buns, the baked beans, the pork and beans, the potato chips…"
"The right potato chips, Faceman?" Murdock asked.
Face nodded as he talked, "Regular, sour cream and onion and barbecue."
"Good," Murdock replied.
Face continued, "The paprika for the deviled eggs," he cringed at the mere mention of them.
"The Twinkies, Faceman?" Murdock interjected again.
In a breathless huff, Face answered, "The Twinkies, Murdock."
"Good."
"The watermelon, the potato salad, the macaroni salad, the steak sauce…"
"How about the marshmallows, Face?" Murdock poked him, "Did you get the marshmallows?"
"And the marshmallows," Face added.
"What, no Kool-Aid?" Hannibal asked with a smirk.
"We already got ice tea and coke," Face said, annoyed, "Are you planning for us all to go into sugar shock?"
Murdock poked Face again, "Is that ice tea or sweet tea?"
Face was about ready to bite someone as he growled, "What's the difference, Murdock?"
"Sweet tea has sugar and in ice tea it's optional," Murdock told him.
"Yes there's sugar in the ice tea, Murdock," Face replied, "Happy?"
"Not yet but I'm getting there," the Captain answered with a straight face.
Face growled and wrung his hands as the pilot walked off.
"Hey Hannibal," Amy said, "When're we going to eat?"
Hannibal closed the lid on the grill and said, "Soon, when I'm done with these ribs the meat's going to fall right off the bones."
"Seems to me you always say that and instead it chars to the bones," B.A. grumbled.
"Well you know, B.A.," Face suggested, "We can always just let Murdock do all the cooking next time."
B.A. paused for a moment before turning to Hannibal and asking, "So when're the ribs gonna be done, Hannibal?"
"Everything should be good to go in a few minutes," Hannibal answered, and added, "Murdock, go in the kitchen and help Face clean the corn and get it cooking."
Face did a double take, "Help who do what?"
"Come on, Face," Amy grabbed him by the sleeve of his shirt and pulled him towards the back door and said, "Surely you're not too good for pulling hundreds of tassels off ears of corn, are you?"
"Aww geez," Face groaned.
"I'm right behind ya, Faceguy," Murdock called. He stopped halfway to the back door, turned around and noted to the Colonel, "It sure is warm today…seems to me it always rains for Memorial Day."
"Hmm," Hannibal said once the Captain had gone inside, "He's got a point, for this season it's been unusually sunny today," he tilted his head up and looked at the blue sky and the bright sun, and only a few gray clouds, "Nothing on the forecast for the whole day when I checked."
"Too bad," B.A. remarked, "Be nice if it would just pour down on those sucker MPs out looking for us."
Hannibal chuckled and responded, "Hard to argue with that sentiment, B.A."
Once the corn was boiling in a pan, Amy helped Face and Murdock haul out the dishes to the picnic table out in the back yard. The throwaway plates wouldn't stay still with the wind blowing so they opted for the real china, then Amy brought out a large pitcher of tea and cups while Murdock hauled out a tray with the watermelon on it, now chopped up and lightly salted. Hannibal was still poking and turning the meat and trying to keep the pieces nearest the charcoal from catching on fire. He stabbed a T-bone steak with the fork and hauled it up to see if the juices that dripped out were red or clear, it looked good enough to him, and he called for B.A. to bring out a tray to pile the meat on.
Face joined Amy and Murdock at the table and was helping to get the dishes set for everybody's place when he felt something land in his hair. He reached up and felt for whatever it was but didn't find anything. Then he felt it again, he turned to Murdock and said to him, "I hope that wasn't you."
"What wasn't?" Murdock asked.
Again. Face realized it was a drop of water, he looked up and saw that despite the sun being out, large dark clouds had moved in directly overhead and it was starting to sprinkle on them.
"Nothing in the forecast, eh, Hannibal?" he called over to the older man at the grill.
Hannibal looked up and said, "The sun's still out, it won't last."
"Famous last words," Amy murmured.
A couple minutes passed and the sprinkle was here and there, not heavy, not constant, but everybody noticed the drops hitting the pavement were gradually getting bigger until they were the size of half dollars. Then they started falling faster, harder, colder, and everybody decided it would be a good idea to get everything in the house before something really happened. Everybody rounded up the dishes and what food was already taken out, and got in the kitchen just before a sudden downpour came out of nowhere.
"Well how about that?" Hannibal asked as he watched from the window, "Looks like you're gonna get your wish after all, B.A."
"Yeah but it just about ruined our dinner in the process," Face complained.
"Well," Amy said with a smirk, "Looks like we're eating in tonight."
"Alright everybody get a plate, and get in line," Hannibal said.
"Just like the army, eh?" Murdock chuckled.
"At least the food's better," Amy said, "If it isn't, we'll just have to shoot the cook."
Hannibal glared at her through one eye, "Watch it, Amy."
Murdock looked at the clock and said to Hannibal, "There's going to be a special on TV tonight."
"What's that?" Amy asked.
"A cartoon," Murdock said.
"A what?" Face asked.
Murdock nodded and said to Hannibal, "A tribute to the troops, you want to see it, Colonel?"
It sounded weird to him, but he just shrugged and replied, "Why not? Might be amusing."
"In Flanders Fields, the poppies blow,
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below,
We are the dead,
Short days ago we lived,
Felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved,
And now we lie in Flanders Fields."
It was a poem Hannibal knew very well. It was the first poem he had ever known. He had seen 'All Quiet on the Western Front' before he was 10 years old, he knew exactly of which it spoke. Though for some reason, the final stanza had been missing tonight.
"Take up our quarrel with the foe,
To you from failing hand we throw,
The torch, be yours to hold it high,
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,
In Flanders Fields."
What they had seen on the TV tonight was described as a tribute for the troops who fought in the two World Wars, and yet…there wasn't a soldier alive, who served in any war for this country, who couldn't appreciate and relate to what had been described in that cartoon tonight. A cartoon, that didn't seem to be the right word, an animated memory, that seemed more accurate. What could you expect when the creator had treaded the same path, just a couple generations before? If Hannibal Smith had ever expected something would make a good attempt to rip his guts out, he sure as hell never figured it would be from a "Peanuts" cartoon. And yet…that had been exactly what had happened.
"What have we learned, Charlie Brown?"
That was the title of the show, it was also the most poignant moment in the whole cartoon, right towards the end, after a brief tour around Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery, a recount of the casualties of D-Day. A field of white crosses and red flowers and that question, 'What have we learned?', the answer was almost too depressing to give thought.
It was now well after 11, outside the rain still poured down. Amy had fallen asleep on the couch, and now the four of them were gathered in the kitchen. Hannibal took out a bottle of bourbon, a very sentimental bottle that he'd been holding onto for 12 years, waiting for the right time to use it, he'd decided now was that time. He poured three glasses, one for him, one for Face, and one for Murdock; not even now in this instance could anything sway B.A.'s position of abstaining from alcohol, for anything. That was the way it had always been, even back in Vietnam, why break with tradition?
The four men stood up from the kitchen table and raised their glasses. Hannibal spoke, "First and foremost, I think it's only right that we remember, our fathers and grandfathers who served, fought, and died for their country and liberties, before us."
"Here-here," Face murmured as they clinked their classes together.
"Secondly for our brethren who are buried," Hannibal said, "And for those that are still missing."
"Amen," Murdock said as they clinked their glasses again.
"Those who are gone, but not forgotten."
"That's right," B.A. agreed.
"And finally our brethren in arms who came back…but still aren't home. And those who came home, but are still fighting."
There were murmurs of agreement all around as the glasses came in contact once more before they drank.
"Lest we forget," Face concluded.
The End
Author's note: "What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?" debuted on TV on May 30th, 1983. It was an epilogue to the full length Peanuts film, "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown, (And Don't Come Back!)", but today is largely forgotten.
+ "In Flanders Fields" was written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, M.D., in World War I, following the Second Battle of Ypres.