Chapter 2: Boy soldier

[Timeline: July 1955 – Hannibal, Missouri]

"Well lookie here, Mother!" exclaimed Colonel Sherman T Potter. He waved the letter in front of his wife, Mildred, in an excited manner. "Looks like Hunnicutt's finally got everyone together for our M*A*S*H shindig!"

"That's nice, Sherman," replied Mildred. "What date did he have in mind?"

"Wednesday 27 July," answered Potter. "That's exactly two years after the Peace Treaty was signed. We haven't got anything planned on that day have we?"

Mildred chucked to herself as she checked the calendar. They both knew they had made a point of keeping that date clear. The exact same conversation had taken place this time last year, when BJ had approached them about a possible reunion to mark the first anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

Unfortunately, for some, the memories were still too raw to consider a reunion and the idea had failed to get off the ground. But BJ had vowed to try again to mark the second anniversary – or even the third – until everyone agreed that they would come.

"Looks good, Sherman," said Mildred as she circled the date on the calendar with a red pen. She had already met some of the relatives of her husband's M*A*S*H family. On 28 March 1953, she had attended a party held at the very same Pierre Hotel, in celebration of their loved ones, who were so far away from them serving in Korea. She considered it a great honour to now get a chance to meet the rest of the ensemble.

Potter beamed back at Mildred. It was important to him that she shared this reunion with him. She had been his constant source of strength during his long military career and he had made several references to her with a fondness that was both sincere and heartfelt. She immediately made herself busy, making the preparations to take the trip to New York, leaving her husband to have a moment of quiet contemplation.

Potter strolled slowly out to the paddock. His horse gave him a soft whinny as the Colonel's hand reached out to rub his velvet, chestnut brown nose. His thoughts drifted back to those final, precarious months of the Korean War. Since he had taken over command in September 1952, he had become the corner-stone of the unit. A seasoned military man, he had been the perfect choice to command a battlefront hospital.

But despite being regular army, he understood that he was not dealing with soldiers but doctors. Therefore he had been a relatively relaxed and laid-back commander. He turned up the heat only when he needed to and soon gained the respect of all his officers – including – if not begrudgingly - the aristocratic, Major Charles Emerson Winchester III! Potter sniggered to himself as he remembered overhearing Winchester referring to him as "Colonel Cowpie" in conversation!

He had become somewhat of a father-figure and mentor within the camp. His best memories of his time in Korea would be that of the close relationships he struck up between his younger medical staff and subordinates.

But it had not all been plain sailing. Although he was more than capable of running the hospital during one crisis after another, there were times when he doubted his own credibility and competency as a surgeon. He was becoming aware that this war was taking a toll on his weary bones!

During one particular dark meltdown, he had become convinced that he had grown too old and tired to continue. He was finding it hard to keep up with new procedures and had made a mistake during surgery on a young soldier, nearly costing him his life. Pierce had bailed him out, going back in and removing some shrapnel that he had missed the first time round.

This hadn't sat well with the Colonel and he had later chewed Pierce out over some silly incident, accusing him of interfering with his patient. But really he was just mad with himself.

For the first time in a long time, he had felt totally incompetent – and old – very old. Old to the point where his hands shook and his mind began to play tricks with him. His body ached and he was finding it hard to focus. It had taken a very stern talk from his friend and psychiatrist, Captain Sidney Freedman, to bring him out of his melancholy.

During his talk with Sidney, he had a flashback to his youth, where he had always dreamed of becoming a doctor. It filled him with a sense of pride when he reminded himself that he had achieved his goal. Somehow, the thought of that wide-eyed, eager young boy spurred him on to find renewed determination to carry on.

Age would play a big factor again, when he reported one of his close Colonel friends to I-Corps. Tired of sitting behind a desk, the Colonel ended up yearning for action and was sent to the frontline. Unfortunately, he issued orders that ended up putting his whole platoon in hospital, because he didn't understand the tactical situation. The incident not only ended the Colonel's career but also his friendship with Potter.

Potter sighed with a sadness that wrenched at his heart. He had fought in all the great wars – both as a boy and a man. He had swiftly come to the conclusion that there was no room in this man's army for aging, gung-ho colonels! He was glad that this would be his last battle.

Despite declaring that he had plans to return to Missouri after the war, as a semi-retired country doctor, he did in fact take up the position of Chief of Staff and Surgery at the General Pershing VA Hospital. He had kept his promise to Mildred and retired from the army, but he realised that he wasn't quite ready to give up his medical professional just yet.

There had been times when he had wondered why he had taken up the CO position in the middle of a war zone, so near to retiring. But if he did have any regrets, the thought of those eccentric, loyal, dedicated people under his command, affirmed to himself that it was an experience he was proud to have been a part of.